Help is out there – more than you realise!

Comment by Oliver Gray, Charis’ business development director

Ollie is keen to let as many people as possible know about the additional grant schemes they currently have running. He is happy to talk through the schemes over the holiday period and can be contacted at 07731 022075.

Recently released figures highlighted in a BBC report indicate how many people with pre-payment meters who are eligible for winter fuel payments are still not redeeming their vouchers. According to the BBC report, only 27 per cent of December’s vouchers had been cashed at PayPoint stores by 18^th December, despite that week being one of the coldest on record for many years.

When you hear these reports, it makes you wonder what is happening to make people miss out on this vital support.

Is the message not getting through? Are they not aware that they are eligible not only for the government’s Energy Bill Support Scheme but also for other grant schemes that are run privately through energy suppliers as well?

Charis works with Citizens Advice Bureaus, charities, and local authorities the length and breadth of the country and have spent years developing a platform through which energy payments can be redeemed over and above the Government’s EBSS.

Charis is currently working in partnership with selected energy suppliers on two major schemes that total nearly £2 million.

Our Let’s Talk Energy fund is available for vulnerable households, giving additional financial assistance of up to £150 that can be used to top up pre-paid meters or, indeed, to replace old, inefficient white goods with brand new high energy-rating electrical goods.

The Let’s Talk Energy scheme is running until March 31^st, 2023, and eligible applicants can apply online by clicking on this link: let’s talk whd form  · Customer Self-Service (charisgrants.com)

We have also recently launched our Park Homes Warm Homes Discount scheme, set up specifically to target the 250,000 people living permanently in park homes and static caravans across the UK. Many of these people are over sixty years old and in retirement but do not have a direct relationship with an energy supplier because they pay their utilities direct to site owners.

Park home residents who fulfil certain criteria may be eligible for up to £150, which will be paid to them before the end of March 2023. Applicants can put in their details by clicking this link: Financial Grants for Individuals | Financial Assistance for Individuals | Charis (charisgrants.com)

We urge all news outlets over the coming weeks – particularly in view of the fact that the temperatures are going to be dropping again – to publish details of these two schemes. It could be the difference between a family getting through the next few weeks in a degree of comfort or significant discomfort.

The Charis Shop provides a responsible and responsive, safe, and simple way for associations and charities to get financial support and goods directly to people in hardship fast. Charis works with over 520 partners, including 136 housing associations and 36 local authorities, to administer hardship funds to residents countrywide.

To contact Ollie Gray at Charis, please contact him at 07731 022075.

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