Stories of survival – the crucial nature of navigating welfare and benefits

Written by Georgina Bowyer, UKSPF Grants Manager with case studies written by Stella Farrell and Steven Campbell, Service Managers at CHAI. 

Within the City of Edinburgh there are a variety of much-needed and well-used advice services serving different areas of the city and focussing on a breadth of issues.  These include problems with accessing benefits, concerns around housing, relationship problems and legal issues including those relating to asylum claims.  It is advice services that often meet people at a point of crisis in their lives, when finding or understanding the right information can be a pivotal point in their essential wellbeing.

In recent months, a new Edinburgh Advice Network has been established, facilitating further connections and a joined-up approach across the sector.  Advice organisations are funded through a variety of local authority and government sources, and part of the current funding landscape in Edinburgh is the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) which supports the Community Help and Advice Initiative (CHAI).  In this blog, we are pleased to share some short case studies from CHAI’s work which highlight the crucial nature of such services.  Names have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals.  To find out more about the Edinburgh Advice Network, you can contact Jo Baldock at joanne.baldock@capitalcitypartnership.org.

 

Katie’s Story

Katie is a 16-year-old student who was referred to the CHAI Advice In Schools Service by the Pupil Wellbeing Team at her High School.  She had been staying with relatives following a relationship breakdown with her mother.  She had no income of her own, so the school requested a benefit check for her.  The school was also concerned about what might happen to Katie if the arrangements with her relatives broke down.  Katie expressed a desire to stay on at school and continue with her education but also talked about getting a job to gain more independence.

 

Katie attended one of the weekly advice sessions that CHAI offers at her school to see if she would be entitled to any assistance.  This area of advice can be quite complex, as most 16-18 year-olds are not eligible for Universal Credit.  However, there are some exceptions to the rule if the young person is doing a course of non-advanced education and is 'without parental support' or a person 'acting in place of a parent'.  After exploring this issue, the CHAI Adviser helped Katie apply for Universal Credit under the criteria relating to her specific circumstances.  Katie’s claim for Universal Credit was successful, resulting in her receiving a monthly award of £293.11 and a financial gain of £3,517 per year.

 

Katie also asked about the process of applying for council housing and wanted to know if she was eligible to do so.  The Advice Worker assisted Katie in completing an Edindex application and referred her for a homelessness assessment at Edinburgh City Council because Katie’s relatives had indicated that her stay with them would be temporary.  Katie was awarded silver priority for homelessness and is on a waiting list to move to supported accommodation, although she continues to stay with her relatives for the time being.

 

Receiving help from CHAI meant that Katie gained some financial independence and did not need to look for work immediately.  She was also relieved to know that she is entitled to homelessness assistance if she can no longer stay with her relatives.  Katie was keen to stay on in education but might have been more likely to leave school if she hadn’t received this support and assistance from CHAI which has provided her with some income and a housing safety net if she needs it in the future.

 

Alice’s Story

Alice is 27 and is married with 3 dependent children that she no longer has access to.  Alice and her partner are currently sofa surfing, staying with her mother-in-law.  She suffers from anxiety and depression, drug-induced psychosis, possible PTSD, possible OCD, and dyslexia.  Alice was referred to CHAI for help with her benefits, in particular her Universal Credit (UC) which had been sanctioned due to her missing an appointment, which meant that she had no money at all from UC.

 

The staff member phoned UC to apply for a mandatory reconsideration (MR) to lift the sanction.  The staff member explained that Alice’s health makes it very hard for her to engage with people and attend appointments and that she is not currently able to work due to her health.  As a result, the sanction was removed and due to what had been explained, she was later found not to be fit to work.  This means that she now receives an additional £390 per month from UC.

 

CHAI then helped Alice apply for Adult Disability Payment, which is pending a decision.  Alice found permanent accommodation and had some questions about the rent being paid through benefits.  The staff member phoned her housing officer and made sure that the rent was being paid.  The rent was not being paid by UC as the property had an extra bedroom, so the staff member asked for a Discretionary Housing Payment to be put in place.

 

The CHAI staff member who worked with Alice said: “When I first met Alice, she was really struggling with her mental health and money problems were having a big impact on her.  Following the support she was more stable and less anxious than before.  This is thanks to a combination of support services and the fact that Alice was able to move into permanent accommodation.  The help provided by CHAI in getting her finances sorted out made a significant difference”.

 

To read more about the work of CHAI in Edinburgh you can visit CHAI (chaiedinburgh.org.uk).