Our Projects

Financial Advice & Support Services

The types of cases that can be seen by FASS:

• Debt problems
• Financial difficulty
• Unemployment (claiming benefits)
• Inability to budget or manage finances effectively
• Those experiencing “work poverty”
• Benefit calculations/better off
• Maximise income
• Reduce expenditure and support with budgeting

FoodBank

Advisers attend Foodbank Outreaches in Bridgend, Porthcawl and Maesteg.

The Project aims to reach out to those who are experiencing financial hardship, at risk of fuel poverty, living in crisis, or vulnerable to ill health and depend on Foodbank Vouchers as their only means of getting food.

The service will deliver and offer support with:

• Complete a full comprehensive benefit check
• Support with benefit applications
• Manage debts and maximise income
• Assistance with grants and other one-off support
• Improve their health and well-being.
• Support with housing issues.

Bridgend Energy Project

Warmer Wales supports clients who are living in fuel poverty and to support them in:

• Understanding tariffs & bills
• Providing advice on energy efficiency measures, thermal efficiency measures and identifying grants available under NEST.
• Providing benefit entitlement checks and/or assistance in claiming benefits. This includes checks for eligibility for Warm Home Discount (WHD), rebates available from energy suppliers and the priority services register (PSR)
• Support with complaints or customer service issues with an energy company
• Advice on dealing with and reducing fuel debt, including accessing financial support to pay off fuel debts through charitable grants, and ongoing payment plans. This is aimed at giving clients long-term relief from fuel poverty.
• Providing financial assistance to be spent towards energy bills, including rebates, to households that are particularly at risk of fuel poverty or in emergency situations.

Advicelink Cymru Generalist Advice Service

Supporting clients in the following groups

• Learning difficulties/additional needs
• Carer (including young carers)
• Child(ren) with complex needs
• Physical impairment
• Sensory impairment
• Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)
• People with mental health issues
• People accessing Integrated family support

Core Advice Service

Our Core service provides initial advice in consumer, debt, welfare benefits, employment, housing, relationships, taxes, immigration, health, education and discrimination

Initial contact will be either via the routes: in-person ‘drop-in service’, in-person appointment at an outreach venue, or by telephone via our main telephone service, whose telephone handlers will arrange either a digital or in-person appointment depending on the client’s circumstances and availability. Ongoing work will include access to appointments via a range of channels e.g. in-person, telephone. We will ensure wherever possible to work out of community venues and partner venues.

Help To Claim

• Our Help to Claim advisers can help you with the early stages of your Universal Credit claim.

• Our advisers can help you:

  • work out if you can get Universal Credit

  • fill in the Universal Credit application

  • prepare for your first Jobcentre appointment

  • check your first payment is correct

• Here is a link to a video explaining the service https://youtu.be/bp2IdEjnXR8?si=c5E6RHqpIOEDKAql
• There is no internal referral process for clients. Anyone who would like to contact the service can contact them by phone on 0800 024 1220 or web chat Monday to Friday 8am-6pm https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/wales/about-us/contact-us/contact-us/help-to-claim/

Specialist Debt

• This project allows us to support clients with debt solutions specific to the needs of a particular client.
• The debt team will determine these needs by completing a full debt assessment, identifying ways to maximise income and reduce spending, to arrive at a suitable solution.

Specialist Benefit

• The specialist benefit team work with clients that are going through the tribunal service, in order to be awarded a welfare benefit that they believe they are entitled to, but have been declined.
• Working with the client directly, the benefits team help clients to put their appeal submission into the tribunal, and prepare them for what to expect from the tribunal itself.