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Money & Advice
Services
See services for other inclusive practices and domains
Supporting Service Users
Action for Advocacy (A4A) is the central point of information on independent advocacy.
They started off as a small project called Advocacy Across London, and became Action for Advocacy in 2004. A4A have now expanded their services to work nationally.
Action for Advocacy
The Oasis Centre
75 Westminster Bridge Road
London
SE1 7HS
tel: 020 7921 4395
fax: 020 7912 4201
Specialist dental service for people who find the dentist particularly difficult as a result of a disability or mental health difficulty.
Based at the Beckenham Beacon Hospital, and offers:
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Home visits
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Special needs
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Dental phobic
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Referral dentist
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Doctor
Telephone: 01689 880641
Beckenham Beacon Hospital website listing:
Benefits Now
This site enables you to assess yourself for Disability Living Allowance , Attendance Allowance or Carers' Allowance before you apply. You can find out whether you qualify and at what rate you are likely to be paid.
Visit website:
We are a mental health charity and independent.
Rethink is a national members Mental Health charity. Mental Health service users and carers are members of our organisation and at the heart of what we do. Formally known as the National Schizophrenic Fellowship, Rethink campaigns nationally for the rights of Mental Health Service Users and Carers. Rethink is involved in campaigning the government for access to fairer treatment and was instrumental in campaigning government during the general election to have mental health on parties’ manifestos. Rethink is also involved in anti stigma campaigns such as the time to change campaign. Rethink also does a lot of research into Mental Health. Rethink also has a national information and Advice Service for Cares and Service Users. Rethink has a number of services all around the country including advocacy, carers support , befriending, counselling, floating support etc.
Rethink Bromley Advocacy Service is a new service within the borough of Bromley. We have been here since April 2010 and we are slowly expanding recruiting 2 permanent members of staff and a number of volunteers and training them to advocate for service users in the community.
We provide advocacy to anyone with mental health problems in the borough of Bromley. We provide generic advocacy to people who live in the community or who are informal patients in hospital. We also provide Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA) for those patients detained under the mental health act who have a legal right to advocacy. An IMHA can provide you with information on your rights under the mental health act.
All our advocates can help you to get your voice heard and express yourself, on issues relating to your treatment and care. We can represent you at meetings or support you in writing letters and making phone calls. Our Service is free. We provide a confidential service and act on clients’ instructions.
For more information or to speak to an advocate please contact Rethink Bromley Advocacy Service on:
Tel: 020 8313 3034
Address: 12 Farwig Lane, Bromley, Kent BR1 3RB
Email: bromley.advocacy@rethink.org
National Information and Advice Line: 0845 456 0455
Download literature and visit Rethink's main website:
Lewisham Plus Credit Union provides the opportunity for every person living or working within their postcode boundaries to give and receive mutual financial support.
Covers the whole of the London Boroughs of Bromley and Lewisham. This includes the provision of savings facilities, affordable loans and current accounts.
Tel: 020 8778 4738
Email: admin@pluscu.co.uk
Visit website:
Contact list of useful numbers and websites for local and national health and related organisations.
Download list (PDF):
Capitalise is a London-wide partnership that aims to reduce debt and financial exclusion by improving people's capacity to manage their debts, help people to take control of their finances and make informed choices in the future.
Develop is supporting Capitalise to offer a wider presence in the Bromley Borough. Capitalise are already working with the Community Drugs Project and Broomleigh Housing.
Anyone can contact their national office for free local help on 020 7392 2953
Visit website:
Offering general advice and help with case work on welfare benefits, housing and debt. They can also offer general help on family law, consumer issues, employment, personal injury, immigration and other legal issues. Has volunteer staff with
expert experience of mental health issues.
Beckenham & Penge: 020 8778 3231
Bromley: 020 8315 1940
Orpington: 01689 827732/874185
Visit the Bromley CAB website and download contact sheet:
Free service provided by Liberata held on the first and third Thursdays of the month at Stepping Stones, and monthly at Yeoman House and Anchor House.
