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My cousin has Parkinson's . Recently he has been invalided out of his job. G4S guard in a dolle <span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">office.</span>
He has spent his savings on a mobile home and appears to be having no income.
In the last month he has been asking for money . We are in a position to help but the requests are now every other day.
He is fond of online gambling so we are not sure if we are buying him food or a few bets.
He lives a long way a way and he can't really hold a proper conversation so we can't gauge what's going on.
What benefits is someone with no job and no chance of getting one due?
How do we go about getting him the help that he is hopefully due?
I think its £72week for food, electric, etc
am sorry to hear that your cousin is in a bad place at the moment.
i would definitely recommend contacting the citizens advice as they are great at understanding law and people's rights regarding benefits (they have helped me out more than once).
How long between being told not to turn up at work to being able to claim benefits?
He really needs an advocate or someone that really knows the benefits system mate.
Its a bloody minefield.
It's generally Universal Credit now for the main benefits (it replaces income based Jobseeker's and Employment and Support Allowance, tax credits and housing benefit (it may be that he will also be entitled to claim Contributory JSA or ESA if he's been working as it's based on historical NI contributions - it's called "new style").
Personal Independence Payment is something else he may be entitled to, due to his illness, but not my area of knowledge I'm afraid.
<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">UC is means tested, so will take into account any earnings or capital (although sounds like that's not relevant)</span>
New Style ESA/JSA isn't and I don't believe PIP is either.
If he rents then UC will pay towards housing costs (or maybe totally cover) and if he has mortgage then it will support with that also - however mortgage payments have to be repaid when house is sold (Google support for mortgage interest - SMI)
But what he may or may not get is based on personal circumstances of which we don't know, so ultimately Mr Raceface's advise is good - but might be hard to get him to go along if communication is a struggle.
This is a helpful video for regarding the application process for UC, which is clear and easily digestible so hopefully might prompt him to do something off his own back:
Edit: He can (and should!) claim straight away.
What BN said, get him back to the dole office, help available from CAB etc which will be needed for PIP at least.
Yeh he'll more than likely need some help, I read a disturbing article in the indie the other day about people being denied benefits who deserve them, purely as they are incapable of jumping through all the hoops and getting denied on technicalities.
Seems the system is rigged to deny benifits for the slightest error.
Get him to contact his LA social services, or accept a referral made on his behalf for an assessment of his needs.
They will put him in touch with whatever services they have in place to access welfare benefits etc.
He should get an appointment with Citizens Advice - they have a service called 'Help to Claim' which supports people through the application process for Universal Credit. It should also highlight eligibility for other benefits such as Personal Independence Payments. They will also help with any debt issues.
^ Someone's on the ball; CA have only just started HTC!
How likely do you think he is to do something off his own back and is he computer literate?
Also, stupid question but just occurred to ask how old he is? Most of my waffling is assuming working age..
He is 3 months older than me at 54.so we have grown up together though drifted when he moved.
Really sad and humbling when £50 can change someone's life whereas I'd happily spend that on some bike gloves.
Good to at least know where to start with him and getting some help.
Luckily I've not been in this position before.
Sounds as if he may have other needs that CAB not suited towards.
We typically refer to the CAB in regards to debt management and welfare benefits - but personally I support the service users myself in regards to completing PIP forms; there are certain descriptors that help the application.
My cousin has Parkinson’s . Recently he has been invalided out of his job. G4S guard in a dolle office
Assuming you meant dole office, you’d imagine he’d know someone at his ex workplace who could give him some advice.
Unless it was a Dollie office in which case he’d be better off having a cup of tea and a slice of cake.
If you want talk anything through at any point, drop me a PM. Sometimes the hardest bit is helping people to claim what they're entitled to, but there are plenty of avenues in place to support. HTC as mentioned by Philby is an example.</span>
All of the above advice is sound though, (especially the bigger picture social services thing, if relevant).. which is unusual for these kind of threads 🙃
Edit: I did also wonder about asking someone in the dollie office he worked at that he was on friendly terms with, but that would assume he'd be comfortable talking about personal circumstances with people he worked with - which I wouldn't!
Standard allowance for a single person on UC is, £317.82. They'll also help towards rent costs upto £350, after that it's up to them to make up the difference.
Might be other stuff he can claim but I know that's standard on UC.
I was going to say attendance allowance but just looked it up and you hve to be 65. I applied for a family member with Parkinson's and with a medical diagnosis it was paid immediately, it isn't taxable either. Or means tested.
So i would get in touch with your local Parkinson's centre, there must be one nearby. Ours run classes for mobility every week and a social meeting after. Also, there is a 6 monthly review with a Parkinson's nurse where they review your medication.
The objective is to stabilise the condition with medication.
Read about the side effects of Parkinson's and the meds, compulsive behaviour. It may explain the gambling.
And good luck, some sufferers in the class look v young, like in their 40s.
They’ll also help towards rent costs upto £350, after that it’s up to them to make up the difference
No offence but that's not true. The amount paid towards rent, if applicable, is based on where you live (local housing allowance) and other considerations..
As bleated on before, it's all dependent on individual circumstances 🙂
Thanks people. STW at its finest. Lots to work with .
Jut realised the link I posted is borked - now I'm on a laptop and not sweating my balls off in Aldi's car park on the phone, this should work:
(not sure why it isn't previewing in here)
Seems the system is rigged to deny benifits for the slightest error.
Sadly, because all the assessors have all been outsourced, and the companies running it get more cash the more people they keep off the books.
It's corrupt.