Hi, my name is bridha72! I need some help with food and energy vouchers

bridha72

Hi I am a female living alone after a very bad marriage .  I left my husband as he was very controlling.  Have two groen ip children birth graduated and working.  I can work due to my disability and also suffering from long covidbsince July 2021.  Life is very different now allibseem to do now is sleep and rest with my eyes closed as the headache is so painful and the body aches and nausea and shirtness if breath. Waiting to be seen at the long covid clinics.   I need sonebhelp with food and energy vouchers as I am always cold.  Many thanks.

bg844

Hi. 

I’m sorry to hear of your situation, there are schemes to help you depending on your situation. One of which is something called the ‘Household Support Fund’ which is administered by your local authority. This can help you in the short term, I am sure members will further add but the Government are really pushing this out during the cost of living crisis. Try checking to make sure you are claiming the right support too but for the HSF see here (this is a link that takes you to a random council but it’ll be similar to yours):

https://www.coventry.gov.uk/council-tax-benefits/household-support-fund

Tori_Scope

Welcome to the community @bridha72 It's great to have you on board! Thank you for joining, and for being so open and honest in your first post here. 

I agree that it sounds as though things must be pretty challenging for you right now. 

I need sonebhelp with food and energy vouchers as I am always cold.  Many thanks.

You may want to get in touch with our Disability Energy Support service to see if they can help you in regards to energy bills. 

You may also find our page on getting help with your energy bills helpful to read.

In regards to help with food, we have a page on free food and foodbanks that I'd encourage you to read.

Is your GP aware of the fact that you need some help with food at the moment? 

I can work due to my disability

Just to clarify, do you mean that you can work, or that you can't work at the moment? 

Are you claiming all of the benefits to which you're entitled? If you're not sure what you may be eligible to claim, you could try using an online benefits calculator (Turn2Us).

Have you had a needs assessment from your local authority? If you haven't, it might be something to consider. You can find out how to refer yourself for a needs assessment on this NHS page. If this isn't something you feel able to do at the moment, please just let us know.

Life is very different now allibseem to do now is sleep and rest with my eyes closed as the headache is so painful and the body aches and nausea and shirtness if breath. Waiting to be seen at the long covid clinics.

Have you spoken to your GP recently about how much your physical symptoms have been affecting you? Have they given you any treatments to help you manage while you're waiting to be seen by the Long COVID clinic? 

Are your children able to offer you emotional and practical support?

Hi I am a female living alone after a very bad marriage .  I left my husband as he was very controlling

I'm really sorry to hear this. Do you mind me asking whether you reported your ex husband at the time? Are you now safe from your ex husband? 

Have you been receiving any support to help you process what happened to you? Please remember that the following organisations are there to support you if you need them:

• Victim Support: call 08 08 16 89 111, or use their live web chat
• Refuge: call 0808 2000 247, or use their live web chat
• Respect Men's Advice Line (for men): call 0808 8010327, or email them at info@mensadviceline.org.uk
• Getting help for domestic abuse (gov.uk)

I hope that the community can be a positive source of support for you moving forwards

Ross_Alumni

Hello @bridha72

A belated welcome to the community from me too I just wanted to drop in to check in with you, and to see if you had chance to see Tori's reply above? Do let us know if there is anything we can do to support you, or if you have any further questions.