06.04.2023
There are always headlines about people not accessing or being able to access benefits that they are entitled to. Here at Ashford Place’s our Dementia Hubs IAG - Information, Advice and guidance - team continue to support people living with dementia and their carers. The IAG team have supported 695 unique clients living with dementia and their carers from Jan 2020 to March 2023. We have made some significant increases in the income of our clients which is even more important with the cost-of-living crisis. We have increased our client’s income in the period of this report in the sum of £363,758.83 of which £4,012 was in grants. What is clear is that there is poor take up of benefits in the older population due to lack of awareness, lack of understanding or the stigma attached to claiming benefits. Clients often think they will not be entitled to anything – and so it’s essential that we have the opportunity to provide full benefits checks for every new client. Any additional income raised is often used to support the client with additional costs associated with having a long term health condition. This means they can continue to live well with Dementia. Some examples of the way extra income is used are: to pay for a cleaning/food delivery service, for taxi’s to allow them to access the café network or for additional washing costs due to incontinence. The additional income can often make such a difference to the lives of our clients meaning they don’t have the extra stress or worry of how they will pay their bills or pay for their food shopping. Our success hugely benefits from our CADBrent 13 decafs – dementia cafes – across Brent where over 260 people attend each week and is a key space for our IAG staff to meet with their clients.
