People’s Postcode Trust is a grant-giving charity funded entirely by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
Our project received £10,000 from the Trust to secure a delivery van for our Charity Shops.
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Thanks to funding from NHS Dumfries & Galloway we will be able to help many Carers throughout Dumfries & Galloway over the next year, training for organisations in the benefit changes has already started and will continue.
A special 0800 freephone helpline 0800 161 38 39 will also be available on Monday’s and Friday’s to offer advice and support from ourselves and signpost Carers to other sources of help and support available in the area.
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Thanks to funding from DGHP Community Pride Fund we are delighted to announce our return to our old Lincluden office every Wednesday between 10 – 1 just turn up no appointment needed.
This funding has also helped us to open a bigger charity shop at 52 Lincluden Rd, Dumfries donations at this address or our Friars Vennel Office or call 01387-263999 for free uplift of larger items.
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Fuel Poverty & Benefit Advice Service�to help families in Dumfries & Galloway.
Funded With the help of The ScottishPower Energy People Trust and the support of our local Council every school child in Dumfries & Galloway will recieve our guide to energy saving grants and our guide to various benefits and other sources of help for families and children.
Using our new mobile office we are able to venture to places we would not be able to reach allowing us to find the hard to reach families allowing us to�help them increase their household incomes.
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This is a three year pilot project from The Princess Royal Trust for Carers funded by The Abbey, part of the Santander Group.
The site features easy-to-use Benefit Guides and Charts covering the benefits available to carers as well as message boards and live chat where carers can ask questions and share their stories.
The Princess Royal Trust for Carers is the largest provider of comprehensive carers support services in the UK.
Through its unique network of 144 independently managed Carers’ Centres, 85 young carers services and interactive websites, www.carers.org and www.youngcarers.net, The Trust currently provides quality information, advice and support services to over 400,000 carers, including over 20,000 young carers.
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Research Into The Viability Of A Local Community Legal Centre
This research is funded by The Big Lottery “Investing In Ideas” to visit other Community Legal Centre’s throughout Scotland, talk to legal professionals, write a summary on the viability of us starting a Local Community Legal Centre in Dumfries & Galloway.
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Welfare Rights are working in partnership with Dumfries & Galloway Housing Partnership (DGHP) to help and support their tenants and those living in DGHP tenancies in the Stranraer & North West Dumfries area to access DGHP Pre-employment Training Programmes.
Together with other partners we will help and ensure the smooth transition into the training programme, as well as, on-going support during training.
Following training we will continue working with the trainee’s supporting them in the transition from benefits into paid employment.
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MSE Money Advice and Financial Literacy Project
In March 2010 the MSE Charity Fund awarded us funding to deliver a Money Advice and Financial Literacy Project.
This involved delivering Benefit Talks across Dumfries and Galloway highlighting the important changes that took place in October 2009 and in April 2010. These changes could be of significant importance to individuals and families and could greatly improve their financial situation. For example, Child maintenance payments are now being fully disregarded in the calculation of income when claiming Housing Benefit, Income Support, JSA and Employment and Support Allowance. This could make a big difference in what individuals may be due.
This project runs until March 2011. If there are any local voluntary organisations wishing to book a Benefit Talk regarding the recent benefit changes and the many new ones on the horizon then please contact Fiona on 01387 266888 or e-mail Fiona@welfarerights.co.uk
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HOMELESS STARTER PACK INITIATIVE
This was a project which was developed to deliver an initial starter pack of essential toiletries to those people who found themselves newly homeless across Dumfries and Galloway. Then if they were able to secure permanent accommodation, a moving on/welcome pack containing cleaning products and a toaster, iron and kettle were given.
Homelessness is a very difficult life transition time for those involved. Evidence shows that the strain placed on families and individuals at this time can lead to such things as mental illness, substance abuse, family breakdown and often re-occurring homelessness. Not only do the starter packs help financially in a time where those involved may literally have nothing, but also they act as an ice-breaker for the support worker. This begins to build a relationship of trust which may improve the ability to sustain a tenancy halting the homelessness cycle.
The project started in January 2009. In 2009 1054 Starter Packs and 436 Moving On Packs were delivered to the homeless across the region. In 2010 593 Adult Starter Packs, 363 Children’s Starter Packs and 451 Moving On Packs have been delivered.
Funding has been gained to start and continue this project by a number of different funders;
Welfare Rights is extremely grateful to all the above funders for their generous contribution to the Homeless Starter Pack project and for allowing us to keep helping local people.