Cost of Living Support
Being a kidney patient, carer or family member can take its toll on your finances. However Kidney Wales can help you access the support available to help you with the cost of living.
Financial assistance grants
Our financial assistance grants are to help support kidney patients experiencing financial hardship, related to or resulting from the burden of chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Well-being food vouchers
The purpose of the Kidney Wales Wellness Voucher Scheme is to provide a pot of funding to buy supermarket food vouchers to meet individual needs.
Foodbank support
Kidney Wales work alongside Trussell foodbanks across Wales to help provide emergency food parcels to those in need. Available to all kidney patients, parents & carers of chronic kidney disease.
How does it work?
We chat about your needs and identify that you need a parcel.
We take some basic details eg. Address, household size/children, ages and any pets.
We find your nearest foodbank and provide you with a voucher to hand to friendly foodbank staff.
The parcel contains 3 days worth of food.
Whilst issuing a foodbank voucher Trussell can also work with you to find long term solutions to your circumstances such as seeking benefit advice in order to maximise your income.
If you are in food crisis contact us now
Welfare & Benefits
The rising cost of living has left many kidney patients and their families struggling to make ends meet. We know that being a kidney patient can put a strain on finances particularly if you are unable to work or having to reduce hours because of kidney disease.
Kidney Wales are here to support you, our friendly team can help find out what you could be entitled to, to help maximise your income.
You can either call us and we can take you through what benefits or grants you may be eligible for or you can visit our partners at Turn2us and take a look at their benefits calculator.
The best thing about the benefits calculator is that you can run through it in your own time, its free and confidential.
Turn2us Benefits Calculator
Quickly find out what benefits and extra help you may be entitled to with our confidential, easy-to-use calculator, independent of the DWP. Results can be sent to users by email, downloaded as a pdf, or saved online for later review.
https://benefits-calculator.turn2us.org.uk
Turn2us Grants Search
An easy-to-use directory of approximately 1,700 grants, offering cash, white goods, and services with no repayment obligations.
https://grants-search.turn2us.org.uk
Turn2us PIP Helper
Helps you manage each stage of your Personal Independence Payment application process with useful tips and wellbeing support.
Debt Advice & Support
StepChange is a debt charity with the aim of providing those most vulnerable with free advice and help in managing finances and finding affordable debt solutions.
StepChange Debt Charity is the UK’s leading debt advice charity, helping over 650,000 people every year to take back control of their finances and their lives. The support they offer is free, impartial and confidential, and every client receives personalised advice to help them deal with their debts.
What does debt advice involve?
- StepChange will gather details about your income, spending, debts, and assets
- Help you to complete a financial statement
- Recommend solutions and a course of action to deal with your debts
- Support you to put your plan into action
- Contact creditors on your behalf
For more information contact us
British Gas Energy Trust
Struggling with your energy bills? We’re here to help.
How can the British Gas Energy Trust help?
Assistance is delivered through four principal programmes: debt relief grants direct to households with up to £2,000 in energy debt; a small grants scheme, delivered through a network of trusted partners, which provides emergency energy vouchers and essential white goods; funding for over 30 money and energy advice projects across Britain; and an outreach programme that brings expert money and energy advice directly into the heart of communities.
How can I apply for an energy debt grant?
You can apply for a grant directly on the Trust’s website, or with support from Kidney Wales. To apply, you will need:
- To live in England, Scotland or Wales.
- To be applying for a debt relating to an open energy account at your place of residence, and the details of that account.
- Proof of household income from within the last 6 months.
- To have received help from a money advice agency or used our trusted partner’s self help budgeting calculator tool within the last 6 months.
Check further eligibility criteria and apply at Independent fuel debt advice – British Gas Energy Trust
Dwr Cymru / Welsh Water
As a REACH Partnership member, Kidney Wales can help you access support from Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water quickly and easily. Eligible clients can be referred directly for bill support and discounts through the Partnership Website, avoiding lengthy application processes and the need to submit documents.
We also encourage anyone receiving home dialysis to register with Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water’s free Priority Services Register (PSR), which provides additional support and assistance during water supply interruptions. Kidney Wales can take you through the process and sign you up. For more information contact us on 02920 343940.
Warm Wales
Warm Wales is a charity that works to tackle fuel poverty by offering free advice and support to ensure people across Wales have warm and safe homes.
They have a team of trained Project Delivery Officers via their Healthy Homes Healthy People project, which is available to everyone to help support reduce energy bills, apply for schemes and support those affected by fuel poverty. They can support with:
Energy: help and advice with understanding energy bills, smart meters, savings and discounts
Water: information, advice and support with tariff reductions and water meters
Heating: support with applications to schemes providing home heating measures to qualifying households
Income maximisation: support and signposting for benefit checks and council tax reduction applications. Our online benefits checker can be used to check if householders can be entitled to further benefits. Benefit calculator
Energy Awareness Sessions: We offer a range of sessions for groups including understanding your energy bills, understanding tariffs, CO safety, energy saving tips and how to keep your home warm.
Priority Service Register: free registration with gas, electricity and water providers for qualifying households
Home safety measures: carbon monoxide awareness, smoke alarms and locking cooker valves
Kidney Wales can make a referral for you at Get help from Warm Wales – Warm Wales
Nest
NEST provide energy efficiency improvements to low-income households and those living in deprived communities across Wales. Their aim is to help eradicate fuel poverty.
The home improvement package could include:
- New boiler
- Central heating systems
- Insulation
- Draught improvements
Eligibility
- You own your home or rent from a private landlord (not Council or Housing Association)
- Your home is energy inefficient and expensive to heat
- You or someone you live with receives a means tested benefit OR has a chronic respiratory, circulatory or mental health condition and an income below defined thresholds
If you are eligible, NEST will recommend a package of energy efficiency improvements at no cost to you. They will make your home warmer and save you money on your energy bills.
NEST advisors will ask you some questions about your property and the benefits you receive, so please make sure you have your benefit award letter and, if applicable, your landlord details to hand when you make the call.
To apply to NEST CALL: 0808 808 2244 Or visit their website nest.gov.wales.
What if I don’t qualify for home energy efficiency improvements?
If you don’t qualify for free home energy efficiency improvements, NEST can still provide advice on saving energy, money management, energy tariffs and benefit entitlement. they can also refer you to other schemes which may be able to provide home energy efficiency improvements at no or low cost to you.