Turn2us Connect

We know that millions of pounds worth of welfare benefits go unclaimed every year, despite 1 in 5 of the UK population living in poverty. We thought that more people would feel motivated to claim if they had someone to provide practical information and emotional support.

We did this through an SMS-support service, where an individual matched with a trained volunteer after using the Turn2us Benefits Calculator.

To keep the pilot project simple, we only opened it up to Universal Credit applicants. 

The applicant only needed a mobile phone to be able to send and receive text messages, while the volunteer used an app built by Reason Digital, so that no numbers were shared.

In February 2020 we paused the Connect project to evaluate the impact it had on increasing application rates to Universal Credit. 

Connect users were more likely to apply for Universal Credit than those who had not been matched with a volunteer

• 74% of Connect users applied to Universal Credit, compared to 64% of users of the Turn2us Benefits Calculator. 

People appreciated having one point of contact

• The SMS model enabled people to speak to one person throughout the application journey
• The service users had control over if and when they responded.

The volunteers were a source of emotional support

• Connect users were experiencing high levels of stress when completing the calculator
• Users were able to get emotional support
• After the conversation, their life satisfaction rates and anxiety levels improved.

The volunteering model encouraged more volunteers with first hand experience of financial difficulties

• Many Connect volunteers had personal experience of applying for benefits and experiencing financial hardship. For them, it was an opportunity to give back and develop their skills.

Listen to a Connect user explain the difference the service made to them

The service was very expensive to run

• The service was very intensive because of the training needed of volunteers and the need for staff to monitor conversations
• The benefits to users were close to the costs to run the service.

The model was too restricted to meet the demand

• Between March 2019 and February 2020, only 189 people used the service. However, from the Turn2us Benefits Calculator we know that over 1,300 users a day would have been eligible for the service.
• We did not have capacity to take on more volunteers and service users.

It became clear that we needed to look for another model which would enable us to scale up. 

The insights highlighted the mental stress people experience when applying for Universal Credit, and the extent that they valued the emotional support.

We assessed alternative options which could provide this support to thousands of people, including existing services such as the Turn2us helpline. 

We decided that we should:

• Retire the Connect service because it was not able to meet demand
• More robustly and consistently incorporate emotional support into our existing services
• Look into the demand for and feasibility of an online group for people applying to Universal Credit.
   

If you would like more information about the Connect project please contact Aisling Buckley at aisling.buckley@turn2us.org.uk

If you would like to collaborate with Turn2us to provide emotional support to people in financial hardship, please contact Sonya Ruparel at sonya.ruparel@turn2us.org.uk