Kent Advice Hub

Advice First Aider Resources

Supporting your community

 

IMPORTANT:
This page for the use of trained Advice First Aiders only. 

 

If you are an individual looking for advice please access support using the link below

GET ADVICE  

 
  

 

 

Before you give advice

Text to include permissions etc 

 

Areas of Advice Click on area of advice for your client

Description

  • Immigration & Human Rights
  • Applying for British citizenship
  • Trafficking
  • Asylum and refugee law
  • Domestic violence
  • British National Overseas Status (BNO)
  • Resettlement

ACCESS ONLINE HELP

Description

How We Can Help

  • It’s  important to make sure that your client is getting all the help that you’re entitled to. 
  • Our online help gives you information on benefits and tax credits.  There is also information about council tax and housing costs, national insurance, payment of benefits and problems with benefits

ACCESS ONLINE HELP

Description

Get advice on your consumer rights including complaints and trading standards

ACCESS ONLINE HELP

For more support contact the national Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline 0808 223 1133 

Description

How We Can Help

  • We can support clients in accessing emergency support including 

1)  Foodbank Referrals 

Many foodbanks can be accessed by the client without a professional referral

FIND YOUR CLOSEST FOODBANK

Alternatively use the referral form for additional support 

2)  Crisis and Resilience Fund Vouchers

This fund is administered by Kent County Council 

LINK FOR MORE INFORMATION 

3)  Other Vouchers and Support 

Please complete the referral form below to access other support including

      • Energy Vouchers 
      • Digital Inclusion – provision of SIM cards to give internet and phone access 
      • Household goods – Beds, furniture, white goods

Description

How We Can Help

  • Dealing with money issues can sometimes be off-putting, but if you don’t understand how things like credit or mortgages work, you could end up losing out financially or getting yourself deep in debt.

ACCESS ONLINE HELP

 

LINK TO BUDGIE – ONLINE BUDGETING TOOL  

Description

How We Can Help

  • Discrimination means treating you unfairly because of who you are.

    • We provide guidance, support and casework support for people with discrimination issues related to someone’s employment, welfare benefits or housing.
    • We are a Hate Crime Reporting Centre.  If your client feels they have been a victim of a hate crime or discriminated against, you can report it to us 

ACCESS ONLINE HELP

REPORT A HATE CRIME

Description

How We Can Help

  • Having a job is an essential part of most people’s lives. Whatever job you do, it is important to know what your rights are. If your client is facing issues with their employer, or are not sure that they are meeting all their obligations to them, we can help.

ACCESS ONLINE HELP

 

Description

How We Can Help

  • With the rising costs of fuel, energy advice has never been more important. Our expert energy advisers can provide help in the following ways:

    • Assessing energy spending and how to reduce your energy usage.
    • Clarifying complicated or confusing energy bills.
    • Looking at whether you might be eligible for any energy grants or useful services.
    • Helping with meter reading or billing problems.
    • Discussing your options with energy debts.
    • Helping with complaints to your energy supplier, where appropriate.
    • Giving information on what smart meters can offer.
    • Advising on energy efficiency improvements and grants that can help cover the costs.
    • Raising awareness of the risks of Carbon Monoxide leaks and providing Carbon Monoxide detectors for those who don’t have them.

ACCESS ONLINE HELP

Description

How We Can Help

  • Relationship issues, child maintenance, death and wills, separation – these are all areas that can be extremely stressful, especially if you have not had to face them before and don’t know where to start.

  • Our advisers are trained to provide impartial and confidential advice across the full range of issues that affect families, whether it be couples or children, financial matters or education.

 

ACCESS ONLINE HELP

Description

How We Can Help

  • Housing is an issue for many people in Kent. In particular, if you’re renting or living in council property, you need to know your rights and responsibilities.

  • We can advise on handling problems with your landlord and help to avoid losing your home. Or if you’re paying a mortgage, you could find yourself threatened with eviction if you can’t cope with your mortgage payments. We can provide information on how to rent or buy a home, or just find somewhere to live.

 

ACCESS ONLINE HELP

Do you need more support for your client?

Thank you for helping your client access and understand the information available online.  If they need support from one of our advisers the quickest route is via Kent Advice Hub video call from their own device or one of our kiosks.  Alternatively please complete the referral form below and we will direct to the correct team 

Request help for your client

You may feel that your client is unable to get the help they need by searching online or from using a kiosk, making n video call or phoning themselves. In these instances you can refer them yourself to Citizens Advice directly but using the form below.

Please make sure your client agrees to your submitting a form on their behalf and make them aware that in so doing, Citizens Advice will store their information on their systems and use it to provide advice and improve services. If your client would like more details about their rights and how Citizens Advice uses their information you can read them our privacy policy here. 

 
* indicates required fields

    Thank you for referring to Citizens Advice*

    Firstly can we capture details of Advice First Aider*

    AFA First Name*

    AFA Surname*

    AFA Email

    AFA Organisation or Community Group *

    Please provide as much information as you can about the client you would like to refer*

    Client Details

    Title (optional)

    First Name*

    Surname*

    Telephone Number* (Please Note: We will usually want to follow up with the client in a phone call, and calls from us may be from a withheld number)

    Email*

    Date of Birth*

    Address*

    Post Code*

    Has the client contacted us before?*

    Do they have difficulties communicating in English?*

    If they have difficulties communicating in English, what language do you prefer to communicate in? (optional)

    Issue Category*

    Please provide as much information as you have about the issue your client needs support with

    How should we contact you?

    We would like to contact the client in the ways below. Please select any your client is NOT happy for us to use:


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