Information about support available to people in need from almost 800 charities in the UK has been brought together for the first time. A new website – www.turn2us.org.uk has been launched to provide users with details of all of the state benefits and charity grants available to them.

The need for the site emerged from research which showed that awareness of support available from the third sector remains low, despite 13 million people in the UK living below the poverty line. A survey found that only 2% of people would contact a grant-giving charity and only 1% would go to a benevolence organisation if they or a friend were in financial need.

The site lists organizations that provide help to anyone and to those who restrict their support to particular groups such as children or older people. A search facility takes the user to the relative information. There is also a calculator to help people decide if they are receiving all the state benefits appropriate to them.