About the Advocacy and Advice Project
The Advice and Advocacy Service delivery by Citizens Advice Lindsey offered
information, advice and advocacy services to over 50s in East Lindsey on a broad range of advice areas including but not limited to:
- Maximising income, e.g. benefit entitlement
- Support and guidance on welfare benefit appeals and the tribunal process
- Managing money & debt related issues
- Universal credit ( ‘younger’ older people)
- Help with energy costs, e.g. switching providers
- Disabilities and Healthcare and available financial support
- State & private pension advice
- State entitlements for older people
- Tax, savings and investments
- Inheritance
- Bereavement
- Lifestyle choices including volunteering
Citizens Advice Lindsey provides free, confidential and impartial advice and campaigns on big issues affecting people’s lives. Their goal is to help everyone find a way forward, whatever problem they face.
The role of their TED Adviser was to work specifically with older people aged 50 and over advising them on a range of issues including benefits, housing, consumer, debt and more. The Adviser worked from Citizens Advice Lindsey’s three main offices located at Mablethorpe, Skegness and Louth and also provided weekly drop in services at Mablethorpe Marisco Medical Practice and Spilsby New Life Centre and Horncastle Library.
At the Citizens Advice Service they are aware how much social isolation and loneliness can affect people. They also understand that a big contributor to this can be lack of spare income which limits the amount people can spend on social activities. To support people aged over 50 to maximise their income and offer a range of advice they delivered our services across community locations in East Lindsey and we set ourselves targets:
- 160 beneficiaries will benefit from advice and advocacy
- 80 beneficiaries (50%) will benefit from casework and specialist advice
- 60 beneficiaries will benefit from focused events
The Advocacy and Advice team have worked closely with TED to create a Toolkit that gives an insight into creating, maintaining and evaluating a project such as this.
