Benefits project aids Foxwood residents (From York Press)

Benefits project aids Foxwood residents

7:53am Tuesday 4th September 2012 in News

A RESIDENTS group in York is celebrating the completion of a project which will ensure local people are better off financially.

The scheme, which has been run in the Foxwood area – regarded as one of the city’s most deprived communities – saw a benefits adviser from the Future Prospects advice organisation spend one day a week at the Priory Medical Centre in Cornlands Road to offer guidance and support to residents about how to ensure they claim money they were entitled to.

It was funded by the centre as well as the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the Railway Housing Association and Foxwood Residents’ Association, and the team behind it said it would bring in an extra £197,000 a year for hard-pressed residents.

GPs were also able to refer 87 patients to the advisor, due to health problems often being caused by financial concerns.

A report on the initiative, first conceived in 2010 as part of the Westfield project chaired by former local councillor Sue Galloway, said it showed there was a “clear case for investment in this type of service” and widening it should be looked at.

Shirley Gumley, who chairs the residents’ association, said: “We set ourselves a target of getting an extra £10 for every £1 spent on the project. We are absolutely delighted that this sum has been exceeded and we now see £13 for every £1 spent. This is not just one-off money, but money which families in the area will receive each year.”