Text based Resources
Below you will find resources to download

Welfare Benefits and Mental Health
Most mental health service users and many carers are reliant in a variety of ways on welfare benefits and credits. Evidence suggests that issues relating to welfare benefits and income are identified by peope using mental health services as crititcal to the management fo their lives, yet these issues are often neglected by service providers.
The following resources have been developed to develop knowledge and improve practice in this area.

Claiming Disability Living Allowance
An information pack for adults up to age 65 using Mental Health Services, their Carers and Advocates.
This information pack addresses, in a practical way, the issue of poverty amongst people who use mental health services. Whilst increasing numbers of people with mental health problems are claiming Disability Living Allowance (DLA) the evidence suggests that many who could benefit from it are still not making claims. In 2005 £200 million of DLA and Attendance Allowance was unclaimed. The authors of this guide have had success in increasing income levels amongst service users by assisting them to claim DLA and would like to share wat they have learnt with others.

Mental Health and Incapacity for Work
An information pack for people claiming Incapacity Benefit, Income Support and Severe Disablement Allowance
this information pack has been written for people using mental health services and their advocates who are concerned to maximisee benefit income. Research has shown that the Incapacity for Work Test, brings with it complex and worrying procedures for people with mental health problems who are unable to work and who claim Incapacity Benefit, Income Support and Severe Disablement Allowance.

Transforming Lives: Changing Services
This guide suggests ways of engaging with user involvement which will assist mental health practitioners in mental health trusts and the voluntary sector to improve practice in this area. It combines ideas and advice with direct quotes from some of the users and staff who contributed to the research on which it is based.

Who Benefits? Suresearch Survey
This survey is designed to collect the benefit/tax credit experiences fo metnal health service users, carers, advocates, mental health advice workers. The results will be published and sent to service user, carer and MIND organisations as well as those who are concerned about the treatment of mental health service users by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), the Tax Credit scheme (HM Revenue and Customs), Housing Benefit and Council Tax Offices.