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The South Holland Crisis and Resilience Fund: Household Essentials Support Scheme (2026/27)

Eligibility

You can claim if you are:

  • Aged 18 or over

Note: you may be able to claim if you are aged 16 to 17 if you meet the criteria for Universal Credit (UC) housing costs or Housing Benefit (HB)

  • A 'resident' in the South Holland District Council (SHDC) area

Note: a 'resident' is defined as someone who lives in a property in the SHDC area

And you fit within the following criteria:

  • Be in a low-income household

Note: household income of less than £36,000 per year, this includes earned income and all benefits, including those that would usually be disregarded

  • Have savings under £6,000

  • Be able to provide evidence to support your application

  • Have not already submitted an application to this scheme

Note: Only one application is permitted per household for the same crisis

Criteria

A crisis payment could be awarded where you have experienced a recent financial shock (within the last 3 months), which is a sudden, unexpected expense or drop in income, that has placed pressure on your budget and wellbeing.

Some examples of the type of crisis that causes a financial shock includes:

  • Disasters (for example fire, flood, gas explosions) that are unforeseen and has resulted in significant damage to, or loss of, possessions or property

  • Accident, health emergency or mental health crisis, leading to unplanned spending or incurring increased expenses

  • Experiencing domestic abuse and leaving an abusive relationship/partner and needs immediate help, such as moving into an unfurnished property and needing help with furniture and appliances

  • When an applicant is settling in the community after a period of unsettlement such as homelessness/placement in temporary accommodation/fleeing domestic abuse

  • Breakage of an essential item

  • A short-term gap in regular income (for example due to a significant change in working pattern)

  • Redundancy

  • Bereavement

Do I qualify?

To see whether you qualify for the award you will need to answer the following questions about your:

  • Income

  • Earnings

  • Savings

  • Expenses

  • Debts

You also need to provide proof of your financial situation.

If you do not fully complete the form with all details, we will be unable to assess your claim, and it will be withdrawn.

Assessment will be made of all other help you:

  • Have received, or

  • Have available to you

This includes any support you have already received through any other support the Government have recently made available.

What the scheme covers

It is not possible to set out an exhaustive list of the type of support eligible, but this will be linked to the reason for crisis, and will likely be focused in the following areas:

Household Essentials

  • Essential white goods (fridge, freezer, cooker, washing machine etc.)

  • Fixtures, fittings, and furniture (beds, mattresses, chairs etc.)

  • Carpets or flooring

Resilience Services

Resilience Services will be provided for people applying for a Crisis Payment.

The services offered will be designed to reach one or more of the following outcomes:

  • Reduce experience of material deprivation; this is the inability to afford essentials

  • Increase access to appropriate quality advice services; this could be a service that deals with debt, welfare, housing, or other wider advice

  • Increase savings

  • Reduce priority debt

  • Reduce need for emergency food parcels/crisis applications

  • Maximise your income and budget

You will be contacted after your Crisis Payment application has been processed. There is an expectation you will engage with the services offered to reduce your need to make any further crisis applications.

Application Form

To apply for the South Holland Crisis and Resilience Fund: Household Essentials Support Scheme, you must complete and submit your application through our secure application platform, Plinth.

Before applying, you will need to create a Plinth account. This only needs to be done once and requires your full name, email address, and a secure password.

If you experience any difficulties creating an account or submitting your application, Lincolnshire Community Foundation's Crisis and Resilience Fund Team are here to support you - please email us on crf@lincolnshirecf.co.uk or call us on 01529 572575.

Please Note: After submission, each application is considered on its individual merits against the scheme's eligibility and criteria as noted above. Please allow 28 days for a decision, if your application is approved, please allow 48 hours to receive your tailored support.

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