Crisis grants can help keep you and your family safe from harm in a one-off crisis.

You might be able to apply for a crisis grant if you’ve had an emergency, for example, running out of food, might be caused by a sudden loss of income, or if you’ve suffered from a disaster like a serious fire or flood causing substantial damage. If you are awarded we may be able to help you out until you receive your next income.

Anyone who’s suffered an emergency or disaster and is struggling with the expense can apply. It can help pay for the things someone needs to prevent harm to them or their family’s health or safety because of an emergency or disaster.

Applications can be made for living expenses and essential items such as food, heating costs, nappies, toiletries if the applicant is in temporary accommodation.

The grants are designed to help people who are on a low income, so you can apply even if you don’t claim benefits. We give you a grant and not a loan, so you don’t need to pay it back.

If you claimed a benefit from The Department for Working and Pensions or at your Job Centre and you are waiting for your first payment, you should contact them first for a Short Term Benefit Advance.

If you have applied before for the same goods/services, you can only apply again after 28 days of your application, unless there has been a relevant change in your circumstances.

Crisis awards can be made only 3 times within a rolling year, but we can use discretion if your circumstances significantly change after this. However, Crisis grants are not in place to meet ongoing financial need or a continued short-fall in your income.

If you have already claimed a crisis grant please allow 1 working day for us to process your application and call you back.

To be eligible to apply for a Crisis Grant through the SWF, you must be over the age of 16, resident in Fife, and be on a low income.

**Please be aware there is a 1-hour timeout when completing the application, please have all personal and financial details to hand, prior to starting your application.**

• Crisis Grants – The quickest and easiest way to apply for a crisis grant is by using our online facility – Apply online If you do not have internet access, you can still call us on 0300 555 0265, Monday to Friday, 9 am to 2.30 pm. Calls to 0300 cost no more than the national rate.

Once you’ve applied, Fife Council will contact you within 1 working day of the date you have applied for a Crisis Grant. Please be aware that due to the current volume of applications being received, the timescale for contact from us may increase up to 3 working days.

Someone coming to us in Crisis due to ongoing need usually has:

• A continued short-fall in income, but has not taken all or some of the support offered to them when they call us.
• Lost their purse, wallet or money every month – you should take steps to keep your money safe, only take out from the bank what you need and keep it in a secure pocket. Your money should be hidden from sight!
• Told us they have money stolen from them on a regular basis – you must report this as a crime to the police by calling 101

Crisis grants are awarded on a priority basis.

We grant the highest priority items to vulnerable people who have an immediate and severe need, or who will face significant adverse consequences if help is not provided urgently.

If you do qualify for a grant, it will be provided in one of three ways:

• A chip and pin card loaded with a predetermined amount to pay for large awards
• Goods, such as items of furniture delivered and installed direct from the contractor to you
• A voucher that can be redeemed for money or energy top up for prepayment meters (PayPoint Store Locator)

Community Care grants are in place to help vulnerable people set up home, or continue to live independently within their community. There must be a severe and immediate need and you would face significant adverse consequences if you were not awarded a grant. There are fund qualifying conditions in place that you must meet in order to be awarded a grant.

Anyone who is struggling to live independently can apply. They can help people with the things they need to live independently in the community rather than having to live or stay in care. Applications can be made for essential items such as furniture and household equipment. If furniture or appliances are awarded, products are supplied and installed/fitted by a qualified contractor.

You may be eligible to receive a grant if you meet the fund qualifying conditions:

• individuals who are leaving care or imprisonment to establish or maintain a settled home, where without a grant there is a risk that the individual will not be able to do so
• individuals to establish or maintain a settled home after being homeless*, or otherwise living an unsettled way of life
• individuals to maintain a settled home, where without a grant there is a risk of the individual needing to go into a care institution
• individuals to maintain a settled home in a situation where that individual, or another individual in the same household, is facing exceptional pressure
• to assist a person to care for a qualifying individual who has been released from prison or a young offenders’ institution on temporary release.

