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All Together NOW!
December/January 2011
Liverpool Community College
Programmes for better prospects... Will I get help finding work?
Dad’s ‘gift’ for students EDUCATION . . . TRAINING . . . JOBS . .
‘Working with Business’
Thinking about...
Can I start right away?
Where can I go to retrain or gain skills?
PROUD DAD: Ian Leech and daughter Melissa who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma aged 20
S
TUDENTS forced to suspend their studies to undergo treatment for serious illnesses will now be entitled to more financial support – thanks to devoted dad Ian Leech.
Let Liverpool Community College equip you with the skills employers want If you are unemployed, recently made redundant or ready to start work we can improve your chances of success in the current job market Let us prepare you for work with relevant training and help match your skills to current vacancies in security, hospitality, business administration, care, retail, and many more. We also provide training in how to set up your own business For further information contact:
0845 013 1515 www.liv-coll.ac.uk
www.alltogethernow.org.uk
Our future.
It’s in our hands
Mr Leech fought for two and a half years for a change in the rules after his daughter Melissa was diagnosed with Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma aged 20. Now a change in benefit law means students who suspend their course due to serious illness or disability will be eligible to claim Employment Support Allowance (ESA). Mr Leech started his campaign when he found that his daughter – forced to take time out from her studies at Aston University – was not entitled to claim income support (now ESA) because she was able to access a student loan, which was deemed income. Melissa died in 2008, but Ian continued to battle for a change to the law on behalf of other students with serious illnesses. Mr Leech says: “It was five months before Melissa finally received any sort of benefit. People told her to give up her course, or use her student loan, but why should students have to use a loan, which is meant to fund education, to support them while they recover from a lifethreatening illness? “Mel was treated in Nottingham, 35 miles from home, which meant our petrol bills soared to £100 a week. Were it not for CLIC Sargent, Macmillan and other
charities supporting us with grants to meet the extra costs, we would have been in danger of financial ruin.” Dara de Burca, Director of Services at CLIC Sargent, the UK’s leading children’s cancer charity, said: “This change to benefit law will make a real difference to the lives of students with cancer and other illnesses, and Mr Leech should be really proud of what he has achieved on behalf of his daughter Mel. “Money may seem unimportant when a child is diagnosed with cancer, but the
extra costs that arise can be significant. “Our research shows that around eight out of 10 families that we support need help claiming benefits, and as many as nine out of 10 need financial help. “That’s why CLIC Sargent provides financial help, as well as emotional, practical and medical support, to help reduce the impact cancer has on the lives of children, young people and their families.” n CLIC Sargent: Tel. 020 8752 2812. www.clicsargent.org.uk