The service is available for anyone living in the London Borough of Bromley, who has a mental health difficulty. Service developed through a partnership between Oxleas, Mind and Liberata.
Contact: Melissa Vickers on 0208 315 1698
Email: melissavickers@liberata.com
Irene Cotterell will be available each Friday on the 1st floor at Stepping Stones, Bromley to offer welfare benefits advice to those people with mental health issues who have an interest in going back to work, whether it’s full or part time, permanent, temporary or voluntary.
Contact: Irene Cotterell on 020 8466 2500
Email: Irene.Cotterell@oxleas.nhs.uk*
(*When emailing please mark the subject as Welfare Benefits)
Bromley Y is a long established local agency offering free, confidential counselling to young people between the ages of 11-23 within the borough of Bromley.
Bromley Y aims to provide a safe, ffriendly environment in which to aid a young person and explore the difficulties that he/she may be experiencing, helping them to identify new ways forward.
Telephone: 020 8464 9033
A specialist advisory service exclusively for people experiencing mental health related problems in Bromley.
The service offers advice on complex benefit issues, including appeals, but does not offer a form filling service.
Contact: Dave Feast
Tel: 020 8402 7340
Email: dave.feast@broadwaylondon.org
Visit website:
The Centre at Cotmandene Crescent, funded by The London Borough of Bromley and the Bromley Primary Care Trust, is an integrated community centre providing opportunities forlocal people of all ages and all walks of life. The Centre can be used very flexibly and is very accessible.
Services at the Centre include:
- free courses ranging from basic skills to vocational, personal development and IT(information technology)
- use of ICT suite and training rooms
- careers and business advice
- job club and job search facilities
Regular surgeries held by:
- Age Concern Bromley
- Bromley Community Drugs Project
- Broomleigh Housing Association
- community groups, including art groups and self help groups
- housing and council tax surgery
- legal advice
- local ward councillors
- Nextsteps Careers Advisor
- one to one support from centre staff
- Referrals to other agencies such as Pensions, Carers Bromley and Business Focus
- trading standards
Please call into The Centre or telephone to get a free brochure and a weekly programme.
Contact: Christine Cross or Anita Thundercliffe:
The Centre, 64 Cotmandene Crescent, Orpington, Kent BR5 2RG
Tel: 020 8402 0123
E-mail: ccrc@bromley.go.uk
Download latest events programmes:
If you're between 11 and 25, and live, work or study in Croydon or Bromley, Streetwise Community Law Centre can give you free legal advice on issues like homelessness, benefit problems, exclusion from school, special educational needs and problems at work or college.
Contact: Vicki Leaver on 020 8778 5854
Email: vickileaver@streetwiselaw.org.uk
Play video (Vimeo link):
Infobromley: Advice and Support
This website provides details of a wide range of local organisations and services from community and voluntary groups to local health and Bromley Council services to activity groups.
Visit website:
This is a national card that can be used to verify that the holder is entitled to one free ticket for a person accompanying them to the cinema.
To apply for the card, you will need to meet one or more of the following criteria:
a) Be in receipt of the disability living allowance or attendance allowance.
b) Be a registered blind person.
The card is valid for 1 years from the date of issue.
Visit website for more information and to order:
This helpline and website offers a full range of useful services,.You can download leaflets on your rights from anything from being arrested to rogue traders to mental health law to employment issues etc.
Tel: 0845 345 4 345
Visit website:
The Act provides for a new Court of Protection to make decisions in relation to the property and affairs and healthcare and personal welfare of adults (and children in a few cases) who lack capacity.
The Court also has the power to make declarations about whether someone has the capacity to make a particular decision.
Tel: 0300 456 0300
Visit website:
Service from the NHS offering telephone support for people with anxieties with financial problems and difficulties.
