Kate lives with her children, she is seriously ill, and is cared for by her family.  She has cataracts, asthma and spondylitis which means she has extreme mobility issues.  One family member is present during the day and another at night.  Kate receives a State Pension, Pension Credit and Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

Kate struggles financially and has nothing left at the end of the month; she needs her children at home to care for her, so they’re unable to contribute to the household budget.   After a call to Western Power – Kate was referred to Auriga for assistance to ease her financial hardship and improve her wellbeing.

She suffers with severe pain in her spine and joints and urgently needed a new bed with an orthopaedic mattress – but the cost was unaffordable.

On her behalf, Auriga:

• Applied for a grant to get an orthopaedic mattress from ‘Independence at Home’ – a charity helping people with long-term illness or disability, living at home.
• The application was successful, funding was approved to buy Kate a new bed and mattress. Accessing this funding was important for her wellbeing, it relieved some of the pain she was experiencing, resulting in much better sleep.
• Registered the household onto the Priority Services Register (PSR) for energy and water, due to her vulnerable situation.

Western Power offered me the service and explained the support was for people in difficulty. The Auriga advisor was so positive – and really took her time