Where can a handicapped person get help ? - Specially written for Conny

What benefits can I claim?
Income-related benefits

If you are on a low income, you may be able to claim:

* income support
* housing benefit
* council tax benefit
* tax credits.

Additional support is available through these benefits for disabled people.
Disability benefits

Disability benefits are not means-tested, which means your entitlement isn't affected by how much money you have. Instead, the amount of benefit you receive will depend on how severe your disability is.

* If you need help with day-to-day tasks because of a mental illness or physical disability, you may be able to get disability living allowance (if you're under 65) or attendance allowance (if you're 65 and over).
* If you can't work because you are disabled, you may be able to claim incapacity benefit.
* If you've been injured in an accident at work, you may be entitled to industrial injuries disablement benefit and constant attendance allowance.
* If you were injured and disabled while serving in the army, you may be entitled to war disablement pension and constant attendance allowance.

Help for carers

If you have a carer, they may be able to claim carer's allowance. You can find out more about financial help for carers here.
Help from the social fund

You may also be able to get a community care grant, a budgeting loan or a crisis loan from the social fund to help you set up home.

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Where can I get help with benefits?

Working out which benefits you can claim can be complicated - and filling in the forms can be worse! So it's a good idea to get some help from a Citizens Advice Bureau, welfare rights agency or a disability advice service. Use Update or the Advice Services Directory to find an agency near you.

An adviser can help you:

* find out what you're entitled to
* fill in the forms
* sort out any problems with your benefits.

You can also call the Benefit Enquiry Line on 0800 882 200 for help with filling in benefit forms. If you are deaf or have a hearing impairment you can use the minicom line on 0800 24 33 55.

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What other financial support is available for disabled people?

You may be able to get help to pay for housing support and other care costs, including self-directed support (direct payments), so you can arrange and pay for your own care services. The section on paying for support has more information.

In addition, depending on your situation, you may be entitled to additional financial support, such as:

* support from the independent living fund
* council tax discounts
* help to pay for adaptations
* help with heating bills
* free NHS prescriptions, dental care and hospital travel costs
* blind person's tax allowance and television licence discount
* discounts on public transport, hiring or buying a car and parking
* car tax exemption.