You may have heard about Universal Credit and how it's affecting people in the benefit system. With 1.42 million unemployed people in the UK, the welfare state is becoming more relied on than ever. It's predicted that by 2022, more than seven million households will be scheduled to receive Universal Credit, and with many people talking about the underlying problems with the new system, it's vital that people can properly understand the changes they will be going through.
People like Adam, who came to get support from our Better Off Finance Knowsley
team after recently having been switched from ESA (a health related benefit) and moved to Universal Credit. Like many others, he wasn't completely clear about what these changed meant and we were able to help.
Struggling to manage day to day living costs was hard,
especially on his newly reduced income but with the support from his key worker, Adam is now able to understand his benefits more and can manage the money he has coming in.
“I didn’t understand the changes to my benefits, particularly Universal Credit. I got a lot of advice and information on what it means as well as help applying for further support”
Here at Better Off Finance we want to help our participants understand the
benefits system, and be able to take the pressure off understanding the important stuff when it comes to claiming what you’re entitled to. As well as being experts around the benefits system, our key workers are also able to advise people on grants and awards to help them out of hardship and enable them to start thinking about a more positive future. This is exactly how they helped Adam with his
debt.
“My key worker helped me access a charitable trust award of £220 towards
clothes which has enabled me to buy smart clean
clothes to be prepared for potential interviews”
Adam really benefited from having the constant financial
support to help him make more sense of his money and his future options. When
asked about what he would say about anyone looking for help he said: “I would really recommend Better Off Finance. Before this support I
felt very down and didn’t know where to turn for advice, but I feel much more
positive now”
Feeling more confident and able to take on new challenges,
Adam is ready to move on towards a positive future and raves about the free
support he went into not knowing what to expect
“On signing up I expected one
or two appointments, but I’ve be able to return multiple times across the last
few months and have gotten help with issues I didn’t even know I could get help
with!”
Good luck to you on your journey Adam and thank you for sharing your story!
About us:
About us:
Better Off Finance is offering residents of the Liverpool City Region who are currently unemployed (although don't have to be claiming benefits), a bespoke programme of support. This support will be provided at a local community venue or at home if a participant prefers.
Each participant will be linked up with their own key worker who will support them to:
- Improve their financial capability through 1-2-1 support and group work
- Access employability sessions within the programme
- Access a Level 2 Accredited ‘Money Mentor’ opportunity
- Progress into training and education opportunities
- Prepare and progress into sustainable employment.
Better Off Finance is a program jointly funded by The Big Lottery Fund and European Social Fund as part of the Building Better Opportunities Initiative
No comments:
Post a Comment