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Household Support Fund – Darlington

Citizens Advice Darlington, Redcar and Cleveland are administering the discretionary Household Support Fund on behalf of Darlington Borough Council.

The Household Support Fund provides discretionary support to low income households living in Darlington who are in financial hardship and struggling to manage their essential expenditure. The support is focused on households who are being acutely affected by the Cost of Living Crisis and who may be in significant debt.

Further advice is available if you are struggling with the cost of living at https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/cost-of-living/get-help-with-the-cost-of-living/ or please visit the ‘Get Help’ section of our website for details on our services.

How long is the Household Support Fund open?

The current round of the Household Support Fund runs until 31st March 2025. Please apply as early as possible to allow time for your application to be considered before the end of the round.

Am I eligible for assistance?

To be eligible for assistance you will need to meet the following criteria:

Darlington Borough Council area resident
Liable to pay housing costs i.e. rent or mortgage or registered as homeless with Darlington Borough Council
Your household has not already received an award in this round
You are a low-income household
You are in financial hardship and acutely affected by the cost of living crisis or are in significant debt of £5,000 or over
You do not have any savings

How do I apply?

An application can be made online at https://forms.gle/N33WqYkMUUPcDH7q7

If you would like support to apply online you can come to one of our IT drop in sessions which are held Tuesday 1.30pm-4pm and Thursday 10.30am-1pm (excluding bank holidays and 24th and 31st December 2024) from our office on Church Row.

Computer access is also available at Darlington Borough Council libraries.

We may contact you if we need any further information to decide on your application. Please check your emails, including your junk mail, for any requests for information from us. We will email you from hsfdarlington@citizensadvicedrc.org.uk

Where can I send information to support my claim?

You can send information to hsfdarlington@citizensadvicedrc.org.uk

Please put your name, address and application reference number in the subject line of the email so we can match the information to your application.

Please send proof of your residency in Darlington for example, a recent utility bill, council tax bill, tenancy agreement and any other information which can support your application including bank statements, benefit letters, wage slips or proof of debt.

How will I know if my application has been successful?

We will contact you via email from hsfdarlington@citizensadvicedrc.org.uk to advise you on the outcome of your application.

What support can I receive?

Successful applicants will receive a one-off payment of £100.

This will be paid via bank transfer to the account detailed in your application. The payment will show from Citizens Adv and the payment reference will be HSF.

Payments will be made at the end of the month following confirmation that your application has been successful.

Can I talk to someone about the scheme?

We hope the information above will answer all the questions you may have. If you would like to speak to someone to help you to apply please come to one of our IT drop in sessions as detailed above.

We have a small team administering the scheme, if you have an urgent enquiry regarding the scheme you can email hsfdarlington@citizensadvicedrc.org.uk and we will respond to you as soon as possible.