Looking for: Benefits Advocate

[Lee Scoresby]

Looking for: BENEFITS ADVOCATE

To assist a family member with mental and physical health complications get back onto benefits (ESA equivalent and housing). There is a personal history of difficult experiences with insensitve Job Centre staff.

You will need: to be tough-minded, focused and understanding, with an excellent working knowledge of the current benefits system.

Task includes: helping fill out forms, attending meetings, acting on this person's behalf, etc.

Duration: until task completion. PT, but must be available in this period as required (eg to attend meetings).

Remuneration: by agreement.

Please contact: [email protected]

[IlonaM]

Hi,

Southwark Disablement Association (http://www.sdail.org/) may be able to help with this. They have an excellent adviser on staff, Guy Dennis (Tel:020 7525 3141, email: [email protected], works in office Tuesday to Thursday 10am to 3pm), but also have potential knowledge of qualified/experienced people who could also assist in this complex area.

Best wishes,

Ilona

[gabys1st]

Was going to suggest SDA as well.

[Lee Scoresby]

Many thanks for this.

[Lee Scoresby]

Nope. They only deal with physical disability, and their advocacy funding was cut off, anyway. None of the self-proclaimed advocacy charities will help.

So - if anyone knows anyone qualified - it might be a trained paralegal, a solicitor between positions, someone trained in mental or social assistance, please encourage them to think about applying, via the Gmail address provided.

[IlonaM]

That's very disappointing. I was hoping that they would have some good ideas even if they weren't able to help themselves.

I don't know whether your relative will come within Cambridge House's advocacy services remit, but you could contact them for advice: http://ch1889.org/our-work/advocacy/

I also found this whilst I was having a think about your request, although you might have already been down this route: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/guides-to-support-and-services/advocacy/finding-an-advocate/#.Wo2n--fLjIU

An alternative might be to get in touch with the Law Society or the Mental Health Lawyers Association (http://www.mhla.co.uk) to see if they could put out a request for assistance for any members between jobs/working part-time etc. who might be able to assist. My other thought is possibly contacting LawWorks - they might have an idea re the Choices project:

'LawWorks is the operating name of the Solicitors Pro Bono Group - an independent charity with a mission to support, promote and encourage a commitment to pro bono across the solicitors' profession. LawWorks aims to increase the delivery of free legal advice to individuals and communities in need. Through its various LawWorks projects it provides opportunities for lawyers to deliver pro bono work in as many ways as possible - at their desks, in a clinic, over the internet, taking casework, at a mediation or for a not for profit organisation [http://www.lawworks.org.uk/]

.The Choices project is designed to match unemployed lawyers with pro bono activities: http://lawworks.org.uk/choices-registration.'

Another option might be to see if Legal Action Group [http://www.lag.org.uk] still do a classifieds-type section for jobs/volunteering etc in their monthly magazine. You would have access to a large range of legal/advice/advocacy professionals working in the fields of social welfare, mental health etc.

Not advocacy, but I always recommend the Benefits & Work website [www.benefitsandwork.co.uk] - there is a very good email newsletter that you can sign up to for free, but also it is worth becoming a member (about ?19 pa) to access the forum and excellent guides to preparing applications, medical assessments, appeals etc. for the various benefits.