Cost of Living Crisis Resources

Cost of Living Crisis Fund

Camden council have a Cost of Living Crisis Fund which provides urgent financial help to residents in hardship and those struggling to afford food, energy, household goods or other essential costs such as clothing, bedding, etc. Camden Council has created a dedicated section on its website to bring together all the information on cost of living. This includes translated materials, booklets and other publicity that can be downloaded. If families cannot go online, help is also available by calling Camden Council on 020 7974 4444 (choose option 9 for welfare support)

A number of measures have been put in place by Camden council in order to support families and individuals in financial hardship. Camden have set up Cost of Living Crisis Awards which school can apply for on behalf of families. These are where an individual or family is facing severe financial hardship and cannot afford the essentials of food, warmth, water, electricity and housing etc. As such, there is a risk the family or individual will suffer harm without help as they have no other source of financial support available to them.

AWARD VALUES

• Single person/couple - £300
• Small Family/household (1-2 children) - £400
• Larger Family/household (up to 3 children/dependants) - £500
• Households with over 5 members - £600-£700

• A household can only receive a maximum of two awards in a 12-month period.
• In exceptional circumstances higher values can be awarded but sufficient information and evidence is required in the application. Please use the ‘reason for award’ box for this.
• The scheme’s budget position will be taken into consideration when making an award.
  
  In order to be eligible:
  • You must have lived in Camden for at least 6 weeks
  • Be over 18, or a young person aged 16-18 living independently
  • You must be deemed to be in severe financial hardship
  • Only two awards per household

If you feel that your family meets the above criteria and you are in financial difficulty, please contact spoole@parliamenthill.camden.sch.uk who will be able to assist you.

Alternatively call 020 7485 7077 and ask to speak with Sandra Poole. We are also able to ask Camden for supermarket vouchers, so if you feel the above doesn’t apply to you but some additional help is needed, do get in touch.
Sandra Poole
Assistant Headteacher
spoole@parliamenthill.camden.sch.uk

Launch of Maternity Grants

Maternity Grants will launch on the 1st of April. These will be offered to pregnant people who reside in Camden and are receiving qualifying benefits.

The grants will be an unconditional offer of £500, plus an offer of a friendly phone call to help pregnant people navigate all the available sources of support in Camden (such as Welfare Rights, Family Hubs activities, etc.)

https://www.gov.uk/sure-start-maternity-grant/eligibility

Camden’s dedicated Damp and Mould Support Service

Camden also have a dedicated damp and mould support service. More information can be found at www.camden.gov.uk/report-a-housing-repair

You can access the support via the following:

• Speak to the team on webchat, Monday to Friday, from 8am to 6pm, at camden.gov.uk/housing-repairs (excluding bank holidays). Over 100 different languages can be used on this webchat.
• Text 07360 277 909 at any time. The repairs team will get back to you Monday to Friday, from 8am to 6pm (excluding bank holidays)
• Call 020 7974 4444 (option 3) Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays)

If you need support to navigate these services, please get in touch with the pastoral team in school who can provide assistance.

Living Outside of Camden?

Follow the link below where you can enter your postcode and access additional advice and support tailored to your local area.
https://advicelocal.uk/

Warm Spaces

‘Warm Welcome’ spaces are available in Camden’s libraries, council buildings and community organisations across the borough. Residents will be met with warmth and kindness, and can relax, meet others and get support with the cost-of-living crisis in a safe and warm place.
https://www.camden.gov.uk/warmwelcome

Food Bank Vouchers

To access a food bank, you may need food bank vouchers. You can get referrals to access these from Council officers, social workers, children’s centres, GP surgeries and advice charities.
If you’re in urgent need of support with food, please visit Camden’s Find Food website. You can use the website to find places and organisations to get food from in your local area. https://www.camden.gov.uk/find-support-in-camden
You can read more about other help with access to food in Camden, including food co-ops and vouchers for families.

https://www.camden.gov.uk/en/access-food

Cost of Living Crisis - Materials

Materials are now translated into community languages, British Sign Language and EasyRead (Haidee O’Donnell, Haidee.O’Donnell@camden.gov.uk)
Last year, the Council developed a booklet to provide residents with advice and support on the cost of living crisis. This has been translated into Arabic, Kurdish, Lingala, Somali, Swahili, Sylheti and Turkish. The translated versions can be downloaded from the ‘cost of living crisis materials’ section of the website:

Ways to donate, volunteer and help others - Camden Council

The Council has also translated the key information into an EasyRead wiki and British Sign Language.