Advice

If you are experiencing mental ill-health and live in Brighton and Hove our specialist Mental Health and Money Advisers are here to help. We can help make sure you are getting all the benefits you are entitled to, and find solutions to any debt worries you have. Due to funding restrictions on this project we can currently only work with you if you are receiving secondary mental health services from Brighton and Hove but we have other projects that can help you too so please do contact us and we will do what we can to find the right adviser for you.

We have been working with in-patients at Mill View Hospital and people in the community with mental ill-health for over 20 years. We understand that it is difficult to pick up the phone or talk to us some days and we will find ways to make sure you can use the help we can give you.

We know there is always a solution to debt worries, even when your finances feel out of control and you are scared to think about them. Getting into debt can happen to any of us and it is nothing to feel ashamed of.

We are part of the UOK Brighton and Hove, which offers a whole range of help and support for people in Brighton and Hove who are experiencing mental illness – more details can be found on their website:  https://www.uok.org.uk/  or by phoning their central access point on 0808 196 1768.

You can contact us directly to make an appointment for debt and/or benefit help on 0808 196 3699 or email us at info@moneyadviceplus.org.uk.

Money Management Support Service

This is what we call the ongoing help and support service we give our clients, and this includes money handling where it’s needed. Helping you manage your money means you can keep as independent as possible, while tackling the issues in a calm and practical way.

People find money handling useful for different reasons. Some examples are:

• people who can’t get out to the bank to access cash – we can receive your benefits, and deliver money to you in your home
• people with substance misuse issues – we can receive your fortnightly and 4-weekly benefits, and give you a smaller, more manageable amount a couple of times a week to help you budget
• people with learning disabilities and people with mental illness, or dementia – we can support by paying your bills for you, so you don’t have to worry

We support people in lots of different ways, depending on what’s needed. Everyone’s needs are different and so our help can range from simply offering advice to filling in benefit claim forms, handling money or visiting you at home to bring your money. We help take the stress out of the situation and can give you the skills and information to manage your finances in the future.

This service is available to Sussex residents referred to us by professionals working on their behalf, like Social Services. Funding is needed to take on a client for this service, which is normally arranged by the referring professional (more information here) . Our service is normally free to clients, but where funding is not available, clients can choose to pay directly for a service. Money Guardians is what we call our service for self-funding clients.

Everything we do is:

• confidential
• impartial

Appointees

We are recognised as a Corporate Appointee by the Benefits Agency. This allows us to claim and receive social security benefits for those unable to do so themselves.