A national sight loss charity will make benefits and financial support one of its top talking points in its podcast heading further into 2024.
The Macular Society, which supports people living with macular disease, the biggest cause of sight loss in the UK, will be shining a light on the support available as part of its My Macular and Me podcast.
It’s launching a mini-series Bitesize Benefits in 2024 to focus on the benefits available to people living with sight loss, how they help, and the process involved to make a claim.
The first three episodes will focus on Personal Independence Payment (PIP). New episodes will be rolled out over the first few months of the year, with the first being released on Thursday 18 January.
Nearly 1.5 million people are currently affected by macular disease and many more are at risk. The disease can have a devastating effect on people’s lives, leaving them unable to drive, read or see faces. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common form of macular disease, affecting more than 600,000 people, usually over the age of 50.
The Bitesize Benefits episodes will be co-hosted by Macular Society interim director of services, Emma Malcolm, as well as Working Age and Young People’s Service manager, Colin Daniels.
Colin said: “Understanding which benefits and financial support are available to people with sight loss can be a minefield, so we will be tackling that and breaking down what people may be entitled to.
“We’ll look into the perceived barriers in terms of the application process, exploring how to apply for the different benefits available, the application, as well as assessment and how a decision is made.
“There are many additional costs involved for people living with sight loss, such as extra taxi or other transport fares and increased lighting bills at home, but there are benefits to help and we can show you how.”
The Macular Society’s My Macular and Me podcast episodes can be listened to here and also on all popular podcasting platforms including: Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts.
