Young family benefit from some good advice!!

“Johnnie” Johnson Housing Trust residents Marlie Bruines, Michael Blackburn and their toddler daughter Rebecca celebrated a happy Christmas in their new home in Toll Bar, Doncaster, thanks to the advice and support of the Trust’s Benefits Advisor, Trish Martin.

 

The couple, who moved into their property last year, were struggling to make ends meet on just Michael’s wage. Marlie, who is on a waiting list for a kidney transplant, was feeling exhausted, unwell and unable to cope with the regular trips to hospital she had to make for dialysis.

 

Marlie, 21, said,

“I’d already had a kidney transplant at 14 due to a genetic condition. I was fine for a few years but unfortunately my kidney failed when I had Rebecca, who is now 18 months old. I had to make the trip to the local hospital three times a week for dialysis which lasted over 5 hours each session. It was getting harder and harder to make sure Rebecca was being looked after and sometimes I had to miss the sessions, which made me poorly.

 

On top of this, Michael and I were feeling under enormous strain to pay the bills with just one salary coming in. I didn’t know where to turn for help. I remember going into town one day and being passed from pillar to post after approaching the local Citizen’s Advice Bureau. I phoned Michael and just cried and cried.”

 

Marlie was eventually given a Disability Living Allowance (DLA) form to fill in. She found the form long and complicated and wasn’t sure what type of information she should give. The request for the allowance was turned down and the family struggled on.

 

It was it this stage that Trish introduced herself to the family, as part of her advisory role, and very quickly helped Marlie reapply for DLA, which was this time successful.

 

Trish said,

“These long forms are very hard to fill in at the best of times, and I could see Marley was extremely under stress. I could also see that Marley certainly had a case for DLA so I helped her include the vital information that was needed for a successful assessment.”

 

Another opportunity became evident when Trish discovered Michael, 28, worked for Asda. She was able to write to the organisation and request money from their benevolent fund. This money paid to carpet the young couple’s house, which was a requirement from the hospital in order to install a dialysis machine at home. Now Marley no longer needs to travel several times a week to the hospital without Rebecca as she can have the dialysis in overnight in her very own home!

 

Marlie said,

“The help I have received means I’m getting to spend more time with Rebecca. I am able to have regular dialysis and although I won’t pretend it’s a miracle cure, I’m able to get out for walks in the park and enjoy my time with my little girl. Trish also helped give us a Christmas, because without the allowance there wouldn’t have been many presents on the day! “

 

A spokesperson for Asda said,

 

“Asda Foundation has been running the hardship fund since March 2010 for Asda colleagues. Marlie and Michael were one of our first applications and we are delighted we have been able to contribute towards making a real difference to their lives.”