Community Care Grant - Desperate

iSlideOnItConstance

Hello, my brother recently applied for a Community Care Grant, however the claim was turned down. He is unsure of what to write in the the review letter. Could anyone help, please? Below is the resettlement plan his support worker sent off with the application. Below that is what he has written thus far. Could anyone provide some pointers or write the letter?

Thank you.


Dear Sirs

Re: Planned Resettlement Programme for (11/)
(Community Care Grant)


I write in regards to the above:

Mr

---

lived rough for a number of months due to a breakdown at home. Mr

---

moved into a council house after securing the property through bidding via Sandwell Homes. However, Mr

---

was forced to leave his property as it was in disrepair and also due to a burglary that occurred which left him distressed and feeling threatened to stay in the property. Consequently, Mr

---

moved into our supported accommodation on the 25th February 2012 where he was receiving support to resettle into the community.

---

Supported Housing manages Supported Housing projects throughout the Birmingham Area. We help tenants to maintain their tenancy and make sure all communal tasks are completed i.e. gardening, vacuuming, rubbish disposal and general maintenance.

We encourage tenants to get back into work and offer help and advice to achieve that objective. Once that has been achieved, we help our tenants to find alternative accommodation.

Whilst in our Hostel, Mr

---

and his support worker devised a plan to resettle him into the community. The plan consisted of the following five stages:


1. Chase up Birmingham City Council and Housing Associations about re-housing him into a new house as he had been forced to give up his previous council house due to extreme circumstances and also to bid in order to get re-housed.
2. Develop basic living skills such as budgeting skills and attending appointments independently with external parties such as his G.P. and solicitors.
3. Enrolment at college
4. Finding Work
5. Apply for social funding once re-housed to get assistance whilst setting up home.

During the time Mr

---

has been involved with the programme, he has made significant progress with regards to the above stages. Firstly, Mr

---

was assisted to enrol at college where he is attending a BTEC National in Applied Sciences that is helping him to further improve his understanding in that field.

Secondly, Mr

---

has been able to develop basic skills whilst living in our hostel. For instance, he has been able to maintain his tenancy by not incurring arrears from unpaid service charges through careful budgeting. He has improved his confidence and is now able to attend appointments with solicitors and G.P without the need for his support workers assistance.

Thirdly, Mr

---

was assisted in writing up a CV, setting up and email address to speed up the process of job hunting and replying to job applications. Along with developing his literacy skills, these measures were taken to allow him to find work and continue to live independently.


Fourthly, Mr

---

has secured permanent accommodation by obtaining tenancy of a Housing Association and now requires financial assistance in buying items for his new flat in order to set up home, hence, requires financial aid from the community care grant.

Attached is Mr

---

application for community care grant; I look forward to a positive outcome.

Regards

Support Worker

_______________________________________________________



I,

---

am appealing against the decision made on 11/10/2012 to decline the award of Community Care Grant on the grounds that ‘the qualifying conditions for the payment of Community Care Grant are not satisfied’. 



The items listed in my initial application are needed as I am setting up home for the first time, I am under exceptional pressure as I have no money or furnishings to purchase the basic necessities for my flat. I feel that the items listed should be given priority as they will allow me to stay in the community and not be forced to move. Please use your discretion sympathetically when reviewing my claim.
All the items that were provided to me such as bed, fridge, cooker, crockery, cutlery and sofa belonged to the hostel. I have nothing of significance to furnish my flat.

• 1 Double Bed + Bed Frame £149.99.
• Wardrobe - £89.99
• Chest of Drawers x2 - £59.99
• Cooker - £189.99
• Fridge – 159.99
• Washing Machine - £179.99
• Curtains - £69.99
• Microwave - £42
• Table & Chairs - £ 99.99
• Kettle - £ 25
• Toaster - £25
• Carpet/Flooring £500

missapril75

Assuming there's a qualifying benefit involved, it's a good case, with a couple of points worth noting.

The reference to "setting up home for the first time" doesn't sound accurate since he previously moved into a council home. Any furnishing involved with that place?

As far as the items go: floor covering is unlikely unless there's a particular problem (there's another recent thread on that); microwave unlikely if a cooker is done. Unless there are medical/special circumstances, fridge and washing machine unlikely.

iSlideOnItConstance

missapril75 wrote: »

Assuming there's a qualifying benefit involved, it's a good case, with a couple of points worth noting.