Here are questions designed to help you under the conditions and establish if you think you meet fund qualifying conditions:.

• Are you under exceptional pressure?
• Have you had a period of care or imprisonment and need help maintaining a settled home?
• Do you have a history of homeless or living an unsettled way of life and need help maintaining a settled home? Do I have a support package? (formerly known as s re-settlement package*)
• Are you at risk of going into a care institution if you don’t get an award?
• Are you/or are you caring for a person on temporary release from prison or a young offender’s institution?

If you are unable to relate to any of these situations then you may be unlikely to qualify for an award. If you do fit into one of the fund qualifying conditions above, applications are also verified on the following……

• Are you over 16?
• Do you live in Fife?
• Are you on a low income? Or has access been removed to your (income) money?
• Are you vulnerable, have a severe and immediate need?
• Do the items you have requests meet the items levels we are awarding?
• Would you face significant adverse consequences if no award was given?
• Do we have money left in our fund budget to help you?
• Do you have access to any other financial support? E.g. friends, family, credit union, overdraft or credit card
• Are you a council tenant? If so, your Housing Officer may be able to help

You must meet fund qualifying conditions to be awarded.

Further support options are available to you below.

If you have applied before for the same goods/services, you can only apply again after 28 days of your application, unless there has been a relevant change in your circumstances.

If you have already claimed a community care grant please allow up to 15 working days for us to process your application and we will call you back as soon as possible within this timescale. During very busy periods this can be anything up to 20 working days.

To be eligible to apply for a Community Care Grant through the SWF, you must be over the age of 16, be resident or about to become a resident in Fife, and be on a low income and meet Scottish Welfare Fund criteria.

**Please be aware there is a 1-hour timeout when completing the application, please have all personal and financial details to hand, prior to starting your application.**

• Community Care Grants are only accepted online – Apply online If you are experiencing difficulties with filling out the application, please contact us using the Contact Us form and someone will be in touch to discuss this with you. Please be aware that we will be unable to take/complete the application over the telephone.
• Book an appointment - Alternatively, you can book an appointment at a Customer Service Centre to make an application, with the assistance of one of our staff members.

Please be aware that to book an appointment, you need to have or create a mygov.scot account. We've put together a short video guide that will help you register.

Once you’ve applied, Fife Council will aim to contact you within 15 working days from the date you applied for a Community Care Grant. Please be aware that due to the current volume of applications being received, the timescale for contact from us has increased significantly.

If you have already made an application and need to tell us of any changes you can use the Contact us form linked below and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

If you have applied already for a SWF grant and are unhappy with the outcome, you can ask us to look at the decision again.

You can find more information on our review process here.

Fife council, other agencies and local charities are on hand to help and give you advice on anything from budgeting, getting back onto learning, employment, travel costs to energy advice and keeping safe.

Here is a list of Fife Council, local agency support is available to you today 

• Citizens Advice & Rights Fife (CARF) can support you with different kind of problems including; housing, benefits, budgeting and money advice, they can help you on the right path or refer you to more specialist support agencies if required. The Scottish Welfare Fund team can refer you or you can self-refer direct to CARF
• Don’t struggle on in silence, there are a huge amount of help and guidance available from local agencies, the council, charities, credit unions and the DWP that can help you if you make contact.
• Are you always struggling with your heating bills? Cosy Kingdom is a free service that can help you find practical and affordable ways to save energy or help with energy bills and tariffs and advise on fuel debt.
• Don’t take all your money out of your bank account in one go, take what you need. This means you can’t lose everything or have it taken off you.
• Always be careful and check who is around you when you take money out a cash machine, try and use different cash machines, so people don’t get to know your routine when you take money out on pay days.
• If you are having money taken from you regularly or you are a victim of any other crime please contact the police to report this.

There are items for which an award from the Scottish Welfare Fund cannot be made:

• Scottish Welfare Fund Excluded Items

If the item(s) you need is on the fund excluded list, you can see what other alternative support can be provided

• A List of Alternative Support Provision