financial support for disabled people

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happyfella
happyfella Online Community Member Posts: 519 Empowering
in Benefits and income
My sister who suffers from serious COPD and who has been rushed into hospital at east six times in the past 12 months was talking to me about how clueless she is about the help that is available for her. She has searched online to see what is available for her to make life a lot easier and said that she has struggled to find the information and that got me thinking. It is hard to find out everything that is available, and i am not just talking about claiming PIP.

She lives in a council house so that is taken care of and she receives a mobility car because she is on enhanced for both. She wont claim council tax rebate because she says it is complicated, and i have to admit, the process is very confusing as even I have given up.

But what she was talking about what all the benefits that she could receive and help outside of benefits like cold weather payment, help with electric bills and gas bills, and other help out there that we don't think of. She currently sleeps in her lounge as she has trouble climbing the stairs. SHe has a downstairs toilet but when she needs a bath she gets carried upstairs. The council have been really good, they are looking at either putting in a stair lift or some sort of lift that goes from her lounge to her bedroom.

So, what I am getting at, what other help is out there, no matter how silly it may seem. It would be good for those people like my sister in law who are finding it hard to see what help is out there to go on a page like this and see everything that is available and how to apply. That includes things like a rail card and other things

Comments

  • Cher_Alumni
    Cher_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 5,714 Championing
    edited January 2021
    Hello @happyfella

    Scope's website contains various webpages that can help around available discounts.  Some of these include:
    Whilst, I'd also encourage your sister to claim for benefits she is entitled to as they are designed to support her.  To check her eligibility, she can use this benefits calculator and if she is having any problems filling in application forms, the friendly staff at Scope's helpline will gladly talk her through it.  The helpline number is: 0808 800 3333.

    I hope that helps!
  • janer1967
    janer1967 Online Community Member Posts: 21,922 Championing
    I would suggest either welfare rights or citizens advice 

    I agree it is hard to know exactly what you can and cant get and I found it hard when becoming disabled with no help or support to help me sort out everything 

    I think there should be a service attached to maybe nhs where they can flag up new disabled people to an advisor who can help 
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,463 Championing
    It can be confusing yes and even more so for those that don't have internet access and some people don't. I always find google useful and this is exactly how i done all my research regarding my benefits knowledge on top of my own personal experience but it can all be very daunting.

    Council tax reduction can be claimed from your local council online. Local council also have an advisor that will support a person through a benefits claim. Although during the pandemic i would imagine that this would be done through telephone appointments, rather than home visits.

    Cold weather payment isn't something you can claim yourself. It's automatically paid if you qualify. These payments of £25 are triggered when the temperature falls to zero or below for 7 consecutive days. See link. https://www.gov.uk/cold-weather-payment

    In my area i had 3 last year but none so far this year, although i do know that some areas have had them since this winter began.

    For energy bills like gas there's the warm home discount, which gives £140 towards your gas but applications for this are likely closed now and 2020/21 was the last year for these sadly.

    For your water, there's the water sure scheme. You myst be claiming certain benefits and have specific health conditions to be eligible for this. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/water/water-supply/problems-with-paying-your-water-bill/watersure-scheme-help-with-paying-water-bills/

    For a benefits check there are local advice agencies that can help with this. Very difficult to give this level of advice on an internet forum because no one knows all of her personal circumstances.

    Hope this helps a little.




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