Community Advice ABC

Today is day 1 of our virtual walk along the Wild Atlantic Way
Which team will get the furthest today? Will it be the Banbridge Bumblers🟡, Lurgan Limpers🟠, Armagh Apple
Babes 🟢, Portadown Puddleducks 🔵or the Credit Crunchers 🟣! We are raising awareness for Macmillan in Northern Ireland
Starting point Malin Head

Why not follow our journey this September as we try to raise awareness for Macmillan in Northern Ireland. We are divided into 5 teams
📌Banbridge Bumblers
📌Lurgan Limpers
📌Portadown Puddleducks
📌Armagh Apple Babes
📌Credit Crunchers
Which team will go the furthest - which team will be first! We aim to complete the number of steps equal to the ‘Wild Atlantic Way’ or further… throughout the month of September!
So who are you backing??

✨ Three Positive Ageing Month Events: looking at Prevention of Home Accidents, Scams and how to eat Healthier happening in October!
Places are limited.
Call Claire McCann or Pat Prunty ABC Community Network on:
0300 0300 900 ext. 61814 or ext. 61837

Please get in touch with us for a full Benefit Entitlement Check on 03301359733 pressing option 2 between 9.30am -12.30pm where one of our advisors will be able to support you.

Are you finding it difficult repaying a benefit overpayment, Social Fund or Discretionary Support loan? Get in touch with Debt Management as soon as possible.
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/contacts/debt-management-northern-ireland

We will be closed on Monday 26th and will reopen on Tuesday at 9am.
Messages to our Social Media aren't always monitored.

Please click on this link for
advice or an appointment. https://adviceabc.co.uk/contact-us

Or call ☎03301359733
email 📧[email protected]

We aim to respond to all contacts during normal working hours. You can also check out the website at www.adviceabc.co.uk

Benefit overpayments when someone has died.

Benefit overpayments may be recovered from a person’s estate.
An overpayment could have happened because, for example, the person who died:
📌had more savings than they declared in their benefit claim
📌had not declared an income
📌was in hospital or a nursing home and did not advise of this change

If you’re dealing with the estate, you will be contacted about arrangements to repay from the estate or requesting further information once probate has been granted.

If you do not provide the information asked for, the overpayment will be calculated based on the probate figure before any deductions (that is, the whole estate).

You should not distribute the estate until you know what needs to be repaid. If you do, you may have to pay back the money yourself.

You or someone you know may be interested in the following information ℹ️

Eating Disorder Courses | Learning How To Help & Support Every course is delivered by two facilitators, both of which are qualified counsellors. They'll help you learn how you can make a positive impact

So ahead of the bank holiday, If your payment is due on Monday 26 August, claimants will instead receive their funds on Friday 23 August.

The benefit amount won’t change if it’s paid early, so claimants should make sure to budget the earlier payment date into account, unless there’s been a change in circumstances which impacts how much you are due.

All benefits operate on different payment systems, but you will not receive your payment later than the day it would normally be due.

Overpayments of benefits and financial support.

An overpayment is an amount which has been paid to you that you were not entitled to receive. It's important to report any change in your circumstances as soon as possible and answer letters or online notifications you get about overpayments quickly.

If you disagree with the overpayment decision, contact the benefit office that sent the letter or notification on your Universal Credit account for an explanation.

If you aren’t satisfied with the explanation or the way your case has been handled, you can appeal.

Please contact us on 03301359733 or email [email protected] and we will be able to listen, advise and support you.

Please take note 👀

📣 August bank holiday - See below arrangements for council facilities and services on Monday 26 August 2024:

🗑️ Bins will be collected as scheduled in most parts of the borough. A reduced bin collection service is operating in the wider Armagh area due to the ongoing industrial action. Please leave your bin out at your normal collection point by 7.30am.
♻️ Household recycling centres will be closed.
🏢 Council offices will be closed.
🏊 View information on indoor and outdoor leisure facilities at https://bit.ly/3SNdSiv
🎭 All visitor facilities except for the Market Place Theatre and Arts Centre will be open. View the opening times of visitor facilities at www.visitarmagh.com

Wishing everyone a lovely bank holiday weekend. 🌞

If you live in Armagh, the Bolster Community are hosting information sessions!
The first information session is on Wednesday the 4th September between 2.30-4.30pm Navan Centre & Fort For those 18yrs plus & with an autism diagnosis. Their parents & siblings are welcome to attend.
Why not go for a chat, to meet the team and find out a little more. It will all be very informal and relaxed! 😊

