 |
|
As well as the open door services and appointments we offer at our main site at Walworth Road , we offer several outreach advice sessions. This is an important part of the work that we do as we know that some people would not be able to access advice through our open door sessions. Our outreach centres are aimed at targeting hard to reach groups by providing our services in the Community.
We provide specialist advice and casework in the areas of Debt, Housing and Welfare Benefits under our contracts with the Legal Services Commission. To see an adviser, come to one of our open door sessions at the Centre and we can arrange an appointment if we have one available. We run outreach centres in the following locations. |
- Paxton green
-
Bengali Community Development
-
Sure Start
-
Southwark Travellers Action Group
-
Southwark Irish Pensioners
-
Southwark Somali Refugee Project
-
Lambeth County Court Drop In
-
Capitalise face-to-face Money Advice Project
|
|
|
|
| Paxton Green Health Centre: people with health problems gaining access to advice |
|
People's health is often affected by worrying about other problems and we are able to offer advice to help with this. Blackfriars Advice, hold weekly advice sessions at Paxton Green Health Centre. We hope that the advice we given improves their health problems. Users of this service have said that they have found it easier to come to the Paxton Green Health Centre which is close to where they live and this service feels reliable because it is attached to the surgery and that access is of prime importance.
We have found that the majority of advice given at the Paxton Green heath centre relates to benefits,debt and housing.
|
We are able to offer advice on each of these matters and help you with making new claims or helping check your benefit entitlement. We also offer a full debt advice service, which helps with financial problems. We offer help advice and support with housing issues most of which relate to repairs and transfers, we are also able to offer specialist advice in relations to housing through the Legal Services Commission (LSC).
To contact the Paxton Green Health Centre please ring 020 8670 6878 or email paxtonhealth@address.nhs.gov.uk
Visit the Paxton Green Health Centre at 1 Alleyn Park, SE21 BAU or see the map below.
|
| |
| Bengali Community Development Project |
|
For many years Blackfriars Advice Centre has run an advice service for users of the Bengali Community Development Project, which is based on the Rockingham Estate.
We offer a drop in session on Thursday afternoons between 2pm and 4pm each week and these are attended by a translator to assist with advice and support
This outreach centre have been successful for many years and the service is used widely by local residents. Many of the enquiries that
|
we deal with through this outreach session are related to Welfare Benefits and we do many successful appeals of benefits on customers' behalf.
To contact the Bengali Community Development Project please ring 020 7403 8361or 020 7403 8361 1504 or email BengaliCommunity@blackfriars-advice.com
To visit the Bengali Community Development Project at: 1 Martin House, Falmouth Road, SE1 6QP - click here for a map. |
|
|
|
We have been running Sure Start advice services from Blackfriars for many years now. We provided services providing advice to parents with children under 5 years. Originally Sure Start was to help parents who lived in the certain areas, but now any clients with children under five can access the service at Children Centres.
|
Sure start advisers at Blackfriars work with health advisors, midwives and social workers, this has enabled us to offers the best level of service and knowledge to customers and their children
For details about Sure Start at Blackfriars Advice Centre please ring 020 7701 3999 or email surestart@blackfriars-advice.com . To see an adviser, you can just drop in to one of our advice sessions at the following Childrens Centres: |
Kintore Way Childrens Centre
Grange Road,
London,
SE1 3BW
Open: Monday 10am – 12 noon |
Early Years Centre
Rotherhithe Primary School,
Rotherhithe New Road,
London,
SE16 2PL
Open: Thursday 2pm – 4pm |
Bishops House
Kennington Park Place,
SE11
Open: Wednesday 2pm – 4pm |
First Place
Chumleigh Street,
Albany Road,
SE5 ORN
Open: Thursday 2pm – 4pm |
|
|
|
Southwark Somali Refugee Project |
|
We provide generalist advice services to the Somali Community through our outreach service which we hold on Tuesday afternoons between 2pm and 4pm . The session is run on an appointment basis and you need to contact the Refugee Project to |
arrange an appointment at Unit 143 Camberwell Business Centre, Lomon Grove, Camberwell, London , SE5 7NA . Tel: 020 7358 3274. An interpretor is available for clients at these sessions. |
 top of page
|
Advising the Irish community |
|
Southwark is a very diverse and multi-cultural borough and we receive direct funding from the Irish government to offer advice and support to the Irish community in Southwark. This work mainly consists of working with Southwark Irish Pensioners and Southwark Travellers Action Group (STAG).
BAC works closely with both of these organisations and is available to assist workers at both centres
Blackfriars Advice provides appointments for Irish Travellers each week either at their homes, on the traveller's sites or at Peckham Settlement where we run an outreach session (please see below
|
for the location map), to book an appointment please contact either Southwark Travellers Action Group at Peckham Settlement, Goldsmith Road, London, SE15 5TF, Tel: 020 7639 1823 or Southwark Irish Pensioners at 19 Spa Road, London, SE16 3SA. Tel: 0207 232 1004
Most of the cases dealt with through the projects concern welfare benefits, pensions, debt and housing although there have also been issues related to consumer, rent and the amount of benefit awarded for mobile homes.
A couple of cases that Blackfriars have worked on in the past year that have proved very beneficial for the client are as the case studies below:
|
top of page
|
Case Study 2
Mrs B, an Irish pensioner, believed that her Council Tax banding was incorrect and asked our adviser to investigate. We looked into the situation and discovered that some properties had different banding on the same street even though the properties were the same size and so he requested a review of the Council Tax banding for Mrs B's property. The valuation office agency decided that Mrs B's property had been banded incorrectly and reduced her banding downwards. This meant that Mrs B was entitled to a refund of council tax amounting to approximately £1,500 for the years when she had been paying more than she should have been. |
|
Case Study 3
Mt D, an Irish traveller, is a single parent with two young children, she cannot read or write. She moved from private rented accommodation four years ago into a council flat. She had great problems with the Housing and Council Tax Benefit at her previous address as Southwark Council said she had been overpaid benefit and they would recover it from her. Southwark wanted to recover £600 in overpaid Housing Benefit and £2,666 in Council Tax arrears. They did deduct money from Mrs D's benefits for some time until our adviser contacted Southwark council to challenge the recovery of these benefits. As a result the overpayment of rent has been completely written off and the Council Tax debt has been reduced to £243 and this is still being challenged. |
|
|
