Case Study: Safeguarding tenants through “speak up” software

Anonymous reporting encourages people to raise concerns, complaints and ideas without revealing their identity. Through a safeguarding mechanism such as Elker, we seek to ensure tenant’s right to live with choice and control in a safe environment, mitigating risks by enabling early issue detection through anonymous reporting and promoting a safe and responsive setting for tenants.

Elker is a safeguarding and “speak up” software designed to keep residents safe by ensuring that issues have early visibility and can be resolved as soon as possible. The implementation is still in its infancy. As the portfolio scales, we will continue the rollout of Elker across dwellings to play an important role in safeguarding tenants from potential risks of abuse and neglect. Some anonymous comments received from tenants, their families and support workers who are currently using or about to use Elker, support this:

• “I like that it is broader than emergency.”
• “I like the ability to report anonymously specially if you know a person.”
• “Having the tool is powerful because more communication in general is good.”

A bespoke use case of Elker was commissioned by Enliven to provide safeguarding for tenants. The platform is available through multiple interfaces, such as tablets at an SDA house, a QR code available on a poster in the kitchen and each room, and an app. It provides a pathway for anyone to anonymously raise an issue or provide a suggestion about the home to a number of various organisations nominated by both the SDA provider and an independent organisation. We expect this to play an important primary role in helping to safeguard tenants from potential risk of abuse or neglect. This could extend to a tenant or their family raising positive or negative feedback about the features of the home or an issue with other tenants. The residents’ carers and families that have been introduced to the system and have provided supportive feedback of the open and transparent nature of Enliven and its SDA Partners. Even if feedback is provided anonymously, users can still engage in a two-way chat with the nominated or independent organisation. SDA partners can also use Elker for surveys to engage with tenants.

After a successful trial the rollout of Elker to Enliven properties has officially begun, starting with the apartments located in Brunswick, Melbourne.