Hear Us supports adults with mental ill health to access financial, health and social inclusion support in Croydon. 

We can help by providing referrals to food banks and help you to make applications to schemes such as Croydon’s Discretionary Housing Payments. We will also help you manage your utility bills and resolve your immediate financial issues.

DEPARTMENT OF WORKS AND PENSIONS (DWP)

If you have complex needs we can support you to have a better understanding of the Department of Welfare and Pension benefits system, and to support you to maintain the benefit claims.

WELFARE BENEFIT SERVICE

“We want to continue providing a welfare benefits service if you have complex needs to ensure that you are able to obtain the essential financial support required to tackle poverty and homelessness and support you to recover from mental illness.

Examples of what we can help you with:

• Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) Applications
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Applications
• Universal Credit (UC) Applications, UC is replacing 6 other benefits with a single monthly payment
• DLA Applications
• Housing Benefit Applications

We can also help you with:

• “Seeking supporting letters/evidence from GPs and mental health teams.
• “Accompanying you to your assessments and, where necessary,
• “Tribunals; supporting you to ask for a reconsideration if you receive an unfair DWP decision.

3. Increased Social Inclusion (Inc. access to preventative services).

• “Support you to access Motability schemes and obtain a freedom pass to combat social exclusion through signposting and support; we can help ensure that your mental health enables you to engage with family and friends and to join in with activities, including volunteering in the local community.
• “Applying for Freedom passes and other concessionary transport schemes.
• “Applying for grants to help with utility (water, gas and electricity) debts – we have successfully had dozens of utility debts written off in the past 3 years.
• “We have successfully applied to Croydon council to help people who are in arrears with their rent, avoiding eviction in several cases (via the DHP scheme) and to acquire essential items for their homes via the CDS (Croydon Discretionary Scheme).

Examples of what  we can help you with:

• Applications for Freedom Passes
• Mobility Schemes & Blue Badges

REFERRALS AND SIGNPOSTING

• Referrals and Signposting for Support from Social Inclusion Services
• Referrals to Employment & Volunteering
• Referrals to Debt Agencies
• Referrals to Job Centres

Please call 020 8681 6888, email surgery@hear-us.org or complete our referral form if you require assistance with a welfare benefits claim. Please leave your name, a telephone number we can call you on, and a brief detail about the issue. We will respond when we are next available.

If you are seeking support with your Welfare Benefits, Employment Support Allowance (ESA), Universal Credit (UC) or Personal Independent Payments (PIP) or simply need advice please complete our Referral Form

Tel: 020 8681 6888 If you go to voicemail please leave your name and number and the reason for your call
Email: welfare-rights@hear-us.org
Webpage: www.hear-us.org/welfare-rights