Telephone: 0300 123 2000
Download flyer and visit website:
Registered national debt education and advice charity where users has free access to a range of tools and practical guides on how to manage money effectively, budget and negotiate directly with creditors.
The charity's Self help tools section includes:
• Budget Planner
• Debt Analyser
• Benefit Entitlement Checker
• Money Management Guide
Visit website:
National Debtline is part of the Money Advice Trust. The Money Advice Trust seeks to increase the quality and availability of free and independent money advice in the United Kingdom.
National Debtline is a national telephone helpline for people with debt problems in England, Wales and Scotland. We give expert advice over the telephone and via email and send callers in debt a self-help information pack free of charge. The service is free, confidential and independent.
National Debtline can also assist callers who wish to deal with their debts through a debt management plan.
National Debtline
Tricorn House, 51-53 Hagley Road, Birmingham B16 8TP
Tel: 0808 808 4000
Opening times: Mon-Fri 9am -9pm, Sat 9.30am-1pm (24 hour voicemail)
Visit website:
DisabledGo is an award-winning disability organisation that has been in operation since 2000. We produce online access guides in a great deal of detail to a huge range of venues.
Passionate about grassroots consultation and involvement DisabledGo has developed through constant feedback from disabled people. To date DisabledGo has involved over 800 groups of disabled people and holds an average of 3 feedback sessions per week across the UK and Ireland.
DWP Local service is part of the Department for Work and Pensions. We are the visiting arm of The Pension Service, Disability and Carers Service and will soon undertake specified visits for Jobcentre Plus customers. Our staff help complete all relevant claim forms and signpost customers to partner organisations who may be able to assist them with other needs.
The aim of the Partnership Team
To work in partnership to develop efficient and effective public services which support the most vulnerable in our communities.
All of our benefits are now provided through telephony or e-claims. Most of our customers can use these services and the customer feedback for those who do is consistently good.
Not all of our customers can use these services. It is our role to support their access to benefits by working with partner organisations. There are a number of ways we can do this:
- Direct referrals to our visiting teams, supporting our partner organisations with awareness training and regular reviews.
- Awareness training on how to get the best from the tele or e-claims and Direct.Gov services.
- Information Points – where partner organisations host our visiting staff to see customers by appointment. This may suit partner organisations providing advice services. It is helpful where there is a particular need in a particular community.
- Shared knowledge to identify those who need more targeted help in accessing benefits and to identify other services within a community who can help our customers.
Who are the most vulnerable?
There is no definitive list of who is or is not vulnerable. In its very basic form, anyone who cannot access benefits through telephony service because, for example, their health, disabilities, language barriers or the particular circumstances they find themselves in could be considered vulnerable.
To provide you with an overview of what we do:
Local Service provides face-to-face contact for vulnerable Pensions Disability and Carers Service customers through home visits and Information Points in community locations. Local teams work in partnership with local authorities and voluntary organisations to raise vulnerable older peoples’ and working age, awareness of their entitlements, increasing take-up and joining up a wide range of services.
We will provide an appropriate Entitlement Check at the customer’s own home or any other venue they would feel comfortable. Our officer’s will quickly check Entitlements and complete all the necessary paperwork and forms and verify all appropriate documents i.e. passports, certificates.
Entitlements that we will help customer’s apply for are:
- Pension Credit
- Attendance Allowance
- Disability Living Allowance (including children age 16 or under)
- Carers Allowance
- State Pensions
- Bereavement Benefit
- Housing Benefit
- Council Tax Benefit
- Winter Fuel Payments
- Social Fund
Law Society website
This search engine allows you to search for a solicitor by area of specialism and post code.
It also offers advice on what to expect, guides to common legal problems and what to do if things go wrong.
Visit website:
Horsesmouth is a website where people with questions can ask people with relevant personal experiences for advice. For example, someone who has recently been diagnosed or whose mother has been diagnosed with dementia can contact a person who went through the same experience, and gain information, advice and reassurance.
