MORE than £40 million of benefits has been claimed by more than 9,500 people through a campaign run by the Department for Communities.
The 'Make the Call' service supports people in accessing benefits to which they are entitled but have not been claiming.
People who used the service were, on average, £88 better off per week.
It brings the total for additional entitlements claimed in Northern Ireland to over a quarter of a billion pounds since 2005.
Communities Minister Carál Ní Chuilín said: "The aim of ‘Make the Call’ is to support people when they need it most.
"Major life changes such as taking on caring responsibilities, illness or disability, retirement or bereavement can mean people become entitled to a range of different benefits and supports or services.
"Often people don’t realise that there is support out there to assist them during such difficult times, which have increased now due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"With ‘Make the Call’ we are actively reaching out to those thousands of people each year in situations where every pound generated can help improve someone’s life."
