Help Navigating the System When Life Changes

In this episode we are joined by Claire Walsh and Nora Durcan from the Department of Social Protection in Sligo, alongside Orla Barry from Citizens Information. Together they walk through the financial and practical supports available when illness, caring or bereavement reshapes a family's life; illness benefit, invalidity pension, disability allowance, carer's allowance, carer's benefit, the carer's support grant, domiciliary care allowance, supplementary welfare and the new bereaved partner's pension. They explain the fast-track process for terminal illness, how to appoint an agent, how to appeal a decision, and how the access officer service supports vulnerable customers. Their message is simple: these supports are a right, not a charity, and there are real people ready to help you take the first step.

Discover The Journey Together, a podcast by North West Hospice Charity. Hear advice, personal stories, guidance and emotional support for patients, families, and caregivers navigating palliative care.

"Seeking support is not a charity. It's a right within the social importance of social assistance."

"Always apply. People just assume they're not entitled to things… we won't know until you apply."

"We're all human. We all have brothers, sisters, mummies. We've all been through it or will go through it or know somebody who has."

Guests: Claire Walsh and Nora Durcan (Department of Social Protection, Sligo); Orla Barry (Citizens Information)

Host: Tara Rafter, The Navigation Coach

Show music: #mobygratis @mobygratis

Supported by: Citizens Information Centre Sligo

This podcast is produced by Verver

by ⁠⁠North West Hospice Charity⁠⁠

Referenced Links

MyWelfare.ie · Citizens Information.ie · Gov.ie/DSP · MABS.ie

Practical Financial Support When Life Changes

Tomas Kelly is a dedicated mortgage arrears advisor with the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) in Sligo, supporting people and families through some of the most stressful financial moments of their lives. In this conversation he walks through the practical supports available when illness or caregiving changes a household's income ; from carer's allowance and the carer's support grant to mortgage payment breaks, charitable funds, wills, enduring power of attorney and the Think Ahead form. Tomas is clear that MABS is free, confidential and non-judgmental, and that the service is there long before anyone is in serious debt. He gently names the shame and embarrassment that keep people from asking, and reminds listeners that lenders, employers and the social welfare system are far more human than fear allows us to believe.

Discover The Journey Together, a podcast by North West Hospice Charity. Hear advice, personal stories, guidance and emotional support for patients, families, and caregivers navigating palliative care.

"Nobody plans for ill health, nobody plans for loss of employment, nobody plans for family breakdowns. You don't plan for the unexpected."

"We need to forget about the shame, we need to forget about the embarrassment… the best thing is if people can face things head on."

"Always apply. People just assume they're not entitled to things. We won't know until you apply."

Guest: Tomas Kelly, MABS Sligo

Host: Tara Rafter, The Navigation Coach

Show music: #mobygratis @mobygratis

Supported by: North West Hospice Charity — Light Up a Life Christmas event

This podcast is produced by Verver

by ⁠⁠North West Hospice Charity⁠⁠

Referenced Links

MABS.ie · Citizens Information.ie · MyWelfare.ie · Think Ahead (Irish Hospice Foundation)

Why She Has Never Stopped Talking About It

When Mary Forte's husband Anthony was dying, a friend suggested a hospice bed, and Mary's first reaction was that hospice is where people go to die. Two days later she walked through the door of North West Hospice and was met with a cup of tea, a slice of toast, and ten months she now describes as the most positive experience of the hardest time in her family's life. Mary talks with Tara about Anthony's care, about the nurses who quietly minded the whole family while she thought they were only minding him, and about the hardest thing the hospice ever asked of them, which was to stop pretending and tell the children the truth. She went back years later as a healthcare assistant and now works as the charity's commercial manager, running the shop, the volunteers and the garden she once landscaped by hand. Warm, funny and entirely without varnish, this is the story of why she has never stopped talking about the place.

Discover The Journey Together, a podcast by North West Hospice Charity. Hear advice, personal stories, guidance and emotional support for patients, families, and caregivers navigating palliative care.

"My friend is saying, get a bed in the hospice. And I'm like, are you off your head? That's where people go to die."

"The hospice gave the children back their father and they gave me back my husband."

"I always describe the hospice as the most positive experience in the most heartbreaking time of my life, and my children's life, and my husband's life."

Guest: Mary Forte, Commercial Manager, North West Hospice Charity

Host: Tara Rafter, The Navigation Coach

Show music: #mobygratis @mobygratis

Supported by: North West Hospice Charity Shop

This podcast is produced by Verver

by ⁠⁠North West Hospice Charity⁠⁠

Referenced Links

NorthWestHospice.ie · Hospice shop, Lower Quay Street, Sligo. Donations accepted at the side door, 10am to 5pm Monday to Saturday · Furniture collection and delivery: 087 063 9659