Customer Support
This theme seeks to assess the effectiveness of the initiatives that we run to support individual customers.
At Great Places, we know a good home is only one part of helping people feel settled, safe and able to move forward. That is why we invest in services that support customers through difficult times, help people build confidence and connect them with the right local support.
We work alongside partners to prevent homelessness through programmes such as Greater Manchester Housing First and the Rough Sleeper Accommodation Programme. Our Independence and Wellbeing teams provide commissioned support, and our Tenancy Coach Service works with customers who may be at risk of losing their home, offering practical help before issues become a crisis.
Our Community Investment Team helps customers take positive steps with their money, skills, wellbeing and future opportunities. By working with voluntary and community partners, we can reach more people, connect customers to trusted local services and create opportunities to volunteer, learn and take part through our community centres.
We are also investing in how colleagues support customers day to day. Working with our delivery partners SM&SH, we are running customer service workshops for all colleagues. These sessions are designed to strengthen our customer-centred culture by helping colleagues see the whole customer journey, understand the impact of every interaction and feel confident taking ownership.
As the rollout continues, we will track longer-term outcomes, but early feedback already suggests positive changes in behaviour including:
- More consistent and professional communication
- Increased individual accountability for customer outcomes
- Greater awareness of the end-to-end customer journey
- Proactive use of tools introduced in the sessions, including the Customer Experience funnel and Accountability Ladder
In 2025/26, we:
Supporting financial stability
Our Financial Resilience Team helps customers increase their income, manage debt and deal with rising living costs. This includes access to essential items through the House to Home project, and food and fuel vouchers through the Household Assistance project.
In the last year:
- We secured over £214k in additional income for customers
- 850 customers benefited from support funds worth £150k
Recognising challenging customer affordability, our new-build development programme now includes the provision of both carpets and blinds within rented apartments which eases moving costs for customers and enables them to settle into their new homes quicker.
Employment and skills
Our Employment and Skills Team provides one-to-one support for customers who want to find work, build skills, start training, volunteer or explore self-employment. The support is personal and practical, helping people take the next step at a pace that works for them.
In 2025/26:
- More than 1,000 people accessed the service
- Over 840 people moved into work, training or volunteering
- 12% of the Great Places workforce are social housing customers, showing how our employment pathways also create opportunities within our own organisation
We are continuing to monitor longer-term outcomes and sustainability of these opportunities.
Communities and wellbeing
Our Place and Regeneration Team helps bring people, partners and opportunities together in local communities. The team connects customers to training, health and wellbeing support, working closely with partners and our community centres so support feels visible, local and easy to access.
During the year:
- We invested £200k in over 130 community projects
- We helped partners secure almost £600k in funding
- More than 1,000 people benefited
Case studies
Transforming lives through personalised employability support
Adebola, a customer in Oldham, came to the Employability Service after facing repeated job rejections and feeling unsure about her next step.
Working with an Employability Coach, she received tailored support with job searching, interview preparation and confidence-building. The relationship gave her space to recognise her strengths, explore options and prepare for roles that matched her ambitions.
With this support, Adebola developed new skills, rebuilt her confidence and successfully secured a role as an Independence and Wellbeing Housing Assistant at Great Places.
Her story shows the value of relationship-led support that adapts to each person’s circumstances, helping customers overcome barriers such as low confidence, career changes and limited access to opportunities.
Most importantly, it shows how the right encouragement and practical guidance can help people see their potential and take meaningful steps towards sustainable employment.
Supporting entrepreneurship and self-employment
Lara, a Great Places customer in Salford, had a passion for baking and an ambition to turn it into something more. While balancing part-time work and caring responsibilities, she first connected with our Employability Service through a digital skills course. From there, she joined a self-employment programme that gave her structured learning, practical tools and the confidence to start shaping her business idea.
One-to-one coaching gave Lara space to talk through her ideas, understand her options and plan her next steps. She was also linked to external mentoring and specialist workshops, helping her build knowledge and networks. The support stayed flexible around her circumstances, so she could pause when needed and re-engage when the time was right.
With additional funding for essential equipment and ingredients, Lara launched a small business producing traditional pastries and cakes inspired by her Portuguese heritage. The support has helped her create a sustainable income, grow her confidence and share something meaningful with her local community.
Discovery Day opens pathways into employment
During 2025/26, Great Places hosted a Discovery Day with Pure Innovations, giving participants the opportunity to learn about careers in housing and gain first-hand experience of the workplace.
The day included an introduction to Great Places and the housing sector, opportunities to meet colleagues from across the business, workplace activities, an office tour and mock interviews with personalised feedback.
