Keeping in touch Through the Coronavirus crisis Issue 1 Spring 2020

• HELP & SUPPORT PAGE 2 • IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT OUR SERVICES PAGES 3 & 4

Still here for you

WORKING ACROSS: LIVERPOOL I ST HELENS I WARRINGTON

Dear CustomerWe wanted to reassure you that the safety of you, our people and our contractors is our top priority during this uncertain time.

Many of our services have been reduced but the ones you rely on most - like emergency repairs and money advice - are only ever a phone call away.

Our contact centre is still fully operational, with staff working hard from home to answer your queries and offer support.

We know that many of you may be facing financial hardship and the support we offer has never been more important, so our dedicated teams are still available to help you manage your rent payments, access benefits and try to find employment.

Staff in our supported housing and extra care schemes are still working, day in, day out, to make sure our elderly and vulnerable tenants are receiving the best support during this difficult period.

We’re committed to putting you first, acting compassionately and quickly where people are struggling, keeping your homes safe and working to find new and useful ways to help. We’re in this together and we’ll get through this, together. Stay home and keep safe.

Gill Healey Managing Director of Housing

It’s important to follow Government guidelines and observe social distancing by not meeting in groups and keeping at least 2 metres apart. With the good weather it can be tempting to ignore some of the government’s advice, but we are asking that you stick to the guidance, including not gathering in groups in communal garden areas. As a responsible landlord we must reinforce these rules, but we just want to keep you safe. You can find out more about enforcing social distancing on your landlord website. If you have concerns about others breaking the rules let us know or contact the police on their website, Facebook and Twitter.

Stay safe stay home

As information about Coronavirus is being updated regularly, we advise you to keep a close eye on the Government website for all the latest information www.gov.uk/Coronavirus Information in this newsletter is correct at the time of print.

1 Keeping in touch

Keep yourself, your loved ones and your community safe

This is a really difficult time for all of us, but more so for those people who have lost work due to the Coronavirus. The important thing to remember is that there is always help at hand.

Paying your rentWe are continuing to charge rent as normal, which means you need to continue paying any rent that is due. If you are unable to pay your rent in full, you should pay as much as you can to avoid arrears increasing on your account.

Worried about paying your rent?If you cannot pay rent and are worried about falling into arrears because of the impacts of Coronavirus, it is important that you speak to us as soon as possible using the contact details on the following page.

To ensure that people are not evicted during this time, the Government has passed emergency legislation to ensure that people are not evicted during the next three months. They have also introduced new benefits to assist people financially during this difficult time. We realise you may need help from benefits to cover your living and housing costs and may need to make a claim to Universal Credit. We can provide specialist advice on claiming benefits, maximising income and managing debt through our Rents, Benefits and Money Advice teams. We will not charge you any interest or any fees for none payment of rent, but your weekly or monthly rental charge will still show on your statement.

If you are unable to pay your rent in full, paying as much rent as you are able to is better than paying nothing at all. If you fall into arrears, we can agree affordable repayment plans, which would avoid any action being taken in the future.

Universal Credit You can receive up to a month’s advance upfront without physically attending a Jobcentre. The seven waiting days for Employment Support Allowance for new claimants suffering from Coronavirus or required to stay at home will not apply, so it will be payable from day one. You can apply for Universal Credit on:

www.gov.uk/apply-universal-credit0800 328 5644

Help applying for benefits or finding work? Need help? Call our Torus Foundation team (see page 5). Whether you need help making a claim or finding work online, you can contact us. If you’ve made a claim for benefits recently make sure to answer your phone as Jobcentre staff are working around the clock to process claims – including weekends and evenings. They could call from an 0800, unknown, private or unnamed number so please answer the call.

Other Benefits You may be able to apply for help towards your rent like a Discretionary Housing Payment, a Council Tax Reduction or Housing Benefit. Your local council will be able to help with these.

National help and support Our teams are really busy trying to help as many customers as possible. If you can’t reach us, other help is available from:

Money Advice Servicewww.moneyadviceservice.org.uk0800 138 7777

Citizens Advicewww.citizensadvice.org.uk0344 477 2121

Stepchange (Debt advice)www.stepchange.org0800 138 1111

help + support

Keeping in touch 2

CONTACT CENTRE Our offices and receptions are now closed but our contact centre team are working hard from home to keep you connected. Full contact details can be found below.

