NEWS: New ‘Get Energy Help’ Resource Hub Provides Support Amidst Energy Crisis
Groundwork’s Get Energy Help website supports people to become more energy efficient at home. Designed to help people save energy, stay warm, and reduce bills, its resource hub offers cost-effective, habit-changing guidance and support to those in need.
Groundwork has developed a section of their website, getenergyhelp.org.uk, to offer clear, simple advice on different ways to save energy, stay warm and reduce energy bills. By filtering questions about the user’s home, Get Energy Help guidance addresses specific energy-related concerns, such as heat loss or understanding meters. With cost-effective tips that make small changes to everyday living, this resource hub aims to help people become more energy efficient in the home.
Those in need of support will find home resources accessible from each page of advice, which includes meal and shopping planners, an energy reduction action plan, and a sticker sheet for their own use. The resources, that are also used by Green Doctors, help individuals to plan ahead, track their progress, and remind them of the changes made to save energy.
Additional energy and financial support from other organisations and charities across the UK who provide help can also be found on the hub. This includes links that lead to food banks, mental health support and tools to calculate benefits and loans.
Groundwork’s Green Doctors visit people’s homes to show them how to save energy, help resolve billing issues and access other community services. The Get Energy Help website also provides detail of how people can check their eligibility to see what Green Doctor is available to support them.
What’s needed to help more people
Earlier this month, the results of Groundwork’s annual survey of Green Doctors – energy efficiency advisors working for the charity – found that an increasing number of households are faced with unaffordable energy costs and in need of urgent help. The report called on the UK Government to support many who fall outside current eligibility criteria, by increasing the help available.
Graham Duxbury, Groundwork’s UK Chief Executive said: “Our Green Doctors continue to do incredible work in very challenging circumstances, and we value enormously the support we get from our local and national partners to maintain and expand our service. But there is simply not enough resource available to meet demand, and the nature of that demand is changing as more people fall into the trap of fuel poverty.
“We know what’s needed – in the short term simpler, more stable funding models so we can help those worst off to make best use of the help they’re getting and preserve as much warmth as they can, including a new ‘social tariff’. In the longer-term we need proper investment in making sure our homes are more energy efficient in the first place.
“Our new online tool will help those people our Green Doctors can’t visit understand what they can do themselves to save energy, reduce bills, stay warm and access extra support. We hope it will help people who feel overwhelmed by the situation they’re in, but also help other advice workers and home visitors to point people in the right direction.”
Notes to Editors
For more information please contact: media@groundwork.org.uk
About Groundwork
Groundwork is a federation of charities with a collective mission to take practical action to create a fair and green future in which people, places, and nature thrive. We support communities and businesses to build capacity and resilience in order to tackle hardship, achieve a just transition to net-zero and help nature recover in a way that reduces inequality and leads to healthier, happier lives for all: www.groundwork.org.uk