New £3.5 million fund opens to help residents facing rising costs

Voluntary and community groups in Hackney can now apply for a share of more than £3.5 million to help low-income households across the borough.

The new Crisis and Resilience Fund programme offers grants of up to £50,000 a year to organisations to support local families facing financial challenges. The programme aims to move beyond the reactive crisis and help build long-term financial stability.

The funding will also encourage organisations to work closer together to ensure people don’t miss out on support. Priority will be given to groups supporting communities most affected by poverty, including Black and global majority communities, faith-led communities, disabled residents, carers, teen and single parents, LGBTQIA+ residents, and care leavers.

The fund will also help fill the gaps in support across Hackney, whether in specific neighbourhoods or for particular communities.

“We’re on a mission to tackle inequality in Hackney head on, and that means shifting cost-of-living support away from short-term fixes towards giving families genuine financial stability.

“But I’m clear that nobody should get left behind on that journey. That’s why we’ll work closely with voluntary groups not only to provide this new support that will fight Hackney’s cost of living crisis at its root, but manage this change in a way that is fair to all. 

“Community organisations know best where people need extra help and how to give it to them, so I’m proud to be working alongside them to deliver this investment, while we make the case to the government for more stable, sustainable help for low income families.

“As a Council, we’ll continue to demand a shift away from ongoing austerity policies that have only deepened inequalities’”

Cllr Sally Zlotowitz, Cabinet Member for Healthy Communities and Adult Social Care