AGE UK North, South & West Dorset helped over 2,000 older people gain an extra £1.2million in disability benefits last year.
The charity exists to enable older people across rural Dorset to maintain physical and mental wellbeing in later life. They provide direct services that enable older people to remain independent and ensure their voices are heard.
Part of that service includes detailed advice around finances and applying for benefits. As a result of that advice, Age UK NSWD were able to help 2,100 people apply for additional disability benefits with a total of £1.2million being awarded.
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Age UKs NSWDs Information and Advice manager Richard Bristow, commented, “Over £1 million in extra income going into the hands of local older people really makes a difference to pay for care and to keep warm. Our volunteer advisers and welfare benefit workers have done an incredible job, more remarkable that for most of the year we had no office to operate from”.
“Our volunteers continued to support people over the telephone and by home visit to ensure they had full access to their rights and an understanding for their responsibility so they could make informed choices”.
Last year Age UK helped over 5,000 local people, of which 2,100 needed detailed advice and Information. These people brought 3,500 issues, 52% of which were disability benefit matters and 48% general advice including a mix of care options, legal issues such as Power of Attorney, housing problems, consumer issues, scams and access to a range of public services.
The charity, based at Crown Square in Poundbury, supports older people across Dorset to remain independent for as long as is possible through its home support and independent living team. They currently have 100 dedicated members of staff and over 200 volunteers across the county.
As a community based charity they are supported by donations from the public and charitable grants that ensure they can continue to deliver services.
The service welcomes interest from volunteers who are keen in training to deliver advice and information, contact them on 01305 269 444 for more information
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