Blue Badge Application: Supporting Monica

Introducing Monica

Our Enablement Team supports our service users in their local area, so that they can access the support they need. At present, we have Enablement Officers covering Salford and Trafford, Bolton, and Oldham. Josh, our current Enablement Officer for Salford and Trafford, recently supported one of our service users, Monica, to obtain a Blue Badge. He supported her with the application process, which was a success.
In February 2024, Richard, from our Digital Enablement Team, invited her for an assessment at Sale Library regarding support with her phone and magnifier. After her appointment, she mentioned to him that she wanted to investigate applying for a Blue Badge.

Richard put her in touch with Josh to help her look further into it.

Applying for the Blue Badge

Josh met up with Monica and her daughter-in-law at Sale Library, so he could help Monica fill out the blue badge application. Josh went through the application step by step with her.

Monica is registered Sight Impaired, so her CVI (Certificate of Vision Impairment) was not suitable evidence as she had originally thought.

However, Josh said that based on her mobility and breathing difficulties, she could hopefully gain the badge based on evidence related to that. She used a handwritten medication list and doctor’s notes as evidence.

Josh worked with her for around two hours filling each box in and evidencing everything.

The form required some further evidence including a passport photo, a National Insurance number and a utility bill to prove address. However, Monica didn’t have these documents to hand, as her and Josh were unaware she would need to submit this information.

Monica’s daughter-in-law made a note of which further evidence Monica needed to submit. She emailed it to Josh a couple of days later. Josh then added it to the application and submitted it.

A number of weeks later, Josh received an email from Trafford Council for payment of the badge. Upon successfully making the payment, they would then consider the application and print the badge if approved (and refund the payment if not). He contacted Monica, who agreed for him to email the payment link to her daughter-in-law who could sort it for her.

Receiving the Blue Badge

A few days after payment, Josh received the wonderful news that Trafford Council had approved the badge and they would print it that day. Monica received the badge by the end of that week.

Monica is happy as her and her family can access more suitable parking spaces when out and about. This will help her with everyday activities like doctor’s or hospital appointments, shopping and leisure. She will no longer have to struggle with her mobility, or ensuring she has enough space to safely get in and out of a vehicle.

An example of perseverance

This is an example of persevering and going above and beyond to get something over the line for one of our service users. The application was rather complicated, especially as being registered Sight Impaired doesn’t automatically qualify you for a Blue Badge. However, Josh came up with other solutions for a successful application.

This has also been a learning curve for Josh. He can now use this experience to help more people wanting to apply for a Blue Badge in Trafford.

This is just one of many ways our staff go above and beyond to ensure that our service users get the support they are eligible for.

Benefits and concessions aren’t something we normally specialise in at Henshaws (we would usually make external referrals to other organisations for support with these). However, due to the complex nature of this case, Josh was willing to provide the support . The outcome was positive, demonstrating our commitment to making a meaningful difference in the lives of our service users.