Help for pensioner who could not read or write

Canterbury City Council suspended housing benefit payments for Bridie, a 67-year-old pensioner with a secure council tenancy, when she failed to complete a Benefit Review form. Bridie was from a traveller background and could not read or write.

How CHAC helped 

CHAC helped Bridie complete a Benefit Review form which enabled her weekly housing benefit payment of £112 to be reinstated. When Bridie came to see CHAC in June 2021, one of the other matters discussed was her health. Bridie had COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) and told us she didn’t like going out as she hadn’t yet had a Covid-19 vaccination. Bridie’s son and daughter (who lived with her) also had some health problems, but they had not been vaccinated either. Bridie had expected her GP to arrange the vaccinations but when that failed to happen, she didn’t know how to sort it out and none of her family were computer literate.

The outcome

As Bridie also had mobility problems, we booked her an appointment at the level access vaccination centre at the Canterbury Odeon for the following day. An appointment for her daughter was also secured at the same time and place. Her son was working and needed to speak to his employer so we gave Bridie the telephone number he could use to arrange an appointment at a time to suit.

Back to Case Studies

Image by shurkin_son on Freepik