Starting W/C 10th June 2024

PLEASE NOTE  – UNPAID CARERS CAN NOT APPLY DIRECTLY FOR THIS GRANT THE INFORMATION BELOW OUTLINES HOW YOU SHOULD APPLY:

Are you an adult unpaid carer in Bexley? As an unpaid carer, you might be a partner, family member, friend or neighbour. You could be temporarily or permanently caring for someone because of illness, disability, a mental health problem, or an addiction, or for an older person with care needs.

Could you benefit from a £150.00 grant to help you if you are struggling to afford energy and water bills, food, and other wider related essentials?

The Household Support Carers Grant is a national grant, funded by the Department for Work and Pensions, that has been made available to support those most in need to help with the rising cost of living.

The London Borough of Bexley has asked a local charity, Carers’ Support (Bexley), to administer the grant to support unpaid carers.

Unpaid carers cannot apply directly for the grant. A quick online form needs to be completed on your behalf by an “endorser”.   An endorser is a professional who knows you and can say that you would benefit from this grant.  This could be but is not limited to, a social worker, a GP, a community worker, a charity worker, a library worker or more.  Your “endorser” contacts Carers’ Support (Bexley) Contact Us  to request a form that asks for some basic information including your bank details so we can transfer the grant directly to you. Once we are certain the payment is complete, we delete your bank details from our records.

Those applying should be: a Bexley residents, aged 16 or over, be in financial hardship, be an unpaid carer and do not have access to any other funds that can be used to help alleviate their financial difficulties, such as other sources of cost of living support e.g. energy bills support scheme, cost of living payments or not considered eligible for public funds.

Household Support Fund grants cannot be used for council tax help, paying mortgages or personal debts, or for households that have sufficient income or savings.

We will not share your name, address or contact information with anyone else but we will share non-identifiable information which includes residential wards, gender and reasons given for receiving the grant with the London Borough of Bexley.

There is no means test for the grant and it will be available until September 24.

If you do not have someone to endorse and submit an application on your behalf, consider contacting a local organisation that supports carers- this could include Carers’ Support (Bexley), Age UK, Bexley Voice, Bexley Mencap or more. Please see the Bexley Carers website (bexleycarers.co.uk) for more information on support services for unpaid carers.

You may also find it helpful to sign up for our e-bulletin by emailing info@carerssupport.org with the subject heading “e-bulletin subscrpition”