EAST AND CENTRAL SUTHERLAND CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU LTD 

To extend the ?Rural Recovery? project by one extra day per week to include the Lairg Community Council area.

To allow East and Central Sutherland Citizens Advice Bureau to provide increased access to advice and support to vulnerable, low income households in order to alleviate fuel poverty, reduce energy ....more

To allow East and Central Sutherland Citizens Advice Bureau to provide increased access to advice and support to vulnerable, low income households in order to alleviate fuel poverty, reduce energy bills and maximise their income.

To increase the help and support available to people during the pandemic by increasing time of a part time worker.

We want to recruit and train ten volunteers to join our team as advisers, so they can provide advice and support for people locally.

Towards the salary of the part-time Officer of the Clients' Access project.

installation of an accessible toilet and new carpets for a charity which works with people with disabilities in Sutherland

The additional funding will allow the project to continue through to 31st December 2019 and to deliver the following; 1. A dedicated worker will continue employment for 2 days per week to deliver the ....more

The additional funding will allow the project to continue through to 31st December 2019 and to deliver the following; 1. A dedicated worker will continue employment for 2 days per week to deliver the project 2. A weekly drop in clinic will be held in the office and two clinics per month will be held in each learning centre. The clinics will be open to anyone in East & Central Sutherland 3. It is anticipated that up to 6 people per week will be helped through two clinics and appointments in the office 4. Awareness raising through local newspaper and newsletters of welfare reform, Universal Credit and claiming benefits will reach an estimated 1000 people across East & Central Sutherland 5. Partnership working with local and national organisations 6. Referrals to workers and projects internally 7. Referrals to external organisations The project will make a difference to people financially as they will have an income sorted, they will be better informed of what Universal Credit is, how to apply, how to keep their claim up to date, they will be supported to use computers and the internet increasing their skills, they will be helped to create and update a CV if necessary, they will be referred on to specialist help for issues not directly related to Universal Credit, their situation will be looked at holistically to assess any further help or support that may be required and to identify any appropriate referrals for the client. The project will directly relate to welfare reform, combatting poverty and inequality; clients will be assisted to claim Universal Credit which will increase their income and will be supported to maintain their claim; clients will be signposted and referred for further help internally and externally to maximise their income and minimise their issues and people will be more aware of where they can access help and support in relation to poverty and welfare. The longer term impact will be that people who have used the project will increase their computer and internet skills, be more confident in filling in forms and completing claims online and more people will have maximised their income through being in contact with the project.

Volunteer Recruitment and Development Programme

Towards the salary of the Client Access Officer

This company will provide advocacy support to individuals with physical and or mental health issues. The project is based in Golspie, Sutherland, in the Scottish Highland.

Universal Credit (UC) full service launched in our area on 5th July 2017. Between April and June 2017 we had 14 enquiries about UC which was 1.5% of or total benefit enquiries. From July - September ....more

Universal Credit (UC) full service launched in our area on 5th July 2017. Between April and June 2017 we had 14 enquiries about UC which was 1.5% of or total benefit enquiries. From July - September this increased to 68 enquiries totaling 11% of our benefits enquiries for that quarter. UC provides new challenges such as monthly payments instead of fortnightly, housing costs being paid directly to claimants and being wholly online and removing certain premiums and therefor reducing overall benefit entitlement resulting in increased poverty levels across our area. From the initial claim date to the first payment there is often a waiting period of 5.5 - 6 weeks. We would like the following to be funded; 1) An outreach worker who can do the following; *Help people complete Universal Credit (UC) applications across East & Central Sutherland; UC is a wholly online benefit and many of our clients don't have access to the internet at home, don't know how to use a computer, can't get to their local library (which will only be open on set days and times) due to transport issues or mental/physical issues and don't know how to set up an email address which is required to claim UC. The proposed solution is to offer drop in sessions in halls with WiFi across East & Central Sutherland where we provide laptops and tablet computers and an adviser to help people make the claims and show them how to work the computers, provide them with information on local bus times and library opening hours, local job clubs and computer courses. Provide support for ongoing claimants in the early stages of their claim whilst developing their skills and confidence to use computers, update their UC journal, using their email accounts and making contact with job clubs and learning centers where appropriate. *Where necessary help people prepare to make a UC claim - ensure people know that a bank or post office account is required and help them to set one up if they don't have one, help to set up email addresses and run through a checklist of requirements and help to put anything in place that they don't already have. *Offer budgeting advice to clients. Using a simple income and expenditure form the adviser can show people how far their money will stretch and help identify any expenditure that could reasonably reduced. If debts are present a referral to the Money Advice Officer within our bureau will be done. *Offer benefit checks and income maximisation opportunities and refer back to the office for making claims or provide clients with information on how to claim if they are able to do so themselves. *Identify and make people better aware of the sources of help available to them when initially claiming UC; Short Term Benefit Advances and how to request them, Scottish Welfare Fund and how to make a claim, local food banks and food parcels, local and national grants that may be available to them. *Work in partnership with other local advice and support providers (many of whom we already have a working relationship with) such as New Start Highland (who do housing support), Highland Council Welfare Team/Housing department/service points, Home Energy Scotland, East Sutherland Energy Advice Service, Lairg & Brora Learning Centres, Blythswood (local foodbank/food parcel provider), Women's Aid, NHS (Midwifes, Community Psychiatrist Nurse, Occupational Therapist), the Gatehouse (local support organisation for mental health), Support in Mind Scotland, Brora/Helmsdale/Bonar Bridge village hubs, local development trusts, Advocacy Highland and Dementia Friendly Communities to identify and refer people who require support with UC by raising awareness for the project and implementing a simple referral process. *Work with the in house Client Access Officer to identify vulnerable clients who would be unlikely to be able to claim UC on their own and make them aware of the new UC Advice & Support project. *Refer clients on for appropriate further advice with in house specialists and other local and national organisations where necessary. 2) Venue hire for various different halls and venues across East & Central Sutherland - the intention would be to visit each area fortnightly as the UC journal must be updated at least fortnightly. 3) Printing costs related to the project (information leaflets about UC, creating an email address, local bus times, local learning centre courses, library opening hours and computer information etc) 5) Two tablet computers for use at outreach sessions which will allow those who are more comfortable with using the internet and technology to update their journals and access their emails, freeing up our laptops for use by clients who may find tablets too small or daunting to use. 6) A simple mobile phone and call costs (for calls to UC helpline and for telephone referrals to other organisations).

Young families and lone parent welfare reform mitigation project