Raising our game on tackling poverty https://20more.silvrback.com/feed Content Management/Blog en-us Mon, 30 Mar 2015 12:48:21 -0400 ruth@comas.org.uk (20More by Comas) https://20more.silvrback.com/minister-for-community-empowerment-visits-20-more#13252 Mon, 30 Mar 2015 12:48:21 -0400 https://20more.silvrback.com/minister-for-community-empowerment-visits-20-more Nice to see he has an eye for a bargain Minister for Empowering Communities Marco Biagi popped into the 20More Dumbiedykes Express shop this morning, to announce the project has been awarded a People & Communities grant to help us train community members to lead the project.
Which is indeed giving Scottish Government a bargain - the opportunities we create for community members can change their lives, as well as helping change their community, the ripple effect from the grant will be massive.
Karen Gillan, our project's benefits advisor, is a living local example - Karen trained in benefits, housing and debt advice as a volunteer in our Serenity Cafe project. As a Dumbiedykes resident, she was happy to join our 20 More project team to help all local residents gain £20 a week more, and in fact most of her early clients have gained way over £20 a week more, through her help to find their way around the benefits system.
With the People & Communities grant, we can help more people follow Karen's path.
Marco gave us the thumbs up on our work as we explained to him our next big idea after the shop - the community-led Energy Supply Company aiming at reducing household electricity costs.

]]> https://20more.silvrback.com/destitute-household-had-their-meter-capped-by-the-council#13174 Thu, 26 Mar 2015 08:31:49 -0400 https://20more.silvrback.com/destitute-household-had-their-meter-capped-by-the-council Yet another prepaid meter penalty for poor people
Team members did a home visit today and the whole team is amazed at what we found.
A resident looking after a 2-year old child ran out of money to top up her gas meter. At the same time, the Council came round to do the annual service of the meter. Because gas wasn't flowing, and the resident didn't have enough money to top up, they capped the meter, so that she couldn't use it at all. For over a month, the family have lived without being able to use their cooker, hot water or heating. They have managed by feeding money into the electric meter to run an expensive electric meter - pushing them further into poverty.
It would cost £10 to have provided this family with some credit to do the meter check. We reckon it must take 800% more money, at least, to send someone out again to uncap the meter. And meanwhile, a small child is growing up in a home that isn't warm or able to provide hot food....
This disastrous piece of bureaucracy shouldn't happen to anyone. In this case, it happened to a lovely couple providing kinship care to a 2-year old. Somehow, they have been left with a kinship care allowance as their only income - this is not enough to live on as it is meant to be an additional payment.
We're on the case, we have made the correct benefits claims and provided some furnishing the family needs to manage better.
Meanwhile, we're lobbying hard for this situation to be prevented, by investigating meter capping as a standard practice that must be stopped.

]]> https://20more.silvrback.com/it-s-shaping-up#12767 Tue, 10 Mar 2015 11:47:59 -0400 https://20more.silvrback.com/it-s-shaping-up The Dumbiedykes Express Nearly There!

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