Essential Living Fund

Help under the Household Support Fund

The Household Support Fund (HSF) is there to help low income households struggling with the cost of:

• energy
• food
• hygiene products
• sustainable white goods (in some instances)

Low income households that qualify include:

• families
• pensioners
• unpaid carers
• care leaver
• disabled people

Find out more about the Household Support Fund.

People can make up to 2 awards for food and energy costs during the period October 2024 to March 2025.

However please note if you are working age your second application will be held for consideration at the close of the scheme based on funding availability.

Help under the Essential Living Fund (ELF)

Eligibility

You can claim from the 1 September 2024 if you are:

• 16 or over
• a resident in the City of Southend
• on a low income or with little or no resources
• and you fit at least one of the criteria

Criteria

1. You need help establishing in the community following a stay of at least 3 months:

• in an institution
• in a care home
• in local authority care
• in a hostel
• in a prison or similar,
• or as part of a planned resettlement programme following an unsettled way of life

2. You need help to remain in the community rather than enter an institution or care home in which you will receive care.

3. You need help to ease exceptional pressures on yourself and your family.

Please note being on a low income alone is not an indicator of exceptional pressure. There must be a circumstance that has applied greater pressure than normally associated with a low income, such as:

• breakdown of a relationship
• sudden domestic upheaval
• deterioration in a disability

4. You are unable to meet your immediate short term needs either because of an:

• unforeseen emergency in relation to some expenses
• unforeseen disaster (fire, flood etc)

Please note this does not apply to people:

• affected by the Government Welfare Reform Programme
• with delays to benefit applications
• whose money has been lost or stolen

5. You need help with travel costs to visit a partner, parent or child that is staying in a hospital or a rehabilitation centre outside the Southend City for 4 weeks or more.

For more detail please see read through our Southend ELF policy.

6. You need help with school uniform costs after:

• being placed as homeless in temporary accommodation by the Council
• being placed in a refuge
• loosing school uniform in a fire or flood

You must also be on certain state benefits.

For full detail please see read through our Southend ELF policy.

Do I qualify

To see whether you qualify for the award you will need to answer questions about your:

• income
• earnings, and
• savings

You also need to give proof of your financial situation.

Assessment will be made of all other help you:

• have received, or
• have available to you

This includes any support you have already received through any other support the Government have recently made available.

What the scheme covers

Where you fit the criteria to claim, the scheme can cover applications for:

• furniture
• household furnishings
• white goods
• clothing
• general living expenses - these are day to day living expenses such as:
  • groceries
  • toiletries
  • energy costs

If you are awarded the grant, you will receive your award by:

• AllPay card
• high quality recycled furniture from a reputable charity
• white goods from a reputable local dealer

The maximum number of awards that can be considered for general living expenses is 3 in a year.

For all other items only 1 award can be considered a year.

How to apply

If you live within the City of Southend-on-Sea, use this online form.

Further information

For more information please view the Southend ELF policy.

For more advice and guidance please see Essential Living Fund frequently asked questions.