Southend-on-Sea City Council continues to support thousands of families and vulnerable people during the cost-of-living crisis with new initiatives planned for 2023.
The amount of information on available support is sometimes overwhelming and to make life easier for residents and to help accessing trusted and safe information, the council have collated key information and guidance on this website as well as on One Southend.
The websites include videos, articles, links to local and national schemes to help people deal with rising costs, an interactive map displaying locations where you can find support with food, clothes, toiletries, health items, and spaces where you can retreat to or work from to keep warm.
For anyone who can’t get online, the council has also produced a printed booklet - 14,000 booklets were printed with 4,000 copies going out directly to vulnerable residents. Copies will also be available from the Civic Centre and public libraries and charities will be handing out the booklets to their beneficiaries.
In addition to the cost-of-living resources, the council has also been taking advantage of the various government funding and grant schemes available to ensure as many Southend residents as possible can receive support during the cost-of-living crisis.
The council was awarded a total of £4.2m towards the Household Support Fund for the previous and current financial years and has supported over 40,000 households. This includes free school meals for all school holidays, summer break, October, Christmas and February half terms. This helps approximately 4,900 families during each school holiday period.
The Essential Living Fund continues to support vulnerable residents with a further £700,000 allocated between October 2022 and March 2023 to support with grants to those struggling with food and fuel costs.
During the same period, the Southend Emergency Fund is giving grants to local charities and support groups thanks to funding of £97,500 which has so far helped over 6,000 residents. Citizens Advice have been providing food and fuel vouchers with an extra £100,000 allocated for the period up to March 2023.
The council has also allocated £1.5m over three years to the Community Investment Fund, hosted by SAVS, to support the board’s key themes which include reducing poverty and boosting the voluntary sector.
Thanks to a £25,000 health inequalities fund provided by the South East Essex Alliance, over 50 slow cookers and 77 electric blankets were purchased and delivered to charitable organisations and voluntary services across the city just last week. Slow cookers and electric blankets can help reduce costs associated with rising energy prices. More will be purchased and distributed in the new year with the remainder of the fund.
The South East Essex Alliance is a broad partnership of organisations who are working together to tackle health inequalities and improve health and wellbeing outcomes for local people in Southend, Castle Point, and Rochford.
And plans are already underway for a mobile food market van offering low-price food items to residents in Southend’s most deprived areas. This scheme is also funded by the health inequalities fund to the value of £10,000 and is expected to run until Spring 2023.
Cllr Ian Gilbert, cabinet member for economic recovery, regeneration and housing, and councillor lead for tackling the cost-of-living crisis, said: “The cost-of-living crisis is affecting everyone, and we know people are worried about rising costs and are struggling.
“By rolling out our cost-of-living resources and maximising all the funding streams available to the council in recent months, we have been able to help thousands of families and our most vulnerable residents who are facing difficulties with general living costs.”
To view all available resources on cost-of-living support, including the interactive provision and warm spaces maps, visit the One Southend cost-of-living microsite.