Do you work with local communities? Maybe you are a volunteer, housing officer, social prescriber, or support worker? PECT are offering free fuel poverty awareness training, so you can identify those who might need help keeping warm this winter.
The short online or in person training sessions aim to raise awareness about fuel poverty and are suitable for anyone who has contact with communities, especially those considered vulnerable. They will provide advice on how to spot fuel poverty, how to provide basic advice and when and where to refer individuals or families in need. To be eligible, you must work in a public-facing role based in the East of England.
NEA figures show 6.3 million UK households will be in fuel poverty by October 2023. That’s an increase of nearly two million during the energy crisis. The effects of fuel poverty can be devastating for families, with over 13,400 excess winter deaths recorded in England during the winter of 2021/22*. This work hopes to help cut the number of hospital admissions and unnecessary deaths this winter.
“Last winter was challenging for so many households, with people not knowing where to seek help or what they were entitled to”, says Nikki Dekker, Domestic Energy Lead at PECT, “With our fuel poverty training, we are hoping we can raise more awareness of energy advice services like our own, but also give frontline workers the information and tools to be able to further support their service users this winter”.
This project was made possible with funding from Citizens Advice’s Energy Outreach Project (previously BESN), which funds training for frontline workers throughout England and Wales and provides support to households.
Upcoming virtual dates for the sessions are:
Monday 18 September, 12-1pm
Wednesday 4 October, 9:30-10:30am
Thursday, 26 October, 3-4pm
Register your free place here: Eventbrite Sign Up
In-person dates
If you would like in-person training, please get in touch at [email protected].
* Winter mortality in England and Wales – Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)