Advice, Information and Advocacy

Community Legal Service. Advice and Information Service

ECIL offers an Advice and Information service, via telephone, email, drop-in and home visit (for those unable to travel to our office).

The following are just some of the areas we can help you with:

  • Welfare Benefits
  • Care Packages
  • Social Services
  • Direct Payments
  • Equipment
  • Personal Mobility
  • Public Transport
  • Housing and Homelessness
  • The Disabled Facilities Grant
  • Employment
  • Training
  • Leisure
  • Communication

Mailings

ECIL sends out regular mailings to keep you up to date with news and information about ECIL activities. These mailings are FREE when you become a member of ECIL. They are also available on audio tape.

Legal Surgery

ECIL's Legal Surgery is run in conjunction with Law for All and takes place from 10.00am to 1.00pm every Tuesday morning (except Tuesdays that follow a Bank Holiday). Appointments are half hourly. The surgery deals with disability related legal issues and benefit matters. For other issues, you may be referred to another Law for All solicitor. Please phone or email for an appointment. All initial appointments are FREE, but Law for All can only represent you further if you qualify for Legal Aid. Very occasionally, exceptions can be made to this depending on the nature of the case.

Portrait of Mark Reen. Independent Living Surgery

The Independent Living Surgery is run every two months on Saturday afternoons between 12.00 and 2.00. It offers an opportunity for you to meet the local councillor, Mark Reen, who has cabinet responsibility for Adult Services and Housing, to discuss any disability related issues that you may have over which the council has influence. See Calendar for the surgery dates. Phone 020 8840 8573 for an appointment or email us at ecil@ecil.org.

David Hunt, ECIL's Advocacy Worker Advocacy - Helping you get what you need

ECIL can do more than just give you information. We can support you to get what you need in a variety of ways. For example, we have helped people get increases in their Direct Payments from Social Services and to get Social Services care packages from scratch. We have had success getting compensation for people in Disability Discrimination Act conciliation sessions, we have been successful with welfare benefit appeals and with getting people rehoused.  We cannot guarantee results every time, but when we think we can be successful we will certainly try. Funded by the Ealing PCT, the project is primarily focused on people who have very high support needs.