Benefits and Work is asking people who have successfully claimed PIP for arthritis to share their experience with others and perhaps changes many lives for the better.
As reported elsewhere on this site, fresh claims for PIP have plummeted since the pandemic, dropping by 60% in Northern Ireland and 40% in the rest of the UK.
We suspect that this may in part be because the advice workers, housing workers and social workers, who would often be the first to alert people that they may be eligible for PIP, are now more difficult to access.
The result is that thousands of people every month are missing out on a life-changing benefit that they are entitled to.
We would like to try to reach some of those people by providing free webinars and downloadable information to encourage people to make a claim.
We’re starting with arthritis because it is a very common condition that gives rise to an award of PIP.
But we really want to include experiences and encouragement from people who have successfully made a claim for PIP because of the effects of arthritis.
We know that hearing from someone who has the same condition and who has managed to get an award of PIP is a powerful incentive for people to make a claim themselves. Knowing that a claim is not hopeless and that an award has made a real difference to someone in a similar position can really help
So, if you have 5 minutes to spare, please complete our questionnaire – a maximum of 9 questions in total, depending on your circumstances – and you may help to change someone’s life for the better. Your replies may be included in our materials, but they will be completely anonymous.
Once we’ve covered arthritis, we intend to add resources on other physical and mental health conditions.
If you know someone else who might be able to help, or you post on a forum that supports people with arthritis, please share this article with them.