ARMAGH AUTISM CONNECT INFORMATION SESSION:

📆 When: Wednesday 4th September, 2.30-4.30 pm.
📍 Where: Navan Centre & Fort

Attending? RSVP the team by confirming your attendance with Orla at [email protected]

We also welcome registrations of interest from sessional support staff and volunteers who may like to be involved in the programme! Please reach out to Sharon on [email protected] if this is something you'd be interested in! ✨

Thank you for letting us attend North Lurgan & Drumgask Community Safety Engagement Forum. Remember we are always here to help, please call us on ☎️03301359733 or if you prefer email us on [email protected]

Another great morning at our Community Cafe in North Lurgan supporting people with their finances & debt along with our partners Lurgan Credit Union Limited &
Community Advice ABC.

We’re hearing stories of residents struggling & borrowing from rogue lenders with 400% repayment rates. People are being exploited when they are desperate but the cycle can be broken with the right support!

BBC Northern Ireland Centenary Celebrations are coming to Armagh

As part of its 100th birthday, BBC NI has been bringing special roadshow events to towns and communities across the region.

BBC Comes to Town 2024 includes outside broadcasts, an interactive experience and lots more besides. The next venue is Armagh on Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22 August.

Armagh Library will be the location for a new BBC interactive exhibition, giving visitors the opportunity to experience what it’s like to present a BBC weather forecast or BBC Newsline bulletin. Sports commentary is another of the excitements on offer and there’s a fun radio drama for budding actors to get involved with as well. And if a career in the BBC sounds interesting, there’ll be information and advice on what’s available, and how to find out more. Limited tickets for the Thursday’s BBC interactive exhibition are available here.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bbc-comes-to-amma-tickets-925865778467?aff=ebdssbdestsearch&keep_tld=1

Picture Box, a new touring exhibition, will tell the story of BBC and its services in Northern Ireland with photos of well-known personalities and programmes – many of them on display for the first time. This will be available in The Market Place Theatre & Arts Centre and no booking is required. Call in and see if you can spot some of your favourite presenters and programmes throughout the decades.

On Wednesday 21 August at 7pm there will be a special preview screening of Dead and Buried, a new BBC NI psychological drama, ahead of its anticipated debut on BBC One Northern Ireland and BBC iPlayer. This will be followed by Tara Mills in conversation with some members of the cast and the series’ writer, Colin Bateman. Tickets for this free event at The Market Place Theatre & Arts Centre are available here.
https://marketplacearmagh.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/873648281

BBC Radio Ulster will have lots of live outside broadcasts, including Hugo Duncan in The Market Place Theatre & Arts Centre, Connor Phillips in Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, and a recording of Your Place And Mine in Armagh Library.

Barra Best will be chatting with Connor Phillips about Barra’s Return of the Wild, his latest series for BBCNI television. This event will include exclusive preview clips and lots of great insights into the making of this series and Barra’s work as one of our best-known weather presenters. In Conversation… with Barra Best will take place at: The Market Place Theatre & Arts Centre at 7pm on Wednesday 21 August. Tickets for this free event are available from The Market Place Theatre & Arts Centre box office.
https://marketplacearmagh.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/873648282

BBC Comes to Town in Armagh will also include an exclusive preview screening of the first two episodes of the brand new CBBC comedy series, Pickle Storm. Filmed in Northern Ireland, the show follows nine year-old Pickle Storm, who leaves the fantasy world of Kleftania – with its magic, dragons and warriors - for the everyday town of Middlington. Lots of excitement follows for Pickle Storm, her mum, dad and family pet warthoffle, Swumpy. Pickle Storm promises to be a hugely popular addition to the CBBC schedules. It’s coming to CBBC and BBC iPlayer from Monday 9 September and it’s already been commissioned for a second series. This event is perfect for a younger BBC and family audience. This screening will take place at 12.30pm on Wednesday 21 August in the Market Place Theatre & Box Office. Tickets for this free event are available at the venue’s box office.
https://marketplacearmagh.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/873648280

Want to write the next Blue Lights or Happy Valley? BBC Writers will be on hand for a chat in Armagh Library and will give budding scriptwriters advice and information on the BBC’s free writer development programmes (which are open to ages 18 and over) on Monday 19 August from 3-5pm (for ages 16+).

