Age UK Sheffield service supports over 1,000 people, after receiving quarter-million-pound grant from Weston Park Cancer Charity

Over the past three years, a service run in partnership between Weston Park Cancer Charity and Age UK Sheffield has supported 1,135 older people who have been impacted by cancer.

The Cancer Support Independent Living Service helps people to regain and retain their independence through a bespoke three-month package of support.

Weston Park Cancer Charity has provided financial support for the service since 2016.

In 2022, the charity awarded Age UK Sheffield with a £252,298 grant - which was used to fund three posts: two full-time Independent Living Coordinators and a part-time Independent Living Coordinator Manager.

Independent Living Coordinators (ILCs) are highly trained experts, who visit service users in their own home to assess their unique needs.

ILCs help individuals to access benefits, home modifications, and community transport services. They can also secure grants for aids, such as mobility scooters, and liaise with utility companies and landlords on the behalf of service users. 

Over the past three years, the Cancer Support Independent Living Service has enabled participants to access a huge £1.25 million per year in unclaimed benefits. In most cases they will continue to receive these benefits for the rest of their lives.

The service is available to people over the age of 50 who have been diagnosed with cancer, or who are caring for another individual living with cancer.

Independent evaluations of the service have found increased levels of financial wellbeing, improved mental health, and a reduction of social isolation in participants.

80-year-old Peggy was referred to the service after going through treatment for breast cancer. Her husband Jack had recently gone into permanent care, and Peggy was living alone and struggling to manage financially.

Peggy’s Independent Living Coordinator helped her to access a range of benefits and reduce the cost of outgoings, such as her council tax.

Speaking about the service, Peggy said:

“I was so stressed out by everything; I just didn’t know where to start. I was worried about money and how I was going to afford to live. I simply do not know what I would have done without the service.”

Grace Rawson, Governance & Executive Support Manager at Weston Park Cancer Charity, said:

“We’ve supported Age UK Sheffield’s Cancer Support Independent Living Service since 2016, and we’re so proud of what we’ve achieved in partnership.

“The service has been a lifeline for many vulnerable people and has helped over a thousand participants to live well, with and beyond cancer. It has been a privilege to assist the service through our grant giving programme.”

Teresa Barker, Age UK Sheffield CEO, said:

“Thousands of older people living with cancer in Sheffield have benefitted from our partnership with Weston Park Cancer Charity.

“Many of them were living in poverty and did not know where to turn to access wraparound support for their financial, health, housing, and social needs. Together, we have provided a service that has changed so many lives for the better.”

Weston Park Cancer Charity provides practical, emotional, and financial support to the one in two of us who will receive a cancer diagnosis. The charity has a comprehensive grant giving programme, which supports organisations, individuals, research, community projects, and training opportunities.

To find out more about Weston Park Cancer Charity’s grants programme, head to www.westonpark.org.uk/apply-for-funding