LIVERPOOL General enquiries 0800 678 1894info@torus.co.ukwww.torus.co.uk/liverpool

Rent enquiriesrentwroutboundteam @torus.co.uk

ST HELENS General enquiries01744 637383onecall@torus.co.ukwww.torus.co.uk/sthelens

Rent enquiriesrent.officers@torus.co.uk

WARRINGTON General enquiries 01925 452452onecall@torus.co.ukwww.torus.co.uk/warrington

Rent enquiriesincome.management @torus.co.uk

IMPORTANT GAS SERVICE We are still legally required to complete gas safety checks. In fact, now more than ever, safe gas appliances are critical. The safety of you and our people is our priority so we will:

• Call you before any appointment to check it’s safe for us to visit

• Cancel any scheduled visit if you or a member of your family has symptoms of Coronavirus

REPAIRSTo reduce the spread of Coronavirus we are now only completing emergency and essential repairs. Examples of emergency repairs:

• Escape of gas or fumes• Electrical fittings in contact with water• Live or bare electric wiring• Sewage overflowing into the home• Uncontrollable leaks• Burst storage tanks, cylinders or pipes• Failure of all lights or all power• Faulty communal fire / smoke alarms sounding• Tenant locked out of the property• Loose or dangerous bricks / roof tiles• Issues with major adaptations e.g. passenger lifts, customer stairlifts.

Examples of essential (urgent) repairs are:

• No heating / hot water• Failure of all communal lighting• Loss of water e.g. failure of cold water tap• Boarding up broken window• Blocked drains• Faulty communal fire / smoke alarms• External door that cannot be locked• Warden call systems• Containable / controlled Leaks• No flush on toilet• Window jammed open• Kitchen / bathroom lights• Repairs to internal doors (for self-isolation purposes only)• Faulty extractor fan• Defective cistern or overflow• Faulty communal aerial

If you need an emergency or essential repair, use the contact details on this page.

STILL HERE FOR YOUImportant information about our services

CONTACT US

We are here for you, despite the current situation, and are continuing to provide many of our ‘essential’ services whilst doing everything we can to keep you, our staff and the wider community safe. Here are some important updates to our services, but you can find out more on your landlord website.

APPLYING FOR A HOME Applications for homes are still being taken but allocations have been suspended until further notice.

COMMUNAL AREA CLEANING Following customer feedback, we made amendments to our communal area cleaning. But to ensure continued safety and hygiene, regular cleaning and outdoor maintenance is essential. Rest assured, we have introduced new health and safety precautions and our staff will be following social distancing measures. If you do see a member of staff please remember to keep your distance.

ENDING A TENANCY We have developed a new temporary process which can be viewed online but you can call us as well.

EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES All scheduled events, activities and face-to-face meetings have been postponed until further notice.

TENANT VOICE We may have postponed community events and activities but you still have a voice. Our tenant voice team is engaging with customers online through Torus Talk.

So have your say and join today. www.facebook.com/groups/TorusTalk

Feeling lonely or isolated? Let us know and a member of our team will be in touch.

when we visit your homeTaking extra steps to keep you safe

We’ve not taken any shortcuts when it comes to keeping you safe and have introduced extra measures. If an HMS Operative visits your home to do an emergency repair or gas safety check, the following process will be followed:

We’ll call you ahead of your appointment to see if it’s safe to enter your home.

If you or anyone you live with is self-isolating or you or has symptoms of Coronavirus, you must let us know. We can then reschedule your appointment.

If we can’t get in touch with you before your appointment, we will attend your home anyway. If you’re self-isolating or displaying symptoms, we won’t enter your home and your appointment will be rescheduled.

If the appointment goes ahead, we’ll keep our distance and stay 2 meters away from you. Alternatively, you needn’t be in the room.

We’ll sanitise our hands before entering and after leaving your property.

We’ll thoroughly clean and disinfect any surfaces we touch before leaving your home.

Our charitable arm, Torus Foundation, is here for you online or over the phone. They’re working with a huge number of partner organisations to give you help and support with:

If you’ve come out of work, our advisors have details of all the latest vacancies in your area, to help you get back in. They’ll also help with CVs, interview techniques and more. Just get in touch.

Need help to make video calls or order groceries online? We can help. Our digital team can take you through the basics by phone, email or Skype.

