Spiralling living costs mean as many as 1 in 4 working age people, and 1 in 6 pension age people with a life-limiting illness could die in poverty in our community this year.
One day you’re working hard. Or enjoying retirement. You’re just getting by financially. You’re able to support your family. The next, you discover you have a condition that isn’t curable. You’re dying. But, instead of feeling able to process that news, you’re weighed down with worry, anxiety – perhaps even guilt. Because the people you love depend on you.
And what will happen to them when you become too ill to work? How will you keep up with your mortgage payments or rent? Your weekly shop? The higher energy bills because of the specialist equipment you need? And care fees? What about the cost of attending hospital appointments: the petrol, parking fees and fares? And what will happen when you become too ill to work?
When you’re living with a life-limiting illness, you shouldn’t feel your only option is to go without warmth and food, just to make ends meet. Uncertain about the help you’re entitled to, and left to navigate a benefits system that all too frequently displays a lack of compassion, too many people end up in this position.
All too often, a life-limiting illness can result in poverty. And that’s where Welfare Rights Advisers like me come in.
For 16 years, I’ve been applying my experience as a Welfare Rights Adviser when patients and their families need my advice and help to access financial and other support they may be entitled to.
It’s your donations to Dorothy House that help fund my role. I’m here so patients and their families can focus on treatment and care. It’s vital work. As many as 750 people are referred to me each year. And I can’t think of a single case where I haven’t been able to unlock some kind of help or support.
On behalf of Dorothy House, and me and my whole team, thank you for your time and support. Without you, we simply wouldn’t be here today to deliver our advice and support to people who are enduring immense financial pressures, while approaching the end of their lives.
Les & Bill’s story
Les and Bill thought they were all set up for retirement.
They’d worked hard all their lives, saving into pensions and paying off their mortgage. They were planning a fulfilling and comfortable retirement, selling up in London and moving out West.
Looking forward to travelling, helping their son and grandson, and generally enjoying life: “Getting to do the things we didn’t get to do while we were working so hard.”
But this all changed overnight with Bill’s diagnosis.
A shocking 9.5% of pension age people and 22.7% of working age people are expected to die in poverty in Wiltshire. And that rises even further to 9.9% of pension age people and 23.6% of working age people in Bath and North East Somerset.
It’s help and support that can be life-changing for patients and their families who are clinging on financially. I know you’ll agree that no one in our community deserves to feel anxious about how their family will make ends meet without them. Please donate today and they won’t have to.
Karen Gough – Welfare Rights Adviser
Go the extra mile! Sign our petition!
Giving people with a life-limiting diagnosis early access to their State Pension would save many families from crippling poverty. That’s why we’re supporting a national petition by Marie Curie to change the law and allow early access to the State Pension for working age patients.
We’re inviting you to tell your MP that you want things to change. Simply complete the form below and tick the consent box. We’ll then ensure your details are forwarded to your local MP.