Posted on 28 March 2023
Maria moved into her Hyde home in the spring of 2021. She had previously shared a home with her mother, but when she passed away Maria moved into a smaller home on her own.
Not long after moving in, Maria fell down suddenly with heart failure, and a collapsed lung. She’s been in and out of hospital ever since, including a number of lonely and isolating periods in intensive care. This traumatic period of her life understandably left Maria feeling alone and depressed.
Health issues have meant that Maria is no longer able to work, and in order to support herself, she knew she needed to apply for Universal Credit (UC) and also Personal Independence Payments (PIP). This is when she was put in contact with one of our Welfare Benefits Advisors, Melanie Smith.
Melanie worked quickly to ensure that Maria received everything that she was entitled to, going above and beyond on numerous occasions. Knowing that Maria is dyslexic, she was patient and attentive in making sure that all necessary forms were properly filled in. Melanie even visited Maria, whilst she was still in hospital, to accompany and support her through the different telephone interviews she had in order to secure the UC and PIP payments.
Thanks to Melanie’s hard work and support, Maria received her entitlements with minimum delay and we were also able to secure a backdated payment. Her whole situation was changed for the good.
In addition to practical support, Melanie was also a great source of emotional help and support during an extremely sad and confusing time for Maria, who said: “I don’t know what I’d do without her… she deserves some sort of award!”
Maria is now a lot happier and healthier in herself, and even has a new pet dog to share her home with.
For advice and support, visit our helping hand pages
You can also use our online Universal Credit helper tool for more information.