Overcoming the Language Barrier

We were recently visited by a mother and young daughter at one of our hubs as the family faced multiple challenges. The mother did not speak english and was using her daughter as an interpreter which was not ideal due to her very young age.

One of our team recognised the accent and tried to arrange for an interpreter but our usual provider could not be reached. We could tell the family were struggling financially and through the daughter we learnt they had recently moved into the area and lacked essential furniture and were struggling to pay for their housing.

To meet their immediate need for furniture we made an application for essential living funds. But to determine what support would be available to help with their rent, we needed to complete a benefits assessment. It became clear that their universal credit had been sanctioned. We established that the non-compliance stemmed from the language barrier, as all of the journal messages she received were in english.

We worked in partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) located within our service hub. We were able to get a same day appointment and ensured they would have the correct translation service available.

After the meeting with DWP, the family returned to our hub to let us know her benefit issues had been resolved and she thanked our team for their support and understanding.