Thousands of people are already ‘informal mentoring’ each other in this 1-2-1 way on Horsesmouth, across a huge range of subjects.
Visit website:
Liberata provides many services including Housing & Council Tax Benefits processing.
Liberata staff have recently undertaken a full mental health awareness training course held by Develop partners Irene Cotterell and Peter Grand (see Liberata's Bromley Story).
Tel: 020 8315 1372
Email: jayaryall@liberata.com
Visit website:
One in three people with a serious mental health problem are in debt. They are three times more likely to be in debt.
This website provides basic advice for mental health workers on dealing with debt, and includes many downloadable guides and useful links.
Visit website:
Moneymadeclear from the Financial Services Authority.
We cut out the jargon and give you just the facts about financial products and services, helping you to make an informed decision.
Visit website:
Mind's money and mental health section
With the current turbulent economic climate and the cost of living getting higher and higher, many are finding that managing personal finances and good mental health go hand in hand. Struggling to keep control of income and expenditure can affect mental health. This section will help you look at issues that affect you and give you access to information and support about your money.
It will be useful for anyone concerned about their money but is especially helpful for people with experience of mental distress.
Visit website:
Moneymadeclear is from the UK’s Consumer Financial Education Body, established by the Financial Services Authority.
This national financial advice service is available nationwide online and by telephone (0300 500 5000) for specific advice.
With face to face sessions available in some parts of the country now and nationwide from spring 2011. Also the annual financial health check for all adults announced by the coalition Government will be available online from spring 2011.
Visit website:
PACE is a mental health advocacy service for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people based in London.
Their range of services includes:
- Counselling
- Family support
- Workshops
- Youthwork
- Employment
Visit the Pace website, or download their latest flyer:
The Insurance Surgery is the first UK website designed specifically to help clients with pre existing medical conditions find competitive life insurance, travel insurance and other financial services.
Visit website:
Refugee Council
One of the main objectives of the Refugee Council is to provide support and help to refugees and asylum seekers and to make information and advice available to them directly.
Their main services are run from 5 offices where their one-stop service and other facilities are available.
Tel: 020 7346 6777
Visit website:
Turn2us is a charity offering a groundbreaking online service to help the millions of people in need in the UK.
For the first time, people can access information on all benefits and grants available to them from both statutory and voluntary organisations, at no cost, through turn2us.
Tel: 0808 802 2000
Visit the turn2us website:
Supporting Service Development
The Consumer Financial Education Body (CFEB) is responsible for helping consumers understand financial services in the UK and manage their finances better.
The money guidance approach, pioneered by CFEB is being rolled out nationally. Money guidance appointments focus on increasing the service user's ability to keep track of their finances, to have enough money to live on and to plan for the future. Appointment sessions can be hosted in local authority community venues. Advice is impartial and there is no charge.
Contact: Su Holmes, financial inclusion programme manager.
Website:
London Advice Services Alliance (Lasa) helps thousands of voluntary and statutory organisations give better welfare rights advice to their clients each year.
Their highly regarded welfare rights services include rightsnet, the leading welfare rights website for advisers, welfare rights training, and a telephone advice lines for advisers in London and Wales. They also offer a capacity building advice support project for London based advice workers and our website Multikulti, which offers legal advice guides translated into 12 community languages.
Lasa also provide a range of welfare rights publications.
Visit website:
From April 2008, the Government plans to replace Patient Forums with Local Involvement Networks (LINks).
LINks are being introduced to help strengthen the system that enables communities to influence the care they receive.
Backed up by certain powers, LINks will:
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provide everyone in the community - from individuals to voluntary groups - with the chance to say what they think about local health and social care services - what is working and what is not.
- give people the chance to influence how services are planned and run.
- feedback to services what people have said about services so that things can be improved.
Local communities are already beginning to get ready for LINks. This document summarises what LINks will do, their proposed powers and how they will be set up.
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