We will consider applications for individuals and families who meet all the following criteria:
Organisation: Be a service user of Family Action or an authorised partner of the Open Doors programme.
Residency status: Have right of residency in the UK.
Income: Be in receipt of one or more of the means-tested benefits listed below:
- Income-based JSA
- Income-related ESA
- Income Support
- Universal Credit
- Housing Benefit
- Working Tax Credit
- Child Tax Credit
- Pension Credit
- Council Tax Support
* We recognise that there may be exceptional circumstances where an applicant is not currently in receipt of means-tested benefits at the time of submitting the application. If this is the case you will be expected to provide a detailed explanation on the application form and we may need to defer the application in order to ask for more information.
Be experiencing severe and multiple disadvantage: i.e. experiencing at least two of the following simultaneously at the time the application is submitted:
- Serious mental health problems. (For the purposes of this grants programme a “serious mental health problem” is defined as a “clinical diagnosis” of a mental health problem.)
- Homelessness/at imminent risk of being made homeless. (For the purposes of this grants programme “homeless” is defined as those sleeping rough, sofa surfing or living in temporary accommodation such a refuge, hostel or B&B or those who have moved into new accommodation within 9 weeks of the application being submitted immediately following a period of homelessness. Those at “imminent” risk of being made homeless is defined as those “threatened with homelessness within 28 days”.)
- Domestic abuse
- Sexual exploitation
- Substance misuse
- Frequent contact with the criminal justice system (but not in prison)
NOTE: It is essential that the partner agency makes a good case for funding on the application form. For example, if the service user is threatened with homelessness within 28 days we would expect this to be demonstrated in the text sections on the application form.