Celia I
What's your experience of trying to access support from your local authority / council like?Hey,
My experience of receiving help from my local council might be slightly out of date now, but for what it's worth........
In August/September 2023 my teenage daughter and I were moving from a women's refuge into our new council flat. We had been collecting secondhand furniture etc during the previous six months, and storing it in a lock up belonging to a relative, so we weren't starting with absolutely nothing.
My support worker from Leeway applied on my behalf to the local Assistance Scheme. It was quite a hefty form, and I needed to submit bank and UC statements as proof of what I was saying. As I recall it took about 3 weeks to come through. We received a secondhand washer, new freezer, and new cooker. Also a wardrobe. We also got £150 in grocery vouchers. This is because I don't have a prepayment meter for my electric, otherwise I'd have got it for that (no gas in the flat). It was very helpful indeed, but long winded. You needed to be quite computer literate to complete the form, so this could be difficult for someone without those skills. In fact I have helped others with the form since.