It has been six months since we relaunched as Disability Assist and we are pleased to share that the charity has been able to increase our reach and activity to help even more people with disabilities across Kent.
Our new name and look were the culmination of many months of planning and consultation behind the scenes, and we launched with a series of social media, broadcast, direct mail and other activities in April. But the hard work didn’t stop there and we have since been working to make sure that there is better awareness of who we are and what we do, so that we can support more disabled people and better serve our existing clients.
Talking to the community
We have great relationships with health and social care professionals in the county and our staff have been delivering talks to various groups and events, both virtually and in-person, to make sure that as many people as possible are aware of our services. We maintain regular dialogue with Kent County Council staff to ensure that they are also spreading the news of how we can help to the people that they work with. If you are a professional and would like us to speak to your team, please contact us.
Supporting our clients
We hear from clients time and time again how we have been able to provide them with invaluable help and advice that has helped to improve their lives. From providing answers to common questions to supporting with complex issues, our Information Officers are able to assist with information, advice and guidance, peer support and benefits advice, as well as a number of other queries.
Our benefits advice service is particularly popular and we are able to help with advice from form filling all the way through to tribunals where necessary. In the six months since we have relaunched under our new name, our benefits advisor has been able to help clients secure collectively over £135,000 in benefits such as PIP that they are entitled to.
We also have great relationships with other voluntary organisations around the county so can signpost you to the best place to get help with your query if we are unable to help you directly.
We were recently able to help a client with a hearing impairment who needed support with a PIP tribunal. She required a face-to-face hearing and our Information Officer was able to support her throughout the process. This is what she said:
“The support given to me was extremely professional and I will admit that without it, I would not have continued with DLA / PIP application which I found very confusing and unsupportive to me as an individual. I would and do recommend to others to contact you for guidance and advice for help with their disability, most of whom have hidden needs and not visible disability aids. It was a disturbing experience with dealing with the authorities at times but when your Information Officer explained things to me, she made me feel human and was so supportive it was truly a blessing. It is not just a question of receiving benefits, it is more to do with understanding the needs of those affected with a disability and how they are unable to cope with basic everyday issues.”
Find help and advice
Did you know that we have a self-help section of the website where you can find information and downloadable guides? You can find advice on navigating the cost of living crisis, applying for benefits and other topics and we are regularly adding to this section so please come back to check out the latest guides.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for all the latest news and information. We regularly update our pages with our own activities as well as interesting info from other organisations that might be of interest to you, so this is the easiest way to keep on top of the latest activity. Just click the links and get social with us!
If you would like help and support from us, please get in touch using the form below and one of the team will be in touch.