As part of BBC Comes To Town AmmA is running an exclusive event in association with the BBC. The day will start with an all-access tour of the BBC Interactive Exhibition in Armagh Library. Once this tour has completed, it’s upstairs to the AmmA Creative Learning labs, where participants will engage in a jampacked session of ‘retro games design’, inspired by some of our most loved CBBC characters. Every participant will design and build their own character and bring it to life in their own retro-styled game. After this, participants will take part in a second session where they will build their own game controller using BBC Microbit pocket computers. These sessions on Wednesday 21 August and Thursday 22 August are for 10-14 years old and will be held from 9.30-4.30pm. Limited tickets for this event are available here.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/amma-clc-workshops-for-young-people-32252470911

Bereavement benefits provide support with meeting the costs related to the death of a close relative or friend.

The Bereavement Service offers relatives a single point of contact for reporting a death to the Department for Communities and helps them access any other benefits they may be entitled to. ☎0800 085 2463

Anyone under State Pension age may be able to get a Bereavement Support Payment to help with costs caused by the death of a spouse or civil partner where the date of death was on or after 6 April 2017. Those whose partner died before that date may be eligible for Widowed Parent's Allowance.

More information about Bereavement Support Payment, and an application form, can be accessed at nidirect links below 👇

Bereavement Support Payment
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/bereavement-support-payment
Bereavement Support Payment application form
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/publications/bereavement-support-payment-application-form

Thinking about Uni?? Take a look 👀 Applications close soon.

🔔The JP McManus All Ireland Scholarships Scheme is closing soon! 🏃📝

The All Ireland Scholarships Scheme, which is funded by JP McManus, provides financial support to high achieving students from low income households.🎓

The Scholarship offers students financial support of £5,500 per annum for the duration of their undergraduate degree course.🙌

Applicants must have been in receipt of the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) at the time of examination, and have been conditionally accepted onto a full-time undergraduate degree course in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland, in the academic year 2023/24.

Find out more and apply today at:https://tinyurl.com/4r48tssx

*Application deadline is the 29th of August

Parents' Toolkit for days like today with results out!
BBC Bitesize Parents' Toolkit is the place for mums, dads, carers, and the whole parenting community to find stories, expert advice and fun activities that will help you support your child in a changing world.
Take a look👇
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/parents

Head down to South Lakes Leisure Centre on Tuesday for the Olympians

Let’s celebrate our amazing athletes who have brought so much joy and pride to our borough with their sporting achievements at the Olympic Games in Paris! 🎉🥇⭐

Join us for a medal parade and Q&A with the Olympians including gold and bronze medal winner Daniel Wiffen and bronze medal winner Philip Doyle, hosted by Denise Watson.

Register for your free tickets here https://bit.ly/4fLLkQk by Monday 19 August, 12pm! *Tickets subject to availability.

Take a look 👀
Membership is not related to a specific age but to a period in one's life (the third age) after the second age of full-time employment and parental responsibility. Anyone in their third age can join the U3A, including people who are working part-time. There is no lower (nor upper!!) age limit for membership.

Dealing with exam results stress!

It is normal to feel a bit worried about exam results, especially if you’re under pressure from school or family. It can cause you to feel anxious or depressed, and this might affect your sleeping or eating habits.

If you recognise any of these feelings or are worried that exam results pressure is taking over your life, you are not alone, and there are things you and those around you can do to help.

Check out our list of tips and techniques to help you deal with results day stress. Different things work for everyone so try some out and choose the ones that work best for you.

1. Talk to people around you

Try not to bottle up your feelings. Mental health issues aren’t uncommon among students, so you’ll likely know others who are struggling. Your parents or older relatives may have also felt the same sort of emotions waiting for their results. Sometimes just talking about your anxieties out loud can help ease the burden.

2. Plan for the best and worst outcomes

Exams don’t always go to plan, and you might not get the grades you need. Make sure you’ve researched what to do on results day but don’t dwell on the worst-case scenario. Think of a way to celebrate with friends and family if you do get the results you need. Even if your grades aren’t great, you still deserve to do something nice.

3. Maintain a normal routine

Try not to let waiting for your exams take over your summer. Keep yourself as busy as possible to distract yourself from results day stress. If you have hobbies, keep up with them and try to stick with any plans you’ve made, such as holidays and spending time with friends.

4. Have someone with you when you get your results

Have someone with you on the day to offer reassurance, talk through options if your results aren’t what you wanted, and hopefully celebrate your success. This could be a parent, guardian, sibling, friend, or even a teacher.

5. Don’t feel like you have to open your results with friends or share what you got

There can be a lot of peer pressure to open results at the same time and share what you got with everyone, but you don’t have to. You can collect your results and open them at home to avoid this scenario. Many schools and colleges will also publish results online or offer a text results service.

