The Essential living fund is grant money that helps persons who are attempting to establish themselves in the community after a period of unsettling, persons who are under extreme stress, and persons with short-term emergency needs. To put it another way, it’s the fund that provides additional assistance to vulnerable persons in order for them to live independently. It can also assist you in obtaining necessary household appliances such as a refrigerator, oven, or table. To learn more, read further as we will be discussing Essential Living Fund grants in Essex county plus the application form process.
Overview
The government is becoming more active in providing low-cost lending to consumers. They are attempting to break the cycle of families turning to more expensive forms of financing, such as payday lenders. A growing number of councils, both at the district/borough and county levels, are providing citizens with interest-free loans to pay for either emergency costs or housing obligations, such as a rent deposit. Borrowers’ funds are frequently accompanied by extra support services, such as participation in credit union-hosted budgeting classes and placement in debt management programmes. Locate resources for council-issued loans.
Despite the fact that personal loan products in the U.K. are strict, illegal sources of borrowing continue to exist. If you decide to borrow money to help pay your rent, utilities, or any other obligation, it is critical that you avoid predatory lenders. The appropriate loan can help you get through short-term financial difficulties while also protecting your credit rating.
Essential Living Fund (ELF)
The Essential Living Fund is a component of the social fund programme administered by the Southend Borough Council. The Council handles community care grant claims as well as crisis loans for ordinary living expenditures. The team at Southend on Sea Borough Council is in charge of essential living fund application forms and administration for the entire county of Essex.Â
The ELF scheme is a grant system, and anyone can apply for it. However, income, wages, and savings come under thorough evaluation to determine eligibility, and verification of financial situation is necessary. Moreover, the subsidies don’t come in cash or directly into a bank account. but rather in the form of food vouchers or supermarket vouchers, AllPay cards, high-quality recycled furniture from a commendable charity, or white goods from a respectable local dealer.
People in the regions of Thurrock Council and Essex County Council can also apply for the essential living fund through the Southend website. Online application forms are available with more information on the website.
People who can claim Essential Living Fund
People who are eligible to claim ELF
Anyone can claim the EFL fund. The fund exists to assist in the following ways:
- People who have spent time in a care home, hostel, or similar facility now live in the community.
- Persons who are out from prison and youth offender institutes
- Young people who have aged out of council care
- People who receive care at home rather than in a nursing home or other facility.
- Alleviate extraordinary constraints on individuals or their families
- Following an upheaval in their lives, people make their homes in the community.
- Persons to look after a prisoner or a minor criminal on supervised release
- People who are unable to manage their own requirements in an emergency or in the aftermath of a disaster.
What you can use the fund for
To determine if you are eligible for the grant, however, you must answer questions about who lives in your family, your income and savings, and your purpose for applying.
The Essential Living Fund programme provides assistance with:
- Furniture made from recycled materials, such as a bed, sofa, closet, or table
- Bedding, crockery, and cutlery are examples of household goods.
- White goods include items such as a stove, refrigerator, and washing machine.
- Clothing and Footwear – including, in exceptional circumstances, school uniform
- Travel expenses when visiting a parent, partner, or child from the borough who is in a hospital outside the borough.
- General Living Expenses — These are day-to-day living expenses such as groceries, diapers, toiletries, cleaning/hygiene products, and money for pay as you go gasoline metres.
Essential Living Fund Grant Scheme in Essex County
The main emergency scheme in Essex County, known as the Essential Living Fund Grant, can assist low-income households with basic needs and living expenditures. The council in Essex county established this programme to provide one-time assistance to persons facing a crisis.
On the other hand, individuals in Essex county will not receive cash under the Essential Living Fund plan; instead, they will receive a voucher or possibly a pre-paid card; nonetheless, this is still a grant. In rare situations, the council would give the applicant the products themselves, such as furniture or clothing. Meanwhile, the majority of the council’s assistance is for food and normal living expenditures, which can include milk, teas, tinned meats, groceries, and non-perishable canned goods.
Essex County Council can also provide referrals and advice to assist the client in gaining independence. Families who qualify for an ELF grant usually receive a voucher to use at local food banks, where they can get additional assistance such as a meal or non-perishable groceries. Call 01722 580 180 to find out where food banks are located in Essex.
Contrary to what you might think, the ELF scheme provides no aid with housing or rent payments. The council receives a large number of requests from renters who are behind on their rent, and such persons are referred to alternative programmes, such as discretionary housing payments. There are additional options to consider while looking for emergency and housing payments.
The Essex Community Development Officer can also assist persons in seeking employment. The majority of the assistance is in the form of recommendations to charities and organisations that specialise in providing this service, and it is frequently for those who are eligible for the Essential Living Fund Grant Scheme.
What’s an AllPay Cards
An AllPay card is comparable to a Mastercard debit card in that credit is pre-loaded into the card. AllPay card is accepted in all stores that accept MasterCard. It should only be used to purchase the things for which you applied.
More importantly, the card is only good for three weeks. In other words, it would have become worthless after three weeks and any remaining funds on the card would go back to the Essential Living Fund scheme.
Essential Living Fund Application Form
To be eligible for assistance from the Essential Living Fund Grant application form, an individual must be receiving benefits or have a low income, and they must also be 16 or older. When applying, applicants must provide documentation of earnings, income, and savings.
How to Apply
If you are receiving benefits or working but have a low income, you can apply.
All applications are reviewed, and all financial information and personal situation as well to determine eligibility. Because the Essential Living Fund application form pages open in a ‘pop-up’ window, they may not operate if your web browser is set to ban pop-ups. To use the form, make sure your web browser enables pop-ups for all websites.
Follow the instructions below to get around it.
- At the top of the page, select the “Tools” option.
- Highlight the “Pop-up Blocker” option.
- Select the option “Always Allow Pop-ups from This Site”. When you click Check Eligibility, a new tab will appear, and you will be able to continue with the form.
Depending on when you contact, you may not be able to receive your reward on the same day. But if your claim is successful, you will know at the end of the phone call. Also, you will get a unique reference number as well as any further information that you’d need to obtain your reward
All food packages, food vouchers, and AllPay cards will be available for pick-up from precise locations within a certain time frame. Alternatively, it will be posted if the first option is not available. In the phone call, you’d receive information about the pick-up location and time.
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