Friend in trouble (homeless / no income)

Oldernotwiser

Fran wrote: »

He is potentially homeless and Shelter are the experts. They will know what questions to ask him as they deal with this all the time. They should be contacted as a matter of urgency. They have a 24 hour helpline (might be England only).

I'm sure that Shelter may be able to help, but only if they have all the facts available to them. At the moment it seems unclear whether he's applied for JSA or IS and it will be much clearer if this can be sorted out first.

Fran

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

I'm sure that Shelter may be able to help, but only if they have all the facts available to them. At the moment it seems unclear whether he's applied for JSA or IS and it will be much clearer if this can be sorted out first.

Clearly this would come up when the 19 year old with or without the OP contacts Shelter.

Oldernotwiser

Fran wrote: »

Clearly this would come up when the 19 year old with or without the OP contacts Shelter.

So best to have accurate information to hand before making contact.

Charities are very busy and under pressure these days so why not make the best use of their time and efforts?

Fran

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

So best to have accurate information to hand before making contact.

Charities are very busy and under pressure these days so why not make the best use of their time and efforts?

I'm not sure why you keep repeating this.

Shelter will ask the 19 year old what benefits he has applied for when he contacts them. He will have letters from the relevant departments and knows what he has applied for, it's just the OP is not sure. Shelter will ask the relevant questions.

Alleycat

I work for a housing advice charity and if there are significant rent arrears time is of the essence. I agree with Fran that the friend should not delay in contacting shelter for advice. They will be able to ask the appropriate questions directly and if the friend does not know for definite they will be able to enquire on his behalf.

Whilst it is useful to bring as much information as they can with them, let the professionals do the job they are there to do. Delays can result in eviction proceedings taking place, being out of time for appealing decisions and not being able to get as much of a backdate of benefits as may be needed (i.e. the 6 month max backdate rule for HB).

ashcarrot

Thanks guys i've given him the number and will hopefully check up on him tomorrow. Hopefully this will put him on track

Oldernotwiser

Fran wrote: »

I'm not sure why you keep repeating this.

Shelter will ask the 19 year old what benefits he has applied for when he contacts them. He will have letters from the relevant departments and knows what he has applied for, it's just the OP is not sure. Shelter will ask the relevant questions.

I keep repeating it because I think it's important!

They can ask him until they're blue in the face but if he doesn't know when he sees them it'll be a waste of everybody's time.

All I'm saying that if someone seeking help has all the information with them then they can move things on more quickly; why give extra work for a hard pressed charity when the basics can be covered before having an appointment? If people were better prepared, the time saved could be used to help more people, which would surely be a good thing?

Oldernotwiser

notlongnow wrote: »

Whats a Foyer??

Sorry nobody's replied to your question before.

http://www.foyer.net/

Macro_3

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

I keep repeating it because I think it's important!

They can ask him until they're blue in the face but if he doesn't know when he sees them it'll be a waste of everybody's time.

All I'm saying that if someone seeking help has all the information with them then they can move things on more quickly; why give extra work for a hard pressed charity when the basics can be covered before having an appointment? If people were better prepared, the time saved could be used to help more people, which would surely be a good thing?

I agree with ONW actually. It's not at all unusual to receive a letter/call from the CAB hoping to intervene on the behalf of someone who has been wrongly turned down for housing benefit and find that what the claimant thinks has happened and what has actually happened are worlds apart.

If time is truly of the essence, then it makes more sense for the OP and his friend to call into the LA and ask for an ad hoc interview (or just telephone) to get the full picture re his claim, as it may be something that could be sorted out very quickly. Even if it can't, at least they then have the full picture and can go to Shelter/the CAB with the full information having only wasted an hour or two.

The alternative is that he waits for an appointment with the CAB or waits until the next drop in, tells them the situation from his point of view (accurate or not) and they talk/write to HB on his behalf - if his version of events is accurate, it could take a few days at best, if he doesn't understand what has happened they could be to-ing and fro-ing for weeks.

alwaysonthego_2

The CAB can ring the HB/LHA department whilst the client is there to find out the full facts.