The reference to "setting up home for the first time" doesn't sound accurate since he previously moved into a council home. Any furnishing involved with that place?

As far as the items go: floor covering is unlikely unless there's a particular problem (there's another recent thread on that); microwave unlikely if a cooker is done. Unless there are medical/special circumstances, fridge and washing machine unlikely.

Thanks.

From what i know, he only had a microwave in the council property .

sniggings

sorry can't help but did notice he applied for a double bed, if he is single then they will not give money for a double bed.

pmlindyloo

iSlideOnItConstance wrote: »

Hello, my brother recently applied for a Community Care Grant, however the claim was turned down. He is unsure of what to write in the the review letter. Could anyone help, please? Below is the resettlement plan his support worker sent off with the application. Below that is what he has written thus far. Could anyone provide some pointers or write the letter?

Thank you.


Dear Sirs

Re: Planned Resettlement Programme for (11/)
(Community Care Grant)


I write in regards to the above:

Mr

---

lived rough for a number of months due to a breakdown at home. Mr

---

moved into a council house after securing the property through bidding via Sandwell Homes. However, Mr

---

was forced to leave his property as it was in disrepair and also due to a burglary that occurred which left him distressed and feeling threatened to stay in the property. Consequently, Mr

---

moved into our supported accommodation on the 25th February 2012 where he was receiving support to resettle into the community.

---

Supported Housing manages Supported Housing projects throughout the Birmingham Area. We help tenants to maintain their tenancy and make sure all communal tasks are completed i.e. gardening, vacuuming, rubbish disposal and general maintenance.

We encourage tenants to get back into work and offer help and advice to achieve that objective. Once that has been achieved, we help our tenants to find alternative accommodation.

Whilst in our Hostel, Mr

---

and his support worker devised a plan to resettle him into the community. The plan consisted of the following five stages:


1. Chase up Birmingham City Council and Housing Associations about re-housing him into a new house as he had been forced to give up his previous council house due to extreme circumstances and also to bid in order to get re-housed.
2. Develop basic living skills such as budgeting skills and attending appointments independently with external parties such as his G.P. and solicitors.
3. Enrolment at college
4. Finding Work
5. Apply for social funding once re-housed to get assistance whilst setting up home.

During the time Mr

---

has been involved with the programme, he has made significant progress with regards to the above stages. Firstly, Mr

---

was assisted to enrol at college where he is attending a BTEC National in Applied Sciences that is helping him to further improve his understanding in that field.

Secondly, Mr

---

has been able to develop basic skills whilst living in our hostel. For instance, he has been able to maintain his tenancy by not incurring arrears from unpaid service charges through careful budgeting. He has improved his confidence and is now able to attend appointments with solicitors and G.P without the need for his support workers assistance.

Thirdly, Mr

---

was assisted in writing up a CV, setting up and email address to speed up the process of job hunting and replying to job applications. Along with developing his literacy skills, these measures were taken to allow him to find work and continue to live independently.


Fourthly, Mr

---

has secured permanent accommodation by obtaining tenancy of a Housing Association and now requires financial assistance in buying items for his new flat in order to set up home, hence, requires financial aid from the community care grant.

Attached is Mr

---

application for community care grant; I look forward to a positive outcome.

Regards

Support Worker

_______________________________________________________



I,

---

am appealing against the decision made on 11/10/2012 to decline the award of Community Care Grant on the grounds that ‘the qualifying conditions for the payment of Community Care Grant are not satisfied’. 



The items listed in my initial application are needed as I am setting up home for the first time, I am under exceptional pressure as I have no money or furnishings to purchase the basic necessities for my flat. I feel that the items listed should be given priority as they will allow me to stay in the community and not be forced to move. Please use your discretion sympathetically when reviewing my claim.
All the items that were provided to me such as bed, fridge, cooker, crockery, cutlery and sofa belonged to the hostel. I have nothing of significance to furnish my flat.

• 1 Double Bed + Bed Frame £149.99.
• Wardrobe - £89.99
• Chest of Drawers x2 - £59.99
• Cooker - £189.99
• Fridge – 159.99
• Washing Machine - £179.99
• Curtains - £69.99
• Microwave - £42
• Table & Chairs - £ 99.99
• Kettle - £ 25
• Toaster - £25
• Carpet/Flooring £500

I would agree with the previous poster that your brother is not setting up home for the first time and this may be the 'sticking point'.

