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  • Below is a list of organisations and authorities who are providing advice, grants and possible funding to support people during the cost-of-living crisis. Underneath that, you can find a list of local services to support Carers alongside the local authorities’ services and hubs. The list will keep being updated as we come across further support or when details of grants and funding from the Welsh Government are published. Please see the different sections below. If anything is missing, please let us know by emailing gwen@allwalesforum.org.uk . Thank you in advance.  We want to thank NEA Cymru for inviting us to their Energy Crisis Conference 2024, thanks to the contacts made at the event we were able to gather more information that could be useful to families and update this page with more resources to support families.  Energy & Water Support Priority Services Register (PSR) Every gas, water and electricity supplier – who you pay your bills to – and your electricity distribution networks, has what is called a Priority Services Register. This register makes sure that, in an emergency situation, such as loss of gas supply, services are able to prioritise those customers who need the support the most. Who can join the PSR? Households who: Have someone aged over 60, or someone under 5 living with them. Have someone who is living with a chronic medical condition or registered disabled. Have someone who has any other specific needs, meaning they need extra support, including but not only: – Blind or partially sighted – Deaf or hard of hearing – Speech difficulties or a non-English speaker – Poor or no sense of smell Find out more information on the Ofgem site https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/getting-extra-help-priority-services-register Or contact directly your energy or water service provider and ask about their PSR. The NEST scheme The Nest scheme offers a range of free, impartial advice and, if you are eligible, a package of free home energy efficiency improvements such as a new boiler, central heating, insulation, solar panels or a heat pump. This can lower your energy bills and benefit your health and wellbeing. Find out how you can apply for free home energy efficiency improvements. Warm Wales Warm Wales is a CIC working to tackle fuel poverty by offering free advice and support (gas grants, eco funding) to ensure people across Wales and South-West England have warm and safe homes. Warm Wales – Get Support Hope4U   Custom Solutions for Stronger Outcomes  Hope4U’s purpose is to eradicate poverty and improve financial sustainability whilst building a brighter future. Their range of services have been developed to tackle the immediate problems individuals are facing, but also to help with the underlying issues.  They can support individuals with:  Money Management  They offer a range of services to help individuals, discuss good behaviours, explain priorities all to help individuals understand their money better.  They will also check to see if the individual is receiving all the benefits they are entitled too.    The range of services include:  Income maximisation   Budgeting   Understanding bills   Good behaviours  Benefit entitlement checks  Scenario planning  Energy Efficiency  Their experts can offer support and guidance to your customers, by carrying out a home energy survey, discussing the findings and giving hints and tips on how to be more efficient going forward, to save money on their energy bills. Their excellent customer focus ensures the highest level of service is delivered.   We can offer:  Home energy survey  Switching   Installation  Hints & tips   Sources of available funding  Unemployment  Their services help people of all ages, backgrounds and walks of life to gain the skills and knowledge to enter employment.  The journey consists of:  CV writing   Getting ready for an interview  Interview tips & guidance   Helping to secure training to increase skills  Visit their website here – https://www.hope4u.co.uk/  LEAP  LEAP helps to support as many people as possible who are at risk of going into fuel poverty. Their service is open to all types of householders – homeowners, private renters and social housing tenants.  You may be eligible for the LEAP service is one of the below apply. If you:  Have a low income  Receive tax credits  Receive Housing Benefits  Receive an income or disability related benefit  They can help with:  Leap Appliance  Energy Advice  Boiler Scheme   Visit their website – https://applyforleap.org.uk/   Connected For Warmth  ‘Connected for Warmth’ is an award-winning scheme run in partnership with AgilityEco, funded by National Grid that is Helping households to tackle the cost-of-living crisis and rising fuel bills.  Find out more of what is available in your area here – https://www.connectedforwarmth.org.uk/   Evolve – Home Energy Solutions  While funding lasts, with Evolve Home Energy Solutions you could get cavity wall insulation and loft insulation for FREE if your home is in Council Tax Band A-D! Plus, FREE SMART heating controls, Radbots, radiator reflectors, LED lightbulbs and draught-proofing are available too.  Evolve is the primary installer for South Wales and the South west.  Find out more here – https://www.evolvehes.co.uk/connected-for-warmth/  Energy Ombudsman  The Energy Ombudsman provide a free and impartial service that aims to resolve disputes between consumers and suppliers in the energy sector.  If you’re having issues with your energy supplier, energy broker, network operator, green deal or heat network supplier, they may be able to help resolve your dispute.  Additional support  The energy Ombudsman can provide additional support to consumers needing help to access their services fully.  They can support individuals:   Speaking to them in a foreign language & translation services  With visual impairments (including Braille)  With hearing impairments (including Sign Language)  Accessibility  Visit the website here – https://www.energyombudsman.org/   Welsh Water Priority Services Welsh Water has a priority service for those who may be a parent with a baby, have an illness that requires water, have sight or hearing difficulties or are elderly or disabled. Welsh Waters Priority Services Register means they can help with: Reassurance against bogus callers Bottled water if your supply is interrupted Alternative ways of getting information You can join the register by completing the on line form on https://www.dwrcymru.com/en/help-advice/priority-services Alternatively, you More…

