The Household Support Fund, the primary mechanism for supporting residents facing immediate financial crisis and cost-of-living pressures since 2021, has been replaced by the Crisis Resilience Fund (CRF) and the transition is underway to a new system that will allow us to expand the ways in which we can support people in crisis.
Under CRF there is still provision for cash grants to meet urgent, short-term needs such as food, utilities and emergencies; however, once the new system is in place residents will no longer be able to make direct applications for support via the Welfare Assistance Scheme or other self-referral routes. They’ll continue to engage with their relevant professionals, or if they have not previously been supported, they’ll need to seek initial guidance from Citizens’ Advice and Hertfordshire Family Support Hubs at Family Centres (Coming Soon), who will make referrals on their behalf. If someone needs support and you’re unsure where they should go, contact HertsHelp.
There’ll be an increased focus on longer term household resilience to reduce repeat crisis through funding for enhanced advice, guidance and outreach services to get to the route of financial instability and set Hertfordshire residents on a more sustainable path to future security.
Full communications will follow shortly including updated Cost of Living information on the Hertfordshire County Council website.
For more information, please contact our provider hub via assistance@hcpa.co.uk