More than 2.5 million households in the U.K. are experiencing fuel poverty, being forced to choose between eating and heating. Community charity Groundwork’s flagship fuel poverty relief programme is called The Green Doctors, and it’s designed to help the most vulnerable households save energy, stay warm and reduce their energy bills. They provide a crucial lifeline to many U.K. households, and as the cost of living surges, so does the demand for their service.
“We are incredibly proud to make a donation to enable Groundwork to expand and enhance its Green Doctor programme,” says Hannah Baines, Avison Young U.K.’s Community and Charity Manager.
“In 2023, with the help of supporters like us, Groundwork was able to upskill their advisors across a range of U.K. regions, expand their service into new areas and reach more vulnerable people. Overall, broadening the services that the Green Doctors can provide during home visits,” she adds proudly.
Highlights:
Nine staff trained as Domestic Energy Assessors
Five staff achieved City & Guilds Level 3 in Energy Awareness.
Nine Green Doctors completed Retrofit Assessor training.
Green Doctors visit people in their homes, provide remote support (by telephone and online) attend community events, deliver energy efficiency advice, promote behavior change, and install energy-saving and warm home measures. Some of the services offered by the Green Doctors include identifying causes of heat loss in the home, helping to identify and tackle damp or mould problems, offering useful tips for saving energy, installing small energy efficiency measures, such as draft excluders and supporting people to switch energy providers to save money.
“The support from Avison Young was one of the most strategically important donations we had into Green Doctor in 2023. The focus on our staff base, helping us to upskill our community officers to deliver Green Doctor, and helping Green Doctors to achieve higher levels at Domestic Energy Assessor and Retrofit Assessor/Coordinator grades has been absolutely invaluable to us as an organization. It has increased our confidence to be able to provide a deeper level of service and support to our beneficiaries and is leading us into interesting new territories around retrofit programmes.” Joe McIndoe, Partnerships Manager, Groundwork
For more information on Groundwork’s Green Doctor programme, together with tips and advice on keeping your home warm this winter, visit http://www.groundwork.org.uk/
“The support from Avison Young was one of the most strategically important donations we had into Green Doctor in 2023.”Joe McIndoe, Partnerships Manager, Groundwork
Meet Jack Holmes, Avison Young Green Doctor programme beneficiary
Jack, 27, is one of the fortunate beneficiaries of Avison Young funding that enabled him to realise a Green Doctor career with Groundwork West Midlands.
How’d Jack get there?
After completing a master’s degree at university in environmental sustainability, Jack joined Groundwork in the summer of 2021 through their Kickstart programme, which focuses on helping young people develop the critical skills needed for a new green economy.
Through this programme, Jack worked with the land team at country parks near Stoke, and also supported the Green Doctor project and project manager Dean with related administration tasks.
This exposure left such a positive impression that when funding to train as a Green Doctor job came up, Jack saw it as an apt opportunity to continuing making impact - applying his skills and background in the energy sector directly to fruitful and satisfying work helping people and communities.
What kinds of specialized training did Jack gain access to?
Key to the program, Avison Young helped provide opportunities for Green Doctor instruction, beginning with technical training in Fuel Poverty Awareness, which covered advice provision and the energy saving methods needed to get started.
Jack was also trained in Energy Performance Certificates, basic energy assessments and retrofit assessments which would allow him to deliver a wider range of techniques to help organisations as well as people in households with their needs.
Other topics of training included learning about damp and mold, financial assistance and fuel debt, which are frequently mentioned on phone calls and home visits. This provided Jack with the right tools and knowledge to be able to apply his learning and work in the field.
The best part of a Green Doctor job like Jack’s?
Being able to work through a big billing or energy issue from start to finish to achieve a successful outcome for someone who really needs it.
Take Jack’s one client, for example, who was suffering from thousands of pounds of debt and meter readings that had been carried out incorrectly for years.
Enter Green Doctor Jack who not only managed to wipe the debt away but was also able to find a way to get them a positive credit on their account.
