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 people using mental health services as critical to the management of their lives, yet these issues are often neglected by service providers.

The following resources have been developed to improve knowledge and practice in this area.

 

Claiming Disability Living Allowance

An information pack for adults up to the age of 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 what they have learnt with others.

Claiming Disability Living Allowance (pdf file)

 

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 maximise 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.

Mental Health and Incapacity for Work (pdf file)

 

 

Transforming Services: Changing Lives

This guide suggests ways of engaging 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.

 

Two Decades of Change: Celebrating User Involvement

This report was put together by Marion Clark and Tony Glynn following the successful 'Two Decades of Change: Celebrating User Involvement' event, which was held here in the Centre on 2 November 2006.

In 2006 Colin Gell, a mental health service user activist of many years, approached the Centre of Excellence in Interdisciplinary Mental Health with the idea of hosting this event, which would celebrate 20 years of service user involvement. On 2 November, Suresearch (a network of service users, carers and academic allies), and CEIMH staff who had themselves been on the receiving end of mental health services, organised an event where service users and their supporters could come from across the West Midlands area and exchange their experiences, history and hopes for the future.

 

Who Benefits? Suresearch Survey

This survey is designed to collect the benefit/tax credit experiences of mental 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.

 

DAB-P (1st Februaryy 2010)