Information and advice

The Money Information and Advice service provides information, advice and support to help you maximise your income and manage your finances. The project can help with a wide range of financial issues such as accessing benefits and grants.

What the service offers

Our locally-based staff can help with a wide range of financial issues such as:

• Personal budgeting
• Opening / managing bank accounts
• Benefit checks and claims
• Care charges
• Direct payments and individual budgets
• Problems with bills and purchases
• Low level debt advice
• Applying for grants and related issues and options
• Housing options e.g. equity release
• Support to access help from more specialist agencies on issues such as tax, higher level debt problems, finding affordable credit etc. 

We offer confidential advice over the telephone, or we can arrange an appointment with you at our office or, where appropriate, in your own home.

For more information or to make an appointment to see one of our advisors please call 08443 843 843

We can provide home assessments and advice on daily living aids and equipment.

Trusted Assessors:

Our Trusted Assessors are trained to provide you with advice on daily living aids and equipment which can support you in your everyday life in and around your home. Our assessors can make an assessment of your home and help you identify the aids and equipment which can help you live safely and independently.

Dementia Assessors:

We have trained Dementia Assessors who can assess your home to help make your enviroment more dementia-friendly. We also provide a range of dementia-friendly equipment such as: deep-coloured crockery, orientation boards, signage to help identify different rooms and more. Our Dementia Assessors can help identify the equipment and living aids which can help you to live in a more dementia-friendly enviroment.

For more information or to make an appointment for one of our assessors to come out and see you please call 08443 843 843 

What does the service offer?

Our Housing Options Adviser will visit you at home to discuss and help you address your housing and related care needs. This might include:

• Helping you to make your home more suitable for later life.Providing details of alternative housing, eg retirement, sheltered or Residential housing in Allerdale and Copeland
• Providing you with the information to enable you to make a choice between different housing options
• Helping you to plan and arrange the practical aspects of moving home
• Linking you to advice on money matters, including benefits and equity release
• Linking you to services and support to deal with other needs, eg Handyperson service, practical help at home etc

Please note we also offer our own house removals service and provide details of other local removal services

For more information or to make an appointment to see one of our advisors please call 08443 843 843

Living with the experience of dementia can be challenging. Whether you have a diagnosis of dementia yourself, or are caring for a person who has a suspected or diagnosed dementia, we may be able to help you.

 At Age UK West Cumbria we are developing a range of pioneering dementia services. This is in response to the individual needs and wishes of people whose lives are affected by memory concerns and the people who support them.

Support Groups

We offer support groups for over 65s with memory problems. People can attend alone or with a companion or carer to chat and participate in activities such as reminiscence, crafts and quizzes. It also provides support, information and advice on a range of issues.

Dementia Resource Boxes

Dementia Resource Boxes contain high quality dementia information and advice as well as resources for events, training talks and presentations. The Resource Boxes are available countywide and can be booked by contacting the relevant centre.

Organisations may loan the boxes for use at a specific event, individuals wishing to use the resources can only access them on site.

For a full list of resources and information on where the boxes are located, visit 'Implementing the National Dementia Strategy in Cumbria'

Dementia Home Care Environments service

A trained ‘Dementia Environments’ project worker will visit you at home to carry out a detailed assessment to identify simple changes that can be made to the home environment . For example, they may identify Aids and Adaptations or Modifications that can be used to improve the layout of the home environment, increase safety and comfort and reduce distress for people with Dementia. This could range from supplying supportive feeding equipment and basic signage to organising a key safe and replacement carpets/flooring.

The Allerdale Adult Social Care Team will refer clients who may benefit from receiving advice and support to an Age UK Dementia Environments assessor who will then arrange a home visit. As well as providing an assessment and assisting with the modifications to your home, the assessor can also offer guidance on applying for non-means tested improvement grants.

Dementia-Friendly Aids and Equipment

We offer a range of dementia-friendly aids and equipment at our Bradbury Independant living centre. You can try before you buy by using the equipment in a simulated environment. Some of our most popular items include: 'Dignity' ceramic crockery', orientation boards and signage

For more information please call 08443 843 843

Our resources for care professionals aim to improve the skills and knowledge of those caring for older people. Our resources cover a wide range of topics from dementia to nutrition to falls awareness.

Enriched Opportunities 'How To Guide'

Taking you step-by-step through setting up and running activities in care settings.  Based on a successful programme shown to significantly improve wellbeing. See more

Dishes in a Dash

Recipe book of easy tasty meals that can be made in 15 minutes or less – giving care workers a nutritional alternative to microwave meals.  The booklet comes with an instructional DVD. See more

Kitchen Kit

For those receiving help in the home, a pack to help with shopping and food storage.  Includes wipe clean essentials shopping list, fridge thermometer, informative booklet on malnutrition. See more

Domicilary Care Guide

Clear information on six key areas of wellbeing.  Designed for those looking after people in their own homes this is a practical guide no carer should be without. See more

Winter Warmers

Clear information on six key areas of wellbeing.  Designed for those looking After much demand we have produced a second recipe booklet, this one aimed at winter cooking and including handy tips for keeping warm.  The recipes are again simple and nutritious – and very tasty! be without. See more

Happy Days Flipbook & DVD

Reminiscence , gentle chair based exercises and other activities.  Short clips are useful for groups or one-to-one situations, prompting discussion and reminiscence. See more

Dignity 'Crossing the Line' Training Pack

An easy to use training pack that asks participants to discuss scenarios and decide if a dignity line has been crossed. Includes a facilitator's guide, display file, hazard tape, scenario cards and CD. See more

Shopping Guide

Essential and practical tips for shopping – for food that is healthy, tasty and easy to prepare!  This guide covers a range of dietary needs, demystifies food labelling and is packed with handy information. See more

Always Event Training Pack

Following the Delivering Dignity Report (2012) this pack looks at the responsibilities of care workers, and what must always be done to deliver dignified care. See more

Dementia Friendly Care Training Pack

Similar format to the Crossing the Line Dignity Training pack but with specific dementia scenarios to look at dementia friendly care.  Includes a facilitator's guide, display file, scenario cards and CD. See more

For more information please call 08443 843 843

To order any of these resources complete the order form