  • Have you heard of Gig Buddies Cymru? It is a friendship project matching people with a learning disability and/or autism with a volunteer from their local community to enjoy activities and a social life they want, when they want, safely and as friends. Learning Disability Wales hosts Gig Buddies Cymru in 11 counties in Wales. They have very limited resources to meet the current and increasing demand and have had a waiting list for nearly two years of people with a learning disability and/or autism wanting to join. They are seeking funding for the next few years. To help with this, they want (and need) to gather views from people and organisations that know of, or might be interested in, accessing Gig Buddies and working with them. Gig Buddies want to find what the need is in each county and how people can be involved in the design, development and delivery of the project. Your views will help them see: ·      How much interest and need there is for Gig Buddies ·      How it can help people in their life, family, community and services. ·      How we can work together ·      How people can be involved in the project They are particularly looking for views in Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy, Wrexham, Flintshire, Denbighshire, Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan. 1.    For people with a learning disability and/or autism. They are working and are very grateful to self-advocacy groups where they are asking for views in person or online, through discussion. This survey is not online. It is an easy-read survey as a Word document that people can fill in individually, or with support. It can be filled out and emailed or printed out and posted. English and Welsh versions are attached. Cymraeg Easy Read Survey Gig Buddies Cymru Feb 24 English Easy Read Survey Gig Buddies Cymru Feb 24 This asks people about their spare time, social life, and potential to have a ‘Gig Buddy’.   2.    For parents/carers/families (Unpaid Carer). This asks about your family member’s spare time, social life and potential to have a Gig Buddy and what it would mean to your family.           English survey. Welsh survey. 3.    For organisations and service providers.For supported housing providers, third sector providers, social care, social prescribers, health etc. This asks if you have heard of Gig Buddies, if you have referred someone, the need and impact and how we can work together.           English survey. Welsh survey.   The deadline for the surveys is the 21 March. Thank you.

  • As the Forum, we have recently been contacted by Rebecca Curtis from NHS Wales with a great opportunity for parents of children and young people with a learning disability. Rebecca and her colleague Liz lead a national programme in Wales for children and young people with learning disability. At the moment, they are looking to run a separate sub-group to encourage more representation from parents and carers for children with a learning disability in Wales. You can find out more about Improvement Cymru here. They will be holding a parent carer sub-group meeting on Wednesday 13th March at 1.30- 2.30pm.  13th March 2024 1:30-2:30pm Parent Carer Sub Group Meeting (office.com) Rebecca and Liz work closely with the learning disability policy team in Welsh Government and the aim is to co-produce a national vision and action plan for the future delivery of learning disability services. This means that all parents contributions will be used to make positive change. Read the Term of Reference and see the poster at the links below Terms of Reference -All Wales CoP for Children and Young People_ Parent carer subgroup meeting Final Thank you and please share with anyone who might be interested.

