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Turn2Us: Connect SMS-based peer support app
Claiming means-tested benefits in the UK is a difficult process: the system can be complex and often confusing. There are endless hoops to jump through, and if you have dependents, live in poverty, or suffer from an illness, there is little time or energy to fill in countless forms. The welfare system can also be hostile, and remains riddled with stigma.
It is this environment that has prompted some people to avoid claiming benefits altogether. According to figures from the charity Turn2Us, which provides practical help to people struggling financially, more than £17bn of means-tested benefits were left unclaimed in Great Britain in 2016-17.
The charity has seen firsthand just how important it is to help people access practical and emotional support to apply for benefits. It created an online benefits calculator to help people on low incomes identify welfare support they are entitled to. It was a huge success, and was used more than 2m times in 2018. So the charity decided to take it a step further. Together with a digital partner, Reason Digital, the charity developed an SMS messaging service to help people successfully apply for welfare support. Called Connect, it allows service users to access information about their entitlements, along with step-by-step advice from a trained digital volunteer on what to do next.
Users only need a mobile phone in order to access the service. All they have to do is send a text message to a special Turn2Us number and they are connected to a peer-support “digital buddy”. “You don’t have to have internet access, and you don’t have to be very confident using the internet either,” says Debby Mulling, Turn2Us head of engagement. “We’re essentially offering a virtual hand to hold to those who need it.”
So far this year the SMS service has supported 160 people with just 11 volunteers. Turn2Us says that in successful cases users can secure an average benefits increase per household of £2,600 a year.
Mulling says the charity is passionate about helping people understand benefit form questions – especially the more complicated ones – and be able to access vital information. “We work with a wide range of people, whether it’s a parent, or a person who’s found [themselves] recently redundant – their lives can be complex and chaotic,” she says. “So one thing the volunteers also do is share information about other charities and services so that they can be helped with other needs beyond just applying for benefits.”
The Connect service brings real-life impact. Jonathan, a man who has moderate learning difficulties, felt he had been left abandoned after delays with his online claim for universal credit.
He contacted Turn2Us, and through Connect, his online volunteer adviser Laura arranged an emergency food bank delivery, and linked him up with another local charity which arranged for a £60 energy credit for heat and light. Finally, Jonathan was also put in touch with a specialist local welfare adviser who immediately took his case up with the Department for Work and Pensions to speed up payment.
The volunteering side of the service is innovative, too. The trained online volunteers have lived experience of claiming benefits and offer practical peer-to-peer support, helping people to build confidence.
Turn2Us now hopes to scale up Connect and is keen for other organisations to be able to use the same SMS format, and benefit from the same type of direct digital dialogue. But beyond all else, the charity is committed to keep building new ways to encourage people to overcome the barriers in claiming benefits.
Digital innovation runners-up
Most high street stores run some kind of special offer, whether it is buy one get one free or “sign up for triple points”. The charity WDP had that kind of incentive scheme in mind when creating its capital card.
Capital card is a loyalty scheme for people battling addiction. Service users build up points by taking part in recovery-related activities. There is no cash reward; instead users build virtual points to use on a wide range of local, recovery-focused opportunities that encourage them to lead a healthier, more active life. Rewards include access to gyms, cinemas, adult learning courses and sports events.
Since 2017, nearly 6,000 service users have taken up one of the cards, and between them have earned more than 1m points. The impact has been huge. Research for WDP found that the card is associated with a 50% increased likelihood of service users successfully completing treatment.
Manish Nanda, joint chief executive officer at WDP, says the card is not a handout but rather a reward for taking steps to reintegrate into society. “We’re seeing life-changing things happen,” he says. “One service user had been estranged from family for years, but wanted to see his mum. He engaged in our recovery activities, and built up his points. And when it was mothers’ day, he’d earned enough points to take his mum to the cinema. This may seem small to some people, but even though he has an addiction, he was able to take steps to help rebuild their relationship.”
University hospitals Birmingham NHS foundation trust: network of on-call referral services (Norse) tool
Working long shifts in a busy hospital can be tiring and chaotic. It can be particularly difficult for nurses and doctors to stay on top of patient referrals – especially when using phone or email, which can sometimes lead to duplications, delays and misunderstandings.
So the University hospitals Birmingham NHS foundation trust decided to set up an online emergency referral tool, to improve the process of referring emergency patients from trusts into the city’s Queen Elizabeth hospital.
Designed by clinicians, the network of on-call referral services (Norse) tool streamlines the referral process, making it easier for clinical staff to access and understand. The online system creates a simple form detailing the patient’s needs, and asks only for relevant information.
Many similar hospital forms have been too generic and clunky. Making the form user-friendly has been key to its success. The data-protected form also allows appropriate NHS staff to share, update and review details as necessary. Users report marked improvements in response time, quality of patient care, and quality of information communicated.
Norse project manager Gael Stephenson says the new system has halved the time for responding to patients. “When it’s life-threatening, it helps with the speed of critical cases. We’re not pushing it yet outside the trust – but already, doctors are coming to us saying they’ve heard great things about Norse.”