A Wellhouse Housing Association (WHA) income advice officer has secured over £2.4 million in financial gains through their work in advocacy and income maximisation.

Laura Reilly, who joined the Association in 2018, is credited with helping more than 420 residents in the north-east Glasgow area with benefits and debt-related issues by determining all the payments they are entitled to.

For one tenant, her hard work resulted in successfully overturning their son’s Personal Independence Payment and Carer’s Allowance application rejection. The tenant will also receive their own disability premiums that leave the family £2,200 better off every month.

In another case, Laura helped a tenant secure a housing benefit refund of more than £4,000 and for them to continue receiving housing support payments. Laura’s work also sees a Wellhouse resident’s income increase by £291.17 every month after having their Universal Credit allowance reassessed to include disability and carer payments,

Fuel poverty remains a significant financial issue in Scotland where one in every three people struggle to pay energy bills. Thankfully, Laura’s expertise in this area led to a local renter having a £4,000 energy debt written off though back billing adjustments and grants.

Despite Laura’s success, WHA chair Darron Brown knows that many more tenants could benefit from the service and is urging them to get in touch with Laura to see how she can help.

He said: “We understand that the benefit system can be complex and challenging so our income advice service is a real lifeline for so many of Wellhouse’s residents. In Laura we have the hardest working and most dedicated income advice officer in Scotland who is delivering a vital service to our tenants.

“Securing £2.4m worth of welfare money over two years is no easy task and I hope Laura’s success will encourage more people to come forward and benefit from her expertise and knowledge.”

Laura’s funding know-how also extends to submitting impeccable grant applications, where in June she secured a £2000 grant from the STV Children’s appeal and National Emergencies Trust Campaign to support local people in crisis during the coronavirus outbreak with food parcels and fuel top ups.

Laura Reilly said: “I am proud that I have been able to provide a much-needed service for our tenants, particularly with fuel debt and fuel grants, and it is important to me that I help as many people as possible to secure what they are entitled to.

“It can be a daunting process, but I can help throughout the process from form filling, applying for crisis support to providing guidance on appeals.”