Looking at the criteria

Who is eligible?

You can apply for a Community Care Grant if you are either:

• already getting Income Support, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Pension Credit, or payment on account of one of these benefits
• likely to start getting one of these benefits within the next six weeks because you're moving out of care

and any one of the following applies:

• you're moving out of residential or institutional care to live independently
• you're moving to a new home which will be more suitable for you following an unsettled period in your life and are being resettled by an organisation like a local council or voluntary organisation
• you need help to stay in your home and not go into residential care or hospital
• you need help because you and your family face exceptional pressure, such as family breakdown or because one of you has a long-term illness
• you look after someone who is ill or disabled, or has been released from custody on temporary licence
• you need help with expenses such as visiting someone who is ill, or to attend a relative's funeral

your brother, if on a qualifying benefit, does appear to meet the criteria as highlighted.

Therefore you need to find out what 'qualifying criteria' are not being 'satisfied.'

You could telephone them or you could get help from CAB (one with a Welfare and Benefit specialist would be best - google and find your nearest one with a specialist)

Your brother could get many of these items through Freecycle. Also CAB should be able to provide a list of charities who might help.

missapril75

sniggings wrote: »

sorry can't help but did notice he applied for a double bed, if he is single then they will not give money for a double bed.

Good point. Although the amount requested may be reasonable for a single one anyway. I can't remember what was 'usual' for a single bed.

pmlindyloo wrote: »

...your brother, if on a qualifying benefit, does appear to meet the criteria as highlighted.
Therefore you need to find out what 'qualifying criteria' are not being 'satisfied.'.

Based on experience, I suspect the original application said little more than the stuff was needed because of a move to unfurnished accommodation.

benefitbaby

Once your brother meets all the criteria then the decision maker has to determine the priority of his needs for the items he has requested (e.g. low, medium, high) when doing this they also have to take into account the amount of money available in the CCG budget.

Is your brother currently at review stage with the social fund or is he at the second stage of review request to the Independent Review Service? (the latter in my experience are far more thorough).

For more information visit the IRS website: http://www.irs-review.org.uk/index.html

and you can see decisions they have previously made with explanations of why, here:
http://www.irs-review.org.uk/infocent/jourdig/jourdig.htm

iSlideOnItConstance

benefitbaby wrote: »

Once your brother meets all the criteria then the decision maker has to determine the priority of his needs for the items he has requested (e.g. low, medium, high) when doing this they also have to take into account the amount of money available in the CCG budget.

Is your brother currently at review stage with the social fund or is he at the second stage of review request to the Independent Review Service? (the latter in my experience are far more thorough).

For more information visit the IRS website: http://www.irs-review.org.uk/index.html

and you can see decisions they have previously made with explanations of why, here:
http://www.irs-review.org.uk/infocent/jourdig/jourdig.htm

Thanks everyone.
He is currently in receipt of JSA.

Currently the application is at the review stage.

He wanted to send off the letter on monday, however he does not know how to expand on what he has written, nor do i.

sniggings

iSlideOnItConstance wrote: »

Thanks everyone.
He is currently in receipt of JSA.

Currently the application is at the review stage.

He wanted to send off the letter on monday, however he does not know how to expand on what he has written, nor do i.

I'm surprised he has been refused but I would think a crisis loan would be a lot easier to get as you have to pay those back.

benefitbaby

I think all that can be added is detail about why the items are a priority and the impact of not having them.

I would be surprised if curtains and flooring were given unless there would be a risk of harm without them, similarly if a microwave is awarded a cooker may not (or vice-versa), they may determine that laundry could be done at a launderette (so if there is not one anywhere near the property tell them). This may seem harsh but the CCG fund has to be used for people/items of high need.

Have a read of some of the decisions in my second link so you get an idea of how the decision making process works and if his review is not successful he should definately make a review to the IRS - they are very good.

benefitbaby

sniggings wrote: »

I'm surprised he has been refused but I would think a crisis loan would be a lot easier to get as you have to pay those back.

In my opinion this should be only considered once the CCG review process has been exhausted, as a CL adds debt to an already strained situation.