The Advice Team

The Advice Team currently consists of two services, Welfare Benefits and Advocacy.

Welfare Benefits Service

The Welfare Benefits Advice service offers advice and assistance on complex welfare benefits issues to people suffering from mental health problems. It is a specialist service utilising the expert skills and experience of its staff to understand the procedures of the Department of Work and Pensions and other public bodies, and entitlement criteria of the welfare benefits and tax credits system.

Welfare Benefits Service – issues that we help with:

• Disability Living Allowance
• Employment Support Allowance
• Income Support
• Social Fund (Community Care Grant, Budgeting Loan, Funeral Expenses)
• Child Benefit
• Child Tax Credits
• Working Tax Credits
• Council Tax Benefit
• Housing Benefit
• Health Care Costs (HC1)
• Some other benefits
• Welfare Grants applications
• Welfare Benefits Appeals
• Welfare Benefits Appeal Tribunals

Access and Service Provision Criteria

To access the welfare benefits service for the first time clients must formally be referred by a mental health professional or GP using our "Advice Team Client Referral Form". This form has been distributed throughout the borough, to the CMHTs and GPs. This form should be completed by the person making the referral. It should not be completed by the person wishing to be referred. Once received, the referral will be assessed for priority and need. An appointment is usually offered by letter. New clients can expect to wait at least four weeks after receipt of their referral before an appointment. This is simply due to the high demand for this service.

To meet with our service provision criteria a person must reside in the London Borough of Enfield and have enduring mental health issues. The service is available to people between the ages of 18-65.

Please download our information leaflet.

We have produced a leaflet called "Benefits if you are sick or disabled". This is a guide to welfare benefits and other sources of financial help that you may be entitled to.

Since January 2009 – December 2009 we helped clients make 74 applications for Disability Living Allowance, 48 applications were successful, 15 applications were not successful, and 11 applications were still being processed.
(Correct at time of publication February 2010)

 

Advocacy Service

Advocacy can help you to:

• have your voice heard,
• express your views and concerns,
• improve your access to services and information,
• defend and promote your rights and responsibilities,
• explore choices and options.

What the Advocacy Service can do for you:

• provide you with information to help you make an informed choice,
• put you in touch with other appropriate services,
• write letters on your behalf or help you to write letters to professionals.

The Advocacy Service is:

• confidential, everything you say to the Mind in Enfield advocate will be treated as confidential,
• a confidence will only be broken if the client threatens to harm him/herself or others, or threatens to perform an illegal act,
• independent.

Advocacy – the type of issues that we help with:

• Access to information/medical files
• Care/treatment plan
• Complaints
• Ward round attendance
• CPA/MHT/MM attendance
• Discharge
• Employment/training/volunteering
• Leave status
• Marital/relationship dispute
• Information on medication/Mental Health Act
• Child welfare
• Other issues (but not welfare benefits, tax or immigration)

Community advocacy is provided to people in the community and people who are hospitalised within the mental health unit at Chase Farm. North London Forensic Service (NLFS) advocacy is provided to people with mental health issues who are detained under the criminal justice system. The North London Forensic Service is a medium secure unit based at the Chase Farm hospital site. Avesbury House is also part of NLFS, it is a forensic unit hostel for people released from the secure unit who are being integrated into the community. We also provide an outreach advocacy service to The Priory Hospital, North London.

Access and service provision criteria:

To access the Advocacy Service for the first time clients must formally be referred by a mental health professional or GP using our ‘Advice Team Client Referral Form’. This form has been distributed throughout the borough, to the CMHTs and GPs. This form should be completed by the person making the referral. People are seen by appointment only. To meet with our service provision criteria a person must reside in the London Borough of Enfield and have enduring mental health issues. The service is available to people between the ages of 18-65.

Please download our information leaflet.

Housing welfare

As part of our generic casework the Advice Team also provides help to clients who have housing welfare issues.

Please note: We do not provide legal advice.

Due to our limited resources we are currently unable to provide an interpretation service. Clients may be accompanied to an appointment by an adult relative or friend who is able and agreeable to providing translation.

These services are available to wheelchair users and people with mobility, visual or hearing issues.

Contacting the Team

If you have an enquiry about the Welfare Benefits Service or the Advocacy Service please use our 24-hour voicemail service: 020 8887 1499. We will endeavour to respond to your enquiry within 24 hours. Alternatively e-mail your enquiry to paula.keane@mind-in-enfield.org.uk