When you come to the CAB or are visited by a worker, you can always be assured of:
Respect - client centred dignity, and impartiality.
Confidentiality - anything you say will be treated in confidence and we will never talk to another person, outside the bureau, without your express permission.
Equality - the CAB service never discriminates on the grounds of sex, race, age, colour or disability.
Citizens Advice is a voluntary organisation that aims to help people and to manage their problems through providing advice, information and practical support. As well as working with individuals, we also work to influence and change services and policies that are failing.
Many of the people who use the CAB service have problems that relate to mental health. Our experience in advising on employment, housing, benefits and debt, shows us that having a mental health problem can lead to - and increase - the difficulties people experience.
Here are some examples of the issues people with mental health problems face and how the CAB can help you to tackle them.
WELFARE BENEFITS
People with mental health problems may experience continuing difficulties with claiming social security benefits. Employment and Support Allowance and Disability Living Allowance in particular, often cause great distress, because the forms are so long and don't seem to be relevant to mental health problems.
More and more, the benefits system relies on telephone claims. Using the telephone can be very difficult and stressful, particularly for people with mental health problems, and especially when claims go astray and you have nothing to live on.
The CAB can help to fill in your benefit forms and also obtain the evidence you need to support your claim. We can also help contact the right people within the benefits system to sort out the problems. If you are appealing against a decision and have to go to a tribunal, we can sometimes go with you and help put your case.
DEBT
Debt is a problem for many people and is one of our biggest areas of work. Difficulties with paying the bills and meeting the demands of creditors can lead to personal conflict and family instability. People with mental health problems may be more likely to experience debt problems because of changing circumstances and the stress of managing money.
CAB advisers can help you plan your budget and draw up a financial statement. We can also help you to write to your creditors and negotiate easier ways to pay - or if you can't do this yourself we can sometimes do it for you. If you have to go court, some CABx have people that may be able to go with you.
HOUSING
Problems with housing often go hand in hand with debt and social security problems. If you have a mortgage you may experience difficulties making the monthly payments. If you pay rent, you may have problems securing the right amount of Housing Benefit. Either way, the threat of losing your home or the burden of dealing with the financial issues can lead to a great deal of stress and anxiety.
As we have mentioned already we can help you to secure the right amount of benefit and plan your budget effectively. We may also be able to deal with some other housing issues such as disrepair or the threat of homelessness, by negotiating with your landlord, lender or local authority. We may be able to recommend other organisations that can help with money or furniture.
EMPLOYMENT
People with mental health problems may encounter many issues with employment. You may have trouble finding a job, keeping a job, or getting on with your colleagues or workmates; perhaps because of discrimination. Often, the stress of a job can lead to mental health problems.
The CAB can help you to negotiate with your employer to help keep your job; or if you are out of work, can help you to manage financially, as well as offer you support to help you back to work. If you have been treated unfairly, we may be able to help with a discrimination claim, or negotiate with your employer for a settlement, either through dispute resolution, or through the employment tribunal system.