Help from energy and water grants Several energy and water providers also have charitable grants that can help people to pay their bills if they are in financial difficulty. You can contact your supplier to check, or download the Help with Water and Energy Booklet. Go to www.aurigaservices.co.uk. Eddie and Milo’s story Eddie and his partner, Milo, are retired and both get a State Pension. They had used all their savings to pay towards their bills and had fallen behind with their gas and electricity payments. Eddie was worried about keeping their home warm during winter. Eddie and Milo had never asked for help and didn’t know where to start. We advised them to check whether their gas and electricity supplier offered a charitable grant. They checked and applied to the British Gas Energy Trust. The trust agreed to help clear their gas and electricity debt. Eddie was relieved that this debt had been dealt with, but was still concerned that they didn’t have enough money to cover their living costs. We suggested that Eddie and Milo also do a benefits check and grant search with Turn2us. When we last spoke, Eddie and Milo were up to date with their bills and were getting benefits to top up their income. They were glad they had checked what extra help was available. They also realise that they may have kept some of their savings if they had checked their position earlier. Local welfare assistance In England, some councils have a welfare assistance scheme which can help if you are in an emergency situation. Individual councils decide on the rules for their scheme. Contact your local council to see whether they run a welfare assistance scheme and what it offers. Page 40