Her application was successful and a new washing machine was delivered to her shortly after.
Emma from Caerphilly has a six-year-old son and 2-year-old twin sons. She came to us for help when her washing machine broke down and she could not afford to replace it. Emma, aged 25, was concerned that she would not be able to send her eldest son, who has additional learning needs, to school in a clean uniform. She has anxiety and is unable to work. She didn’t meet the set criteria for an Individual Assistance Payment (IAP) but she might have been entitled to a Discretionary Assistance Fund emergency payment as he had an ‘acute domestic pressure’.
Emma needed support to make the application so a telephone appointment was made. She was advised to have all her supporting evidence, such as proof of benefits, available for the appointment. With this evidence available, our adviser was able to make the application on Emma’s behalf, as she struggled with filling out forms. He did stress that there was no guarantee she would be successful and that she would hear back within a week or two.
Emma was also given information about other benefits, such as the School Uniform Grant and the Watersure schemes. Her application was successful and a new washing machine was delivered to her shortly after. With our support Emma was able to smoothly apply for an IAP and we gave her a range of information on grants and support schemes. She was also signposted to our Claim What’s Yours service, to see if she was receiving all the financial support available.