The event helped participants build confidence, develop employability skills and gain a better understanding of different career pathways. It also gave colleagues the opportunity to support more inclusive routes into employment and share their experiences of working in housing.
Removing barriers to employment through practical support
Finding work can be harder when practical barriers get in the way. In Blackburn, our Working Wardrobe initiative helps customers feel prepared for interviews by offering free access to suitable clothing, alongside CV guidance and interview preparation.
The cost of interview clothing can be a real barrier, especially for customers already managing tight budgets. By removing that obstacle, the initiative helps people focus on presenting their skills and experience with confidence. The service is flexible too, with virtual consultations and home delivery available for customers who may face mobility or travel challenges.
The individuals who have gained employment after accessing the Working Wardrobe all agree that it is a simple, practical example of how the right support at the right time can make a meaningful difference. The experience made them feel better prepared going into interviews, and played a key role in helping them move into employment and financial independence.
Growing Greatness, Apprentice and Graduate Programme
We continue to prioritise social housing customers and other disadvantaged groups through our apprentice and graduate schemes. Our current cohort of 30 graduates and apprentices are thriving at Great Places, building their professional reputations and developing careers in housing.
In the last three years, 27 Growing Greatness colleagues have moved into permanent roles across Development, Neighbourhoods, Tech Services, Repairs, Independence and Wellbeing, and People and Transformation. Two of these moves took place in 2026.
Tracy’s story*
After losing her mum, Tracy found everyday life increasingly difficult. Her mental health declined, and over time her home became heavily cluttered, creating concerns around fire safety, mobility and her overall wellbeing.
Tracy knew things needed to change but did not feel able to do it on her own. Working with her Tenancy Coach, she received personalised support at a pace that felt right for her. Together, they agreed a plan to make her home safer and help her regain confidence.
Support included fire safety checks, referrals to specialist services and a gradual decluttering plan. One of Tracy’s main goals was to use her kitchen again. With regular encouragement, she cleared the space herself and was able to start cooking at home once more.
As trust grew, Tracy engaged with bereavement support and wider services. She also accessed Great Places’ furniture recycling scheme, redecorated her home and had her carpets cleaned, helping transform her house into a home she could feel proud of.
Today, Tracy is living independently and feels much more positive about the future.
Tracy’s story shows how personalised support, understanding and the right interventions can help customers overcome challenges, improve their wellbeing and feel safe and confident in their home.
*Customer’s name has been changed to protect their privacy.
Supporting resettlement and independent living
Supporting resettlement and independent living
Great Places supported Michael, a customer moving from temporary accommodation into his first independent tenancy, demonstrating the importance of tailored tenancy coaching in enabling successful resettlement. Having previously lived in supported accommodation, he faced multiple challenges including limited English, ongoing physical and mental health needs, and a lack of local support networks. These factors increased his risk of isolation and financial difficulty when moving into an unfurnished property.
A Tenancy Coach provided intensive one-to-one support, including arranging an interpreter so Michael could fully engage in discussions and decision-making. Together they completed a full needs assessment and developed a personalised plan to support his transition. Practical help included securing essential household items through grant funding, setting up utilities and ensuring access to healthcare by registering with a local GP. Financial guidance was also provided, including budgeting support and help to maximise income through benefit applications.
Ongoing weekly visits helped build Michael’s confidence and independence. Over time, he became more able to manage his tenancy, maintain his home and engage with his local community. This intervention shows how coordinated, person-centred tenancy support can reduce vulnerability, prevent tenancy failure and enable customers to live independently with confidence.
Preventing tenancy breakdown through early intervention
Preventing tenancy breakdown through early intervention
Great Places supports customers at risk of tenancy breakdown through early intervention and holistic tenancy coaching, helping them address challenges before they escalate.
Customers experiencing financial pressures, social isolation or difficulties managing their home are offered tailored support plans that focus on both practical and personal needs.
This includes budgeting advice, referrals to specialist services, and support to access community networks.
Tenancy Coaches work alongside neighbourhood teams and external partners to provide coordinated support, ensuring customers receive the right interventions at the right time. Regular check-ins and flexible engagement help build trust and encourage sustained progress.
This proactive approach helps customers maintain their tenancies, improve their wellbeing and reduce the risk of eviction or crisis intervention.
By addressing issues early and providing consistent, person-centred support, Great Places is helping to create more stable households and resilient communities.
Tenancy sustainment
The cost of living continues to put pressure on customers, so early support is key.
Our Tenancy Coach Service works with customers who are struggling to manage their tenancy. It takes a flexible, person-centred approach, supporting areas such as finances, health, housing and social connection. The focus is on early intervention to prevent homelessness and help customers build long-term stability.
