Information and advice
Raise provided advice and assistance with benefits, debts, and money advice issues.

We visit nearly all our clients in their homes or in outreach offices – we don't have our own interview rooms.

If you would like advice or assistance then you have various options:
  1. If you are a housing association tenant, ask you housing officer to contact us
     
  2. Ring us yourself – use the phone numbers on the contacts page
     
  3. If Raise can't help (we have restricted funds for visits) then you can get advice from one of the other advice centres in Liverpool – ring 0844 848 7700

The benefits system is so complicated that you might feel that you need to speak to an experienced adviser who can help you with what to claim and how to deal with any problems.

Similarly if you have any debts, or if you want general advice about money matters, then seeing a debt adviser or a face-to-face money adviser might be the best option.

However if you want to look up information for yourself then there are various resources available on the internet:

  1. Benefits calculators: you can work out for yourself what benefits you might be entitled to. There are several calculators on the internet - click on these links: MoneySavingsExpert, DirectGov, EntitledTo. All of these depend on you giving the right information and none of them are a substitute for speaking to a skilled benefits adviser.

  2. The Disability Alliance website is a very useful source of information about all types of benefits – including the latest rates of benefit, the law governing benefits, what you should claim, a very useful list of factsheets, and a timetable of forthcoming benefit changes. Go to this page http://www.disabilityalliance.org/benefits.htm and follow the links.

  3. The AgeUK website has a money matters section covering benefits, tax, savings/debts, pensions

  4. The Citizens Advice online 'Advice Guide' covers a very wide range of topics including not just benefits and money issues but also employment rights, family, health, education, consumer affairs and civil rights –  http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/

  5. The Money Advice Service website is extremely helpful for a wide range of money issues and includes an online financial 'Health Check' that you can try yourself - http://moneyadviceservice.org.uk/

  6. Martin Lewis' website http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ is ful of information about the best financial deals available from credit cards to fuel to travel to insurance

  7. Newcastle Welfare Rights keeps a very up-to-date website where you can see the latest news about welfare reform etc http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/benefits-and-council-tax/welfare-rights-and-money-advice

  8. The government has its own website covering all types of benefits available – http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/index.htm