Help for residents struggling to make ends meet
Support from Hackney Council is available to help residents with food, fuel, and essential costs
Hackney Council has launched a £5m package of support for residents who need extra support to pay for food, fuel and essentials funded through a grant from the Government’s Household Support Fund.
Free-school-meals eligible children attending state-funded schools, colleges and children’s centres in the borough will again receive holiday food vouchers. Orthodox Jewish children will receive equivalent support via eleven community organisations.
There will be additional funding for food banks and low-cost food shops, and over 60 grassroots voluntary community groups will receive support to provide meals, food parcels, advice, support with budgeting and essentials like mobile phone credit, tailored to the needs of their communities.
Meal-deal tokens will be available to families participating in activities at Hackney Libraries, and residents will be able to access energy-saving advice and equipment via Crew Energy at sites across the borough.
Residents will be able to access food or fuel vouchers via the Council’s Here to Help service and through 24 council, health and housing services.
The Council’s Here to Help service will receive funding to provide welfare benefits advice in 14 venues across the borough, as well as data-led take-up campaigns to help residents claim a range of benefits. The first campaign, coming up in July, will target residents for automatic enrolment in Thames Water’s Social Tariff.
There will be targeted support for people living in temporary accommodation, refugees granted the right to remain in the UK, foster carers and special guardians, as well as children receiving support from social services and their families.
We are also investing in improving the way we work by encouraging organisations to work together, share information and if possible, provide support to residents at the same time and place.
"We are delighted that the Government has decided to continue giving us this money to support residents who need it most. We know that this is a lifeline for many families. It is excellent news that the Chancellor announced the creation of the Crisis and Resilience Fund in her Spending Review. This will enable us to continue this work until at least 2029.”
Carole Williams, Lead Cabinet Member for Employment, Skills and Equalities
To find out more about the support available, visit the Council’s website at https://hackney.gov.uk/hackney-money-help