During the summer Citizens Advice Broxtowe ran a programme of Days of Action to help people struggling with the cost-of-living. We are now planning to run more events over the winter months lasting until March 2024. There will be one event each month and each one will have a theme, more details below. These events are in addition to our existing services. If you are struggling with the cost-of-living don’t wait contact us now.
They will be held across the borough offering residents personalised one-to-one appointments with a member of our team. This project is part funded by Broxtowe Borough Council’s Shared Prosperity Fund Plan.
The events and appointments are designed to:
- Make sure everyone struggling with the cost-of-living is able to get help.
- Reach out to people that use community organisations but might not know what additional help is available to them.
- Achieve measurable reductions in poverty and improvements in financial well-being.
- Generate referrals to our Financial Resilience Broxtowe* project.
*Financial Resilience Broxtowe is a project designed to work proactively with people and households who find it difficult to manage financially. It works with them to create a long-term plan towards financial resilience. This includes:
- Increasing income
- Reduced spending and ability to budget
- Building a safety net and protecting assets
For an appointment at a Day of Action call: 0115 917 3801
Days of Action – 30th November 2023
A cost-of-living disability event was held 30th November 2023 to support people facing long-term health problems whom we know are more likely to struggle to budget.
As part of our ‘Day of Action’ programme we attended the Disability/Health Event held at Stapleford Community Centre (Cliff Hill). People approached our stall for information and some have taken up the offer of follow-up appointments at on of our local offices. Thank you to the organisers of the event for asking us along.
On the same day our offices at Beeston, Stapleford and Eastwood were dedicated to assisting with completion of the benefit forms linked to disabilities and poor health.
Thanks to prior publicity there was a great take-up of appointments. We helped 24 people with a range of forms some of which can take hours to complete. This is a fabulous achievement by our staff and volunteers who entered into the spirit of the event and worked together to help as many people as possible with the following forms.
- Personal Independence Payment forms and review forms.
- Disability living Allowance forms.
- Attendance Allowance
- Blue badge applications.
- Severely mentally impaired discount for council tax
- Employment Support Allowance forms/UC50’s
The final figure for the total income gained as a result of the event is £90,723.
Day of Action – 18th December 2023
The December day of action focused on energy and energy saving advice delivered in partnership with Green Doctor.
Appointments were offered at our Beeston and Eastwood offices to provide income maximisation and energy saving advice to those are struggling with the cost of energy.
At the appointments nine clients benefited from advice on smart meters, energy saving measures, tailored to their circumstances, advice on Income maximisation, including; a benefit check to ensure you are claiming everything you are entitled to, information and support on grants available and how to apply and support with energy debts.
During the appointments we identified seven people who qualified for the priority services register.
In total we helped people secure over £16,000 in additional annual income and one-off payments.
Green Doctor advisors were in attendance on the day offering appointments for home visits to look at energy savings measures and support within the home. There were 14 referrals for home visit from Green Doctor.
Day of Action – January 2024 – Debt theme
On 30th January we held our third ‘Day of Action’ event, focused on debt and income maximisation. Our offices in Beeston and Eastwood offered appointments providing advice and support. The appointments are aimed at those in debt and struggling with repayments.
At the appointments one of our trained money advisers was on hand to assess each client’s situation, conduct a calculation to make sure they are claiming all you they might be entitled to and plan further advice/support sessions.
Eleven clients were helped who responded to publicity about the event. Seven attended on the day and four more were given appointments at a time more convenient to them.
The clients seen had a combined debt total of £27,100 and we secured £13,747 in total in extra annual income for them.
Day of Action – February 2024
Carers Drop-in Event – Stapleford Care centre – Thursday 15th February 2024 – 1pm to 4pm
A member of our financial resilience team was on hand at the carers drop-in event in Stapleford on the 15th December. This event is open to carers of all ages who accessed information and advice to support them in their carer journey. The event was attended by Carers Federation Adult Carers support service, TuVida Young Carers service, Alzheimer’s Society, Broxtowe Citizens Advice, Stapleford Memory Café, NHS Digital inclusion Service and Social Prescribing team. It was a productive morning and our representative informally spoke with a large number of people.
Day of Action – 5th March 2024
Our final event was held on 5th March March. We focused on pension credit in partnership with a local independent living housing provider Abel Collins. The day of action included appointments at both our main offices and Abel Collins homes. We were joined by Broxtowe Borough Council’s Independent LIving Team.
Every year £millions go unclaimed in Pension Credits. This event focused on ensuring that pensioners who are entitled claim their entitlement. I also turned out to be the case that we provided a range of holistic support to 17 beneficiaries. The support included helping vulnerable energy consumers register with the Priority Service Register, the Big Difference Scheme as well as providing complex benefits assessments. In total we secured a staggering additional income of £74,134 for the participants.
