“I feel much more comfortable in my home” – Emma’s Story

54-year-old Emma from Denton has been through an extraordinary amount in a short space of time. After suffering two strokes, she found herself facing significant health challenges alongside difficulties with her employer at a time when she needed support the most.

Following her first stroke, Emma’s employer was encouraging her to return to work despite medical advice that she needed more time to recover. Following advise from a mental health charity, Emma began working with Groundwork’s IPS Advisor, Tom, who provides in-work support for people with health conditions. His role typically involves helping employees and employers work together effectively, resolving workplace issues and ensuring reasonable adjustments can be made where needed.

However, by the time Tom met with Emma, she had suffered a second stroke and was no longer able to work. Recognising that her situation was more complex than a typical return-to-work case, Tom connected Emma with legal advisors and stroke survivor charities to ensure she understood her rights and had access to the specialist support she needed.

Unfortunately, the issues with her employer were severe enough that returning to her previous role was no longer a realistic option. Instead, Tom worked with Emma to rebuild her confidence and prepare for future opportunities when she feels ready, including updating her CV and helping her look ahead to the next stage of her journey.

During his work with Emma, Tom became aware that she was also struggling with rising energy costs. Following her strokes, Emma feels the cold more than most, making it essential that her home remains warm and comfortable to support her recovery. Tom therefore introduced her to Groundwork’s Green Doctor service for additional support.

Meeting Emma in her home, Green Doctor Josh discussed her concerns and contacted her energy provider on her behalf. Together they agreed that a fixed-rate tariff would be the best option, giving Emma peace of mind over what she will be paying for the next 12 months.

Josh was also able to provide a range of practical energy-saving measures to help Emma stay warm while reducing her energy use overall. He provided an electric blanket, fitted radiator foils and replaced old halogen lightbulbs with energy-saving LEDs to make the property more efficient.

Emma also had concerns about her boiler, which had been playing up at times, so we arranged for a gas engineer to visit and carry out a safety check, providing her with additional reassurance. Our team also conducted an EPC assessment of her property to understand whether she may be eligible for retrofit measures in the future.

While Emma did not receive the support from her employer that she deserved, Groundwork was able to provide practical help, guidance and advocacy across multiple areas of her life during a particularly difficult period.

Emma was delighted with the support she received and is already feeling more comfortable in her home thanks to her new electric blanket.

She described the service as “11/10”.