Your health and wellbeing are so important during this time. If you feel isolated and in need of support let us know and we will try and point you in the right direction.

here to help

EMPLOYMENT ADVICE

STAYING CONNECTED

STAYING HEALTHY AT HOME

If you’re worried about money, get in touch. Our financial team can offer support with managing your budget, applying for Universal Credit, reducing your fuel bills and more.

BUDGETING SUPPORT

0300 123 5809 @torusfoundation

www.torusfoundation.org.uk

info@torusfoundation.org.uk /thetorusfoundation

The team at The Maples kept residents active with an outdoor workout session

HMS lending St Helens Rugby Club a helping hand in distributing

supplies to Whiston Hospital

Get artsy like our team at Parr Mount Court, St Helens

wordsearchBOREDOM BUSTERS

LISTENINGCONNECTEDHELPGASSERVICEHEALTHYNHSRENTSUPPORTRESPECTTORUSWELLBEING

E F A L N H S D Q T W Y I

N F W i J H E L P D Y I I

R G G S G B K B R R O C Z

O R P T A S T O R U S K G

A E H E S U P P O R T E R

S S S N S T B R B R R H H

A P N I E V L F U Q S B L

U E T N R J R H F E T Z Z

Q C A G V T H E A L T H Y

M T O Y I E P C F E Y X P

V O U X C O N N E C T E D

S L H R E N T J X X M Y X

T L P F W E L L B E I N G

staying positiveCONNECT

Discover new ways to communicate with friends and family onlineHelp a neighbourJoin a Facebook group

TAKE NOTICETry some gardeningMeditatePay attention to how you feel

BE ACTIVETry an online workoutClean the house

GIVEGive old friends a callShare happiness by putting art in your windowsLook after others by staying home

LEARNWatch a YouTube tutorial on something that interests youPlay a boardgameCook something newTake up DIY

ways to wellbeing

If you would like support with any of these, contact Torus Foundation

LOCAL SUPPORT

LIVERPOOL ST HELENS WARRINGTON

Torus Liverpool0800 678 1894

Torus Emergency Out of Hours0800 678 1894

Liverpool City Council0151 233 3000

Coronavirus Support0151 233 3066

Raise Benefit Advice0151 291 7850

Liverpool Citizens Support Scheme 0800 456 1523

Citizens Advice Liverpool0344 848 7700

Liverpool Domestic Abuse Service 0151 263 7474

South Liverpool Domestic Abuse Service 0800 083 7114

Torus St Helens01744 637383

Torus Emergency Out of Hours01744 637383

St Helens Council01744 676789

Coronavirus Support01744 676767

Citizens Advice St Helens03448 269 694

Safe2Speak Domestic Abuse Service 01744 743200

Safe2Speak St Helens domestic abuse 24-hours helpline01925 220541

Torus Warrington01925 452452

Torus Emergency Out of Hours01925 452452

Warrington Council 01925 443322

Coronavirus Support01925 443322

Citizens Advice Warrington01925 246994

Warrington Citizens Advice Bureau0300 3309091

Warrington Women’s Aid Refuge domestic abuse helpline 01925 417138

Torus Warrington 24-hour helpline for Warrington tenants to access emergency accommodation because of domestic abuse 01925 220541

GENERAL SUPPORT

Torus Foundation0300 123 5809

Universal Credit Helpline0800 456 1523

Citizens Advice Bureau0344 848 7700

National Debt Line0800 808 4000

Childline0800 1111

Silverline helpline for older people0800 470 8090

Alzheimer’s Society0333 150 3456

Age UK 0300 003 1992

RSPCA Cruelty Line0300 1234 999

Emergency Gas Leaks0800 111 999

Crimestoppers0800 555 111 NHS Advice 111

The Samaritans116 123 Drinkline alcohol helpline0800 917 8282

Talk to Frank drugs helpline 0300 123 6600 Women’s Aid 24-hours domestic abuse 0808 200 0247

Refuge domestic abuse 24-hour 0808 200 0247 National Domestic Violence 24-hour helpline 0808 200 0247 Men’s Advice Line domestic abuse support for men0808 801 0327 Mankind domestic abuse support for men 01823 334244

LGBT Foundationdomestic abuse support 0345 3 30 30 30

Respect advice for people who are abusive / violent towards their partners0808 802 4040

www.torus.co.uk

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@TorusWarrington@TorusStHelens@TorusLiverpool