Case Study 1
Client: *Ms Sharwood
Ms Sharwood is a divorced mother of four suffering from emphysema and living alone in a large housing association property. She has not worked since the death of her son in an accident four years ago which left her suffering with debilitating and chronic severe depression. Ms Sharwood survives on Income Support which after direct deductions for council tax arrears leaves her with less than £100 per week.
The client wanted to downsize her family home after all her children moved out, however she was unable to leave the property until she had made significant internal repairs. As she was unable to afford the repairs, she had to stay in the property, leaving her struggling with the large bills which she could not manage on her low income.
The final straw came a few months ago when her son had to call the fire brigade after he was unable to turn off her electric cooker. The fire brigade condemned the cooker on arrival and the Social Fund refused her application for a new one as she already owned a microwave. This left the applicant living off cold food and microwavable ready meals which are unhealthy and expensive.
Ms Sharwood always prioritised paying for her energy and had prepayment meters fitted so she didn’t fall into arrears. She always managed to struggle by on her very low income however she didn’t have any excess income she could put towards a new cooker.
The client eventually sought help from her housing association who agreed to try and find a way to help her pay for the necessary repairs to her house to enable her to move to a smaller property. They also told her about the Energy Advice Project at Bristol Debt Advice Centre, which helped her make an application to the Trust for a new cooker. Ms Sharwood’s application was successful and she is now able to cook proper food again and have meals together with her family. On receipt of her award Ms Sharwood said ‘I am so grateful that the trust has given me this opportunity, the cooker has made such a big impact on my day-to-day living.’
*Names have been changed to protect the applicant’s identity