48 - Offering financial support as benefits issues are resolved - June 2021

We are pleased to be able to share news of our  48th donation, which comes from a member who is involved with Sheffield Association of Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus.  She told us about Helen, who has been with the association for some years.


In order to remain eligible for her Employment and Support Allowance, Helen is currently permitted to work a few hours a week.  She generally works 5 hours per week (term time) supporting university students with their mental health.  During the pandemic she found that she was supporting incredibly vulnerable students and feeling unable to withdraw this support, she inadvertently exceeded her permitted hours of work.  She has tried to resolve this mistake but has discovered that her ESA has been taken away with immediate effect, leaving her with a dramatic change in her income, meaning she can no longer afford to buy essentials including food.  She is currently relying on food parcels from her local church.


She now has to apply again for a New ESA and universal credit which as a new claimant can take 8-9 weeks from day claimed.  She is working with a disability benefits advisor  from Citizens’ Advice to look at the best way forward.


Having spoken directly with Helen, we know that £500 from us will be such help, enabling her to buy essentials for the next few weeks and go some way to alleviating a bit of the stress and anxiety she is experiencing as she tries to find a way to rectify the situation with her benefits.


Helen wrote to say 'I can not express how much I appreciate this donation and how it has helped me to pay monthly bills. Thank you so much for what you have done.'

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

39 - Support for victims & survivors of Domestic Abuse - Rehouse to Rehome - February 2021

Image
For our latest donation we are sending £500 to Francine at  Rehouse to Rehome , a Sheffield based charity supporting and empowering victims and survivors of Domestic Abuse. Our £500 will go towards buying a cooker/fridge/ washing machine for a family that Francine is helping to rehome.  Francine tells us that she has seen a significant rise in requests for help since the beginning of the pandemic. Our donation has been very gratefully received and Francine has kindly sent us this powerful message explaining why: Not having essential household goods often becomes a real and practical barrier that prevents a survivor from leaving an abusive relationship. Even when individuals gather up the immense courage it takes to flee an abusive relationship and, if they are lucky enough to be re-housed by the authorities, there is a strong possibility that they will not get the financial support required to furnish that property with even the most basic of household goods which are a necessity in or
Read more

5. Goldigger Trust - helping young people develop positive self esteem - Jan 2020

Image
This week we are pleased to be able to give £250 to Golddigger Trust.   The nomination came from one of our members whose daughter & family have benefitted from Golddigger’s support. Golddigger is a small Sheffield based charity that offers support for young people in developing positive self esteem and well-being, to allow them to feel more secure and aspire to achieve more.  Their name comes from their aim of ‘digging out the gold’  - the worth and true value of the young people they work with, who may be struggling themselves to see their value due to poor self esteem & negative circumstances.   They offer drop in sessions as well as 1:1 counselling, peer mentorship and courses to support young people aged 11-18 years.  At a time when it is very hard to access the Children & Adolescent Mental Health Service due to such high demand, the availability of a service like Golddigger is invaluable and we are genuinely so pleased to be able to send them a donation.   Golddigger
Read more

118 - Helping SWWOP set up a 'flexi-pot' to allow them to support women in emergency situations.

We often say how lucky we are to have among our members people who work & volunteer in some of Sheffield’s extraordinary local organisations and charities.     We always welcome nominations from them - they see so much need on a daily basis, so when they ask for our help we know our contribution will make a difference. On this occasion SWWOP (Sheffield Working Women's Opportunities Project) , an organisation which provides intensive support to vulnerable women involved in street prostitution, asked if we could help them. SWWOP’s primary service is making contact with women involved in street prostitution and being a friendly face to offer non-judgmental and confidential support and information.  They provide street based outreach and drop in sessions, with an aim to improve the women’s health and safety.  https://www.swwop.org SWWOP told us that since the start of the cost-of-living crisis, they have seen the number of women they support involved in sex work almost triple.  Wom
Read more