EmPOWER is a two-year project funded by the Energy Redress Scheme. Building on the experience, knowledge and skills developed in Heat Well for Less, EmPOWER will help to alleviate fuel poverty in Devon and Cornwall. Citizens Advice South Hams is managing the project with Nick White as the Project manager.

This project aims to empower people to take control of their own energy usage by  providing them with the knowledge, skills and resources for this to be possible. A  trained team of Energy Champions will support our more vulnerable energy consumers with advice and support so they feel confident in using their energy systems and managing their energy bills. There will be a focus on working with social landlords, such as LiveWest to achieve improvements to the quality of social housing stock across Devon and Cornwall. 

The qualified Energy Advisors can:

• help householders understand how to efficiently use their heating and hot water systems;
• look at fuel bills to see if you can save money by switching tariff;
• deal with energy supplier issues, including billing and meter problems;
• and help liaise with social housing landlords to make energy efficiency improvements.

To Get in Touch visit our Contact Page

In the process they identify emerging issues in health and social care and feed this back to Healthwatch, helping highlight and improve the access to, and experience of, health and social care services across Devon.

To get in touch call 0800 520 0640

We can support you to make a new claim for Universal Credit, from opening your account to receiving your first full payment. Our trained advisers can help you to:

• Set-up your Universal Credit account · Complete your claim to-dos
• Verify your identity
• Make sure you’re providing the right evidence to the Jobcentre
• Understand what Universal Credit will mean for you.

If you’re not sure what help you need just get in touch and we can work out how we can support you.

Clients can access us via telephone, webchat and face to face.

Help to claim Number: 0800 144 8 444    8am - 6pm

Webchat: citizensadvice.org.uk/helptoclaim   8am – 6pm,

Face to face: see our opening times

We can help debt issues.  Our advisers will:

• Help you to explore your debt problem.
• Look for ways to increase your income and reduce your outgoings.
• Help you to understand which bills are a priority, the options you have and how they will affect you.
• Provide support in accessing help e.g if you are seeking a Debt Relief Order, Debt Management Plan, Token Payment Plan, Nil Offer Plan or Individual Voluntary Arrangement.
• Help you by requesting a hold on bailiff action and assisting in negotiating affordable payment arrangements.

To Get in Touch visit our Contact Page

Our experienced community advisor, familiar with Citizens Advice systems, procedures and values, works in the community alongside the Totnes Caring team, providing much needed benefits expertise and achieving outcomes for clients.  As well as identifying and supporting applications for welfare benefits we support with income maximisation and welfare benefit appeals.

The Victim Care unit of the office of police and crime commissioner has been in place since the 1st April 2015. The Victim Care Unit offers a service for victims of crime in Devon and Cornwall and the isles of Scilly. The police based victim care unit works with a network of support service providers; Citizens Advice Devon is part of the network of service providers.

This project is funded by Devon County Council and it aims to assess people to see if they should be contributing to their care. Clients are referred to the project through Social Services.

The Quids for Special Kids project is run by Citizens Advice Devon funded by Devon County Council. The project helps by assessing whether clients are able to claim benefits and also challenge decisions when clients have not been treated fairly.  We know that the benefits system can be complicated and confusing and this can put busy families off claiming.