Carers in Essex and Southend-on-Sea will soon be benefitting from further support with benefits, as Carers First has been awarded a new grant from The National Lottery Community Fund to fund a Carers Rights Adviser.
The Carers Rights Adviser will be employed on a freelance basis for a period of 12 months, supporting carers in the Braintree, Colchester, Harlow, Harwich, Basildon and Canvey Island areas, either digitally or by telephone. Their role will be to provide specialist benefits advice, complete applications for benefits, personalised grants and any wider entitlements to maximise carers’ household income. They will also work collaboratively with external partners to assist individual carers with issues relating to existing benefit award payments.
The project has been developed and co-designed by carers with insight and feedback collated from carer forums, and our carers survey in Essex that highlighted a need for more financial support including help with benefits, short breaks and funding for support around the home.
Our new benefits advice service will help to widen our support to vulnerable carers in financial crisis and improve their future financial prospects, reduce carer poverty, improve wellbeing, boost confidence and reduce the emotional stress of caring.
We found from our Carers First survey (2020), that 86% of carers in contact with our service felt more confident and informed in their caring role following support from Carers First, and we are confident that this additional service will support us to help more carers feel more confident and informed, especially in relation to their finances.
Veronica Sadowsky, Service Manager for Essex says "Caring for someone can mean giving up work and financial opportunities during your time as a carer. Working out what benefits you might be entitled to can feel like an added battle. Having the right information and support can make a huge difference to carers by helping to ensure that carers are receiving the benefit and entitlements available to them".
For more information and advice on the benefits you may be entitled to as a carer, visit our help and advice topic on our website.
Online Help and Advice
Visit our online support section where we have provided advice and guidance on a range of relevant topics to help you in your caring role.