Supporting People
Hardship funds for individuals:
Transformation Cornwall have compiled a list of some charitable hardship funds available to individuals across the UK.
Vodafone charities connected
Vodafone offers free mobile connectivity for charities. You can use the free Vodafone SIMs to provide connectivity to your service users. The SIMs are loaded with 20GB of data, unlimited calls and texts each month for 6 months.
Supporting people with no recourse to public funds:
Key piece of information: it is against the law for anyone to give advice on immigration if not regulated. Only certain professionals are allowed to do so. Whilst support can be offered (food parcels, advice), this should not be related to immigration - this needs to be referred.
Essential advice and information for supporting people who have no recourse to public funds is available on the following websites.
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Healthy Start Vouchers and Best Start Foods
Low income families are eligible for Healthy Start Vouchers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and Best Start Foods in Scotland. People with NRPF may also be eligible. More details via the buttons below:
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Guidance for Food Aid Organisations on Gambling
Gambling issues are widespread in this country. Recent data from UKHSA (formerly Public Health England) shows that more than 1 in 10 employees in the UK are affected by gambling harms. Whilst there seems to be plenty of awareness and advice on alcohol and drug issues, it can be more difficult to find the right support for gambling. Furthermore, the financial consequences of gambling harms means that it’s likely that a food aid organisation will have clients struggling with this issue. This guidance has been put together with the help of Ara Recovery for all.
Who are Ara?
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A registered charity
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Provides free and confidential one-on-one counselling for people experiencing problems with their own gambling or that of a family member
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Work with commissioners and agencies to raise awareness of gambling harms
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Run prevention and education programmes
Click here for more detail.
How to refer
If you are referring on behalf of someone else, Ara needs to have their consent. They also require their name, and a means to contact them. Clients can also self refer using
these methods.
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Ara Gambling helpline – 0330 1340 286
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Are Website – Get support -
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Email – Info@recovery4all.co.uk
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NGSN 24-hour National gambling helpline
Further resources
Energy suppliers who offer grants to their customers:
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British Gas Energy Support Fund NB. you do not have to be a British Gas customer to be eligible for this
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Energy advice: UK-wide
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MoneyHelper: Everything you need to know about the government's cost of living support packages to help with your energy bills
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