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Families on a low income that are local to the Southwark borough can apply for crisis assistance from the Southwark Emergency Support Scheme. The council offers many types of support to the vulnerable. Even if a resident is not eligible, the team from the authority will still refer a person to other services for their needs.

The welfare programme was created to help families that are in a short term crisis situations and that have no other resources available to them. The council will provide support at their discretion and only for certain types of expenses, but some uses of the vouchers may be for white goods, clothing, furniture, or food.

The applicant can be faced with a short term, exceptional hardship or they may be recovering from a disaster, such as a fire or flooding to their home. Or applicants that are threatened with homelessness or some problem that if not addressed will lead to them moving out of their home. People on a low income can also receive help from SESS if they need to move back to the community, so there are various situations in which the Southwark council will assist.

Any award from the Southwark Emergency Support Scheme will be provided using the goods themselves. So the council will not offer cash as part of the scheme. The types of help provided from the welfare scheme as as follows.

Based on needs and assessment that is done, the individual will be given a voucher to a food bank or maybe clothing from a charity shop in Southwark. Or if they are cold in the winter as can’t pay their fuel bills, then SESS can offer pre-paid card to top off fuel meters for heating costs. One reason vouchers are used and not cash is to help ensure that the individual is only provided with what they need to make it through the period.

Criteria to be eligible for SESS

The family needs to be in a crisis, disaster, or in threat of needing to leave their home and borough. If the applicant is eligible from that, then other criteria need to be met as well. The person needs to be age 16 or older, and on a low income or in poverty. SESS will also normally require the applicant to be on benefits such as Income Support, Guaranteed Pension Credit, Jobseekers Allowance, Employment Support Allowance, or the Universal Credit. If they do not meet these criteria, then the council will refer the family to other charities or schemes operated by government agencies.

Any financial assistance, even something as simple as a food voucher, from Southwark Emergency Support Scheme is a last resort, so applicants can’t have any savings or other charities to turn to. Proof of this will be required by the council when applying, so people should be prepared with documentation. The Southwark council will also ask people for evidence to support the hardship claim.

Applications that are done fraudulently will have action taken on them. The council will investigate and sanction the resident. They will also take legal action to recover the funds from the person and other steps will be taken.

Also, all payments are discretionary, and the scheme is only given money once per year by the central government. After the funds are used up, then no one else from the borough can benefit from it. Even if a voucher if not awarded, then the customer service team can still refer people to other free advice services in the city. Or they may be referred to the loans issued by Jobcentre Plus centres.

Claims to the Southwark Emergency Support Scheme can be done either in the council office or at free internet access points. Or individuals can ring 020 7525 0200.