Opera singer Wills Morgan gets his life back on track with an audition at ENO, partly thanks to help from Genesis Community's Financial Inclusion Officer.

The festive season can be stressful for anyone but, as it approaches, Bob Butler, Financial Inclusion Officer at Genesis Community, the charitable arm of Genesis Housing Group, draws attention to an in-house 'financial inclusion' service available to all Genesis' residents, particularly the more vulnerable. One of his clients was vulnerable, but has a particularly interesting story. Bob Butler here explains how he helps people get their lives back on track with financial advice.

"People who are financially excluded are those going through a monetary crisis. It is often brought about by an unplanned life change caused by illness, loss of a partner or their livelihood.

Just last week I had a catch-up meeting with one of my more unusual clients, Wills Morgan, a professional opera singer with an Olivier award, who also had a starring role in Jerry Springer: The Opera. As a black opera singer playing the controversial character called Jesus in the Show, the experience of facing an angry crowd of demonstrators shaking their fists at him outside the theatre each evening, along with the death of his mother, led to him having a breakdown. Soon after that he became unemployed and fell into financial destitution and homelessness.

"A residents' joy at finally reaching the top of the housing list might be short-lived when they have to find the funds to fill their nice but empty property with furniture,
carpeting and white goods", he continues.

"They may have fallen at the first hurdle of trying to open an account with a high street bank because they do not have a passport or driving licence and, as they pay for utilities by putting money on card meters, no utility bills either.

Although my services are on offer at tenancy sign-up, it's often not until myriad problems, such as unpaid credit card bills, catalogue debts and large overdrafts, crop up. I help the tenant find a solution.

I often first have to persuade rent officers not to evict my client by submitting an accurate financial statement and by placing non-priority debt on the backburner. Rent collectors have heard it all before and I can only do so much, but I am here to bring both sides together amicably, avoiding costly court action.

There are no professional qualifications for my job yet. It's a fairly new field of expertise though I'm studying for an NVQ Level 4 in Advice and Guidance which may help but I'm not sure that, when a Financial Inclusion qualification arrives, the degree would actually improve my performance.

I joined Genesis Housing Group four years ago as part of a DWP-sponsored scheme to encourage and assist our residents to join the wonderful world of banking. The debt counselling followed on close behind, after 18 months day release volunteering as a money adviser at the Citizens Advice Bureau in Essex.

When a creditor reads my customised pro-forma letters, they learn that there are no assets for them to pursue. As long as a debtor sticks to the agreed offer of token payments (which, in over 80% of cases - when the debt collectors bother to reply - are accepted), then those stress-inducing phone calls and letters will stop for a while, until a fresh agreement is sought.

I'm increasingly working in partnership with charities to try and get a client on a social tariff with a utility company. There is a wonderful charity called W4B that has provided televisions and radios to some of my clients, and even paid for their first years' TV licence into the bargain.

After an initial consultation with Wills Morgan and a chat with his Tax Adviser, Amanda, I discovered that Wills owed a substantial sum of money to HM Revenue and Customs in tax and fines imposed as punishment for not submitting tax returns. Amanda is a musician herself and understands only too well the trials and tribulations of an artiste who can be at the top of his profession one minute, earning good money on the West End stage, and then be out of work, homeless and in debt the next. It says a lot about Wills' charm that Amanda is willing to forgo her fees in order to help her client stay out of trouble. My offer to HMRC of modest monthly payments by Wills was accepted, as were offers made to other creditors. I am confident Wills will stick to his side of the bargain and keep up his repayments.

Wills' determination to help himself up from a downward spiral, along with some financial help from me, meant that I wasn't surprised to hear that he'd been for an audition with the ENO at the Coliseum in London this week."

Wills' financial worries are similar to many of my clients'. Far and away the best part of the job is meeting and hopefully making an improvement to the lives of a hugely diverse group of people. While my habit of causing a large number of people to burst into floods of tears after our first exploratory debt session is still quite unnerving, I now recognise it simply as the sound of someone finally facing up to their problems and doing something about it."

Wills Morgan says "All kinds of people can get into all kinds of trouble, especially in a big city like London.

Although I had an Olivier award, once I was unemployed, no one remembered me, just the character I played. Added to that I am mildly autistic and I found myself sleeping along the Grand Union Canal for two months before getting connected to the wonderful partnerships and services working together to help people in my situation. Genesis Community was one of them and I take my hat off to the financial inclusion help I obtained from Bob - it has helped me change my life around."

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Photo captions: Bob Butler; Bob Butler and Wills Morgan

For more case studies, photographs, or further information on Genesis Housing Group, or Genesis Community, please contact Diana Evans on 020 7563 0028 / email diana.evans@ghg.org.uk.

For financial help, including setting up a basic bank account, accessing furniture through a furniture re-use scheme, or money management support (help with managing personal debts and/or rent arrears, and debt prevention) - contact Bob Butler on: 0208 548 2164 or 07740 022486 or email him at rbutler@springboardha.org.uk. All services are offered in full confidentiality and can be offered over the phone, by post or via email

Notes to editors

Genesis Housing Group provides homes and services to tens of thousands of people across London and the south east. The Group consists of PCHA, Pathmeads and Springboard housing associations. It also has a charitable foundation, Genesis Community, and is one of the largest and most diverse housing groups in the UK. Genesis Housing Group owns and/or manages more than 40,000 homes across London and the south east. Its overiding aim is to put customers first and provide excellent service to all.

Genesis Community was set up in 2005 by Genesis Housing Group. It is a charitable foundation created to fulfil Genesis Housing Group's commitments to address the challenges of deprivation and social exclusion in disadvantaged areas. Projects delivered by Genesis Community focus on the key themes of young people, vulnerable and elderly people, safer communities, financial inclusion and training and employment.