Welcome to our website

 

The AWF is unique among Learning Disabilities bodies in Wales in that it is the only organisation that represents nationally, collectively and solely the views of Parents and Carers of people with learning disabilities. We are an umbrella body for locally and regionally based organisations and support groups made up of parents and carers. Our wider alliance partners share a commitment in working to improve the rights and recognition of parents and carers and families supporting loved ones living with learning disability. The Forum is also governed by parents and carers, ensuring that our client base has a clear input into the strategic direction and core work of the organisation.

The Forum prides itself on our capacity to reach out across Wales and make real changes, including influencing policy, supporting local alliance groups, engaging in innovative projects and highlighting key areas of need that are yet to be addressed fully.

We achieve most of our work through the true spirit of partnership and shared resources, and we believe that in the future years this method of working will not only continue to prove effective in delivering outcomes, but it will also become essential if we are to continue to generate innovative and essential support solutions to families across Wales.

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Advice helplines


Carers UK provides high quality advice and information to carers and the professionals who support carers. Staffed by experts, they have years of experience of dealing with the problems carers face.

The Advice line is open Monday to Friday, 10am – 4pm, tel: 0808 808 7777

mencap cymru

Mencap WISE is a free service that offers support, advice and information in English and Welsh. The service is available to everyone in Wales, whether you are a person with a learning a learning disability, a family member or a friend. They can give you the information you need to understand the rights of people with a learning disability and to support them to access services or challenge decisions.

The Mencap WISE Helpline is open Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm, tel: 0808 8000 300

The EYST Multi-lingual Helpline Wales is for anyone over the age of 18 living in Wales, particularly if you identify as Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic, or if you would like to speak to someone in a language other than English or Welsh.

The EYST Helpline is open 10am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Phone 0808 801 0720 or text 07537 432416.

Community Groups

Brecon Carer Groups
Bridgend Parent and Carer Group
Caerphilly Carers Group
Cardiff and the Vale Parents Federation
Ceredigion Carers Forum
Community Lives Consortium Relatives Forum
Conwy Connect – Carers
Denbighshire Carers Forum
Learning Disability Flintshire
Gwynedd LD Carers outreach
Knighton Parent Carer Group
Powys Carers Groups
Mencap Carers Support Group,
Anglesey Mencap
Carmarthenshire family support

Merthyr Carer Action Group
Monmouthshire Carers Group Montgomeryshire Family Carers Centre
Montgomeryshire Open Door parent carer group
Newtown Newtown Carers Group
Parents for Change, Newport
Pembrokeshire Carers Group
Radnor Carers Group
Rhondda Cynon Taff Carers group
Smile Parent Group
The Carers Outreach Service, Bangor
Welshpool Carer Group
Ystradgynlais Parent Group
Llandrindod Wells Carer Group

Mencap Carers Support Group, Anglesey

Denbighshire Carers Forum

Learning Disability Flintshire

Ceredigion Carers Forum

Wrexham Carer Group

The Carers Outreach Service, Bangor

Gwynedd LD Carers outreach

Conwy Connect – Carers

Newtown and Welshpool Carer Group

Montgomeryshire Open Door parent carer group

Montgomeryshire Family Carers Centre

Radnor Carers Group

Knighton Parent Carer Group

Brecon Carers Group

Pembrokeshire Carers Group

Ystradgynlais Parent Group

Mencap Carmarthenshire family support

Merthyr Carer Action Group

Monmouthshire Carers Group

Rhondda Cynon Taff Carers group

Caerphilly Carers Group

Community Lives Consortium Relatives Forum

Bridgend Parent and Carer Group

Parents for Change, Newport

Cardiff and the Vale Parents Federation