Croydon has welcomed the news that thousands more vulnerable local households will be helped over the colder months, through a new £3m Household Support Fund (HSF) grant.
The Secretary of State allocated Croydon Council £3m for the HSF Extension Grant, and qualifying residents can apply for help until 31 March 2025.
The grant, which will benefit many Croydon residents, will be distributed by the council through a combination of direct payments, application-based crisis awards and discretionary emergency awards. It has been extended to take account of global inflationary challenges and the cost of living.
Information on criteria for eligibility and how to apply can be found on the Household Support Fund page of the council website.
The council will work closely with the borough’s schools, health and wellbeing practitioners and voluntary and community sector organisations to deliver targeted funding to those most in need. This ensures it reaches the maximum number of people possible.
Another positive change is the main difference to the new grant: an allocation of £50k to homelessness charity Crisis, in Croydon, as the new guidance from the Department for Work and Pensions states that the funding can now be given to agencies providing preventative support. This will also support the council’s partnership work in helping residents experiencing homelessness.
“We are very pleased to welcome this HSF funding extension – it will help thousands more vulnerable households to cope with the costs of food and energy bills, now winter is drawing near.
“Since HSF was launched in October 2021, we have supported 153,888 of our residents with essential costs, such as food, water bills, electric and gas meter top-ups.
“We want to support our families, help our pensioners to pay their energy bills, tackle holiday hunger in our school children, by providing meal vouchers – and this new HSF funding extension is vital in enabling us to do that.”
Jason Perry, Executive Mayor of Croydon
