Mary was a working age single mother. She contacted Community Advice as her benefits had fallen by £96.69 per week and she was left with no money for food. Her child benefits and child tax credits had stopped the previous month when her son had left full time education. 

Our Adviser investigated her situation and established that Mary was receiving the benefits she was entitled to; however, it was clear that she was struggling to support her son as he had no income until he had started his job with the Civil Service, which had been delayed. 

In these circumstances a 20-week extension to child-based benefits can be applied for, however Mary was unable to apply online herself, so our Adviser assisted her in setting up a government gateway account and applying for a child benefit extension. Once approved, her tax credits can be reactivated providing further financial relief for this family during this period. 

As it was likely to take several weeks for the benefit changes to be processed, Mary was referred to the local food bank for emergency support for the intervening period. She received a food parcel that day to ensure her and her son did not go hungry.

NOTE: Names have been changed and the image is not the actual person