It might be an old cliche to say, but Halton Housing isn’t Halton Housing without the fantastic people who work within our many departments and roles. From finance to environmental services, planning and customer services, every day our people work hard to help us achieve our vision of Improving People’s Lives across Halton and beyond.  

Someone who knows what it’s really like to make a difference at Halton Housing, is Head of Neighbourhoods, Amanda Hogarty who has been inspiring our customers and colleagues over an incredible 35-year career with us. 

Amanda has been with Halton Housing since the stock was transferred from Halton Borough Council in 2005, having previously worked within their housing department, her unrivalled knowledge of our customers and communities has been built up over her career history in a wide range of demanding roles which has seen Amanda support our most vulnerable customers. 

We managed to catch up with Amanda to ask her a few questions about what a career in Housing is really like, and what she would say to anyone thinking about starting their own journey into housing. 

What originally drew you to Housing? 

As many people do, I fell into Housing, after working on the cash desk at Runcorn Town Hall. The then Area Team were looking for support for the garages admin, and I was seconded to assist. I loved it, and never left! 

Can you describe your career progression and some of the major roles you've held over the years? 

So many! I started in Community Services, as Leisure Attendant, then moved over to work in the Community Centres, then on to the cash desk, and then Housing. I spent a lot of my career in the Debt Recovery Team. That was a difficult job, but gave me the opportunity to help and support people who were finding it difficult to pay their rent. This then led me to a Housing Officer role, which I did for a couple of years. The Tenancy Support Team was developed in 2011, and I moved over there to be a Tenancy Support Officer (TSO). I absolutely loved that role - on the front line, supporting our customers every day, and making a difference in their lives. My passion has always been to be an advocate for survivors of domestic abuse (DA). The TSO role allowed me to do just that, safeguarding our customers who had experienced DA and supporting them to move on with their lives. I then managed the TSO team, before moving on to the Neighbourhood Manager role in 2020, and then to Head of Neighbourhoods in 2022.  

Safeguarding, safety and support are always at the top of my list for our customers. 

What has motivated you to stay for 35 years? 

I would say it’s the variety. No two days are ever the same. 

Also, it’s the people. We really are like a family at HH. We do a tough job, but we always look out for each other. 

What have been your highlights and why? 

Highlights have been, the TSO team being a finalist in Support Team of the year at the Housing Heroes awards, and being a finalist in Woman of the Year at the 2022 Housing Heroes awards. 2020 saw us bring back the Neighourhood Officer, following us moving to specialist teams in 2015. This was a great experience, as it brought all of the teams I am passionate about under the same umbrella. Seeing that team come together, and work for the better of our customers, makes me proud.  Each one of the teams goes above and beyond for every customer they come into contact with. I am currently responsible for the Neighbourhoods Team, Allocations Team (PPP), Welfare, Benefits and Money Advice Team, and the Legal team. Each and every one of us is here for the same purpose, Improving People Lives. We might not always get the results our customers want, but we will try our best to do so. 

What have been some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced, and how did you overcome them? 

The Welfare Reform was huge for us at HH. The impact on our customers was immense, and we needed to act quickly to ensure that anybody affected by the Reform was ok. This meant working with all of those impacted by the Under-Occupation Charge (Bedroom Tax), and the Benefit Cap. It was crucial that the Housing team worked closely with our Welfare team, to support those customers at what was, an uncertain and quite scary time for them. We now have the Managed Migration of Universal Credit happening, so again, it is extremely important that we reach all of those customers who will be migrated from the legacy benefits, to ensure that their income is not disrupted. 

What advice would you give to someone starting out in this industry? 

Give it a go! Housing incorporates so much more than front-line tenancy management. There are some great teams with a housing provider that could provide you with the career that you are looking for. 35 years later, and I'm still loving it!