Tenancy Coaches work closely with Neighbourhood Services Managers and local partners to provide tailored support based on individual needs.
In 2025/26:
Homelessness prevention and support – ‘playing our part’
Great Places is proud to play a lead role in the regional and national ambition to end homelessness and rough sleeping by making these experiences rare, brief and non-recurring. As an organisation that has been at the forefront of tackling homelessness for many years, we have seen first-hand the difference that safe, secure housing and tailored support can make to people’s lives.
Our profile as a key provider in tackling homelessness has been catalysed by our role as the accountable body of the Greater Manchester Housing First and Rough Sleepers Accommodation programme. Over the last 8 years we have successfully led a cross sectoral partnership of 11 different organisations working together to deliver Housing First across the Greater Manchester region.
To date the partnership has supported over 465 people who had experienced long-term homelessness and faced multiple exclusion into homes of their own, giving them the stability and support needed to rebuild their lives making it the largest programme of Housing First delivery in this country.
Housing First is based in the ethos that housing is a human right and provides a stable home in the first instance coupled with intensive tailored support enabling people that have experienced long-term housing instability to address wider challenges they are facing enabling recovery.
Supporting people that have experienced entrenched homelessness into homes of their own not only has a huge cost saving to wider public services it has a real human impact helping people to rebuild their lives and reconnect with family, with one Housing First customer stating:
“What they do is incredible. These are the people you want in your corner. They don’t shout their name enough. They are very good at giving your life back.”
Organisationally our impact on homelessness is broad and demonstrates our ongoing commitment to playing our part in preventing and resolving homelessness in our communities.
During 2025/26 we:
Made homelessness brief
Ensured people experiencing homelessness had access to safe, decent and secure homes with 536 of our 1,836 completed lets made to households assessed by a Local Authority as homeless. This represents 29.2% of all lets made across our general and supported housing stock during the year.
We made sure people had access to support quickly via our Achieve service by facilitating 257 housing advice outreach sessions across Salford, Bolton, Trafford and Bury.
Made homelessness rare through prevention
Using our profit for purpose approach, we internally fund a Tenancy Coach service that works with customers living in our general needs properties who may be at risk of losing their home, offering practical help before issues become a crisis. You can read more about our Tenancy Coaches and the impact that they had in 2025/26 in the Tenancy Sustainment section above.
Our Financial Resilience Team helps customers increase their income, manage debt and deal with rising living costs. This includes access to essential items through the House to Home project, and food and fuel vouchers through the Household Assistance project. In the last year:
- We secured over £214k in additional income for customers
- 850 customers benefited from support funds worth £150k
By focusing on practical help and early intervention, we continue to prevent homelessness by supporting customers through financial challenges helping them to stay in safe, stable homes.
Ensured homelessness is non-recurring
No one should have to experience homelessness more than once in their life and our organisational approach to providing tailored support to our customers supports this ambition.
In our Independence and Wellbeing department the teams provide commissioned support aligned to our framework that was co-produced with people who have lived experienced of homelessness. Our person-centred approach recognises the trauma that people in our services have experienced and provides bespoke support based on individual need. Our approach strives to ensure that people never leave our services and return to rough sleeping. Over the last year we have:
- Provided 22 accommodation projects for temporary supported housing comprising of 326 homes
- Provided a service to 479 customers with 161 customers positively moving on
Housing First provides long-term support to people who have experienced multiple and complex issues and for who no other intervention has been able to resolve their long-term homelessness recognising that recovery for people who have faced complex trauma takes time. Currently on the programme 133 people have successfully maintained their homes for over 3 years, which is significant considering 80% of people being supported by the programme have co-occurring conditions experiencing both mental health and substance misuse issues.
Lobbied for wider impact
Along with direct delivery Great Places has a wider impact on striving to support the end of homelessness via influencing and lobbying regional and national strategies.
Greater Manchester’s Housing First city region mission positioned by then Mayor Andy Burnham is based on learning from the successful delivery of the GM Housing First programme led by Great Places and now as Prime Minister his commitment to a Housing First ethos at a national level continues.
Housing First is also viewed as a key example of the regional ‘Enhanced Live Well Offer’ being developed under this agenda in Greater Manchester with learning from the programme feeding directly into the development of the wider offer.
Earlier this year, when he was Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy visited The Docherty Project in Rusholme, our award-winning supported accommodation service for people experiencing homelessness and alcohol dependency. The visit highlighted something we’ve long understood: when safe housing, specialist support and strong partnerships come together, people can achieve remarkable things.