6. Don’t compete or compare your results with others

A common feature of results day is students sharing their results on social media and this can lead to comparing your results unfavourably. It may help to avoid social media completely for a few days.

Remember to judge your success by your own standards. If you know you worked hard for your grades, but your friend got higher ones, that doesn’t make your achievement any less impressive.

👀Supporting someone experiencing exam results stress

Young people will find stress much easier to deal with if they receive support from those around them. As a parent/guardian you can help and support a young person by:

📌Taking an interest in their study by offering encouragement and support – try not to criticise or place added pressure on them.
📌Praising and encouraging their efforts and achievements can be motivating and demonstrates your support for them.
📌Try to keep things in perspective and encourage them to do the same – remember that exam results are not the only indicator of a young person’s capabilities.

Taking exams and getting your exam results can be a worrying time. It can seem like your future depends on what you get. Receiving disappointing results can feel like the end of the world, but it is important to remember that people’s strengths and weaknesses lie in different areas and not everyone performs at their best under exam conditions.

The results you receive do not have to define what you do or who you are in the future.

Career planning for young people with special educational needs.

If your child has a learning or physical disability, a careers adviser can help you and your child plan for the future. They can explain options and support available in education, training and employment.

Career planning at your child's school
On or just after your child’s 14th birthday, their school will hold a transition plan meeting. This meeting is the first step to plan and prepare for your child’s future. Planning and preparation can help your child move successfully into further education, training or employment.

How a careers adviser can help
To help you and your child make the best choices, a careers adviser also takes part in this process and at any reviews afterwards. They can also give more information, advice and guidance when your child leaves school.

You can speak to your child’s careers adviser by contacting your local careers office. The special education needs co-ordinator or careers teacher will also be able to give advice at this important stage.

Further information can be found in the video below.

Careers advice for young people with special educational needs If your child has a learning or physical disability, a careers adviser can help you and your child plan for the future. They can explain options and support ...

You should note the following numbers in case of emergency:

Emergency services – 999 or 112
Flooding Incident Line – 0300 2000 100
Northern Ireland Electricity Networks – 03457 643 643
NI Gas Emergency Service – 0800 002 001
Northern Ireland Water Waterline – 03457 440 088
Housing Executive – 03448 920 901
There is also information about emergencies at this link:
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/campaigns/be-ready-emergencies

Take a look 👀

Social Fund Sure Start Maternity Grant
If you are receiving certain benefits or tax credits, you could get a Sure Start Maternity Grant. This is a one-off, tax-free payment to help towards the cost of maternity expenses and baby items. You do not need to pay it back.
To qualify for a Sure Start Maternity Grant, usually you must have no other children in your family and you must get one of the following benefits:
Income Support
Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
Pension Credit
Child Tax Credit
Working Tax Credit that includes a disability or severe disability element
Universal Credit
For more information you can either call us on 03301359733 or take a look at the link below👇
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/social-fund-sure-start-maternity-grant

You, or someone you know or care for, may be entitled to additional benefits. It is vital that everyone who is eligible for benefits get them. Even if you have checked before, a change in circumstances may mean that support may now be available.

You can contact an adviser who will assess your potential entitlement to a wide range of benefits and support. They can help you make the first step in claiming what you’re entitled to.

We will carry out a needs assessment based on your personal circumstances and look at what benefits, supports and services that may be available to you.

The dedicated freephone number to call is:

☎ 03301359733

Advice Lines are open 9.30 am to 12.30 pm, Monday to Friday. We have outreach services also in Rathfriland, Dromore and Keady

The Police Service of Northern Ireland is committed to investigating all hate crimes and working with our partners to increase reporting and support victims.
Find out more about how you can report a hate crime and what the Police Armagh, Banbridge & Craigavon can do to help below.

https://www.psni.police.uk/safety-and-support/advice-and-information/hate-crime

https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/blog/young-people/how-to-find-lost-child-trust-funds

How to find lost Child Trust Funds | MoneyHelper Forgotten or lost the details for your Child Trust Fund? Check out how you can find your account for free and withdraw from it.

You can call us on ☎03301359733 we have local advisers in the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Area

Free Debt advice you can trust Everyone takes on debt, if you are struggling to keep up with payments or fallen behind. We can help, freephone 0800 915 4604 for free advice you can trust....

Translink completes rollout of contactless payment Passengers can now use contactless payments on all Translink trains and buses.