Co-production in practice
Shaftesbury’s Changes For Future Forum is a group of people supported by Shaftesbury, elected by peers to represent the issues that matter most to them as they meet on a monthly basis.
Seven members including: Sharon, Michelle, Catherine, Phil, Janice, Ian and Lesley worked together to come up with top tips and guidance to support those that might be struggling with the cost of living crisis, especially targeted at people with disabilities.
The cost of living crisis is affecting us all. It means that prices for things we need, life food, gas, electricity and travel are going up. Benefits and wages are not going up as quickly. This means that we might find it more difficult to pay for the things we need.
The cost of living crisis is making disabled people make choices that are detrimental to their health. 71% Of disabled people who need to use more heating because of their long-term condition or impairment are concerned that they will not be able to heat their home this winter. (Scope)
The aim was to share this booklet with the people that Shaftesbury supports, but we decided to share the guide wider to impact at many people as possible. The Cost of Living Guidance is now available as a free download, click below.
Download (standard version) Download (easy read)
‘We wanted to share some ideas about how we can all save money’
Cost of Living, Changes for the Future Forum group.
Why did you create this cost of living guide?
We spoke to Michelle and Sharon who live at Shaftesbury New Court Place about their involvement in the guide…
Michelle said: “It will help people to budget in the future and help others manage their money, we want it to help people. It has ideas like paying on a sim for your phone rather than paying monthly which works out cheaper.
We want to help you with how far your benefits will go and making sure they last in the current climate. Some of the biggest money worries are around food, electricity and bedroom tax. It’s about making sure your shopping bill is adequate and not too high.”
Sharon commented: “The biggest issue for me is transport, taxi’s charge a lot of money when we want to go out and about.” Michelle supported this and said “Taxi’s bump up the price when they see we are using a motorised chair.”
The guide includes how to save on energy costs, shopping and bills, going out and transport, benefits and support from councils. Added in time for winter is a new section on keeping warm. A budget planner is included too that helps people work out money coming in and out and to work out what’s left. There are two versions of the guide, one standard and one easy read with Photosymbols™. We are continuing to work on other accessible formats.
Further reading: