Advice & Welfare
Legal Advice Service
BYM's long established bilingual welfare rights advice & information service has been running successfully for many years; providing services for the local community in Tower Hamlets.
Due to the nature of the area, Tower Hamlets has a high number of unemployment and over crowdedness in housing. The ever changing policy in DWP benefits, Universal Credit, Social services, Immigration & Nationality and Housing policies have made the services popular and demanding.
The clients that come to our service are from different backgrounds and face low literacy and language difficulties; hence the bi-lingual service attracts a large number to the services. The services offers appointment and drop in sessions dealing with various issues and concerns raised by our clients, they include welfare rights, benefits, general debt/money advice, leaseholder service, Education, immigration / nationality, homelessness, employment/ training, health and other matters.
Due
to the demands of other advice centres in Tower Hamlets, we recognise
increasing number of clients and their demands in which our advice
session run from 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 4:30pm from Monday to Friday.
This year has seen an increase in the number of people that has used our services, due to the current economic climate and new legislations and policies. We estimate over 2500 people have benefited from the service.
General Debt & Financial help
BYM offer general advice, coaching and support service relating to debt and financial issues to member of the Bangladeshi community & others. We offer general help as well as signpost. We also refer our clients to other agencies for debt and money cases.
Women's welfare section
BYM has recognised that women have a specialized requirement and has a women section to help women with their welfare needs.
Due to change of social security benefits, legislation and increased unemployment, our client have experienced greater difficulties with long and complex application forms the new benefit: difficulties often compounded by language problems.
We have part time bi-lingual (Sylheti speaking) advice worker to help/ advice/ counsel woman particularly in matters of welfare rights, benefits, housing, domestic violence, health, education and general advice information.
BYM is proud to confirm its ability to engage young people & adults in to volunteering work which could lead to employment, experience into youth work, advice work and community works or for self development in other career aspects.
BYM offers within its organisation many positions which young people can consider as voluntary on hand community experience. These positions are supervised or supported by each site manager. Following positions are currently offered to them:
3 female part-time youth work (BYM Womens Centre)
8 teacher and volunteers, for study support group operated at KS2,3, and GCSE's.
2 female advice workers/ administrators
Through our women's welfare service, we've help and supported approx 1000+ women on various issues yearly.