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During a crisis, the Northumberland Emergency Transition Support scheme can help residents with basic needs. The county council runs this service in an effort to provide basic needs to the vulnerable, and aid is provided in partnership with not-for profits.

Any type of grant or loan from the council is considered to be an award. It is short term support only and can help a struggling individual for at most 7 days. Uses of the funds can be for fuel bill arrears or travel costs. Another aim is to provide basic needs around food and clothing to people facing a one time crisis. Applications and assessments are done by partners, which include Five Lamps as well as Dawn Advice Ltd.

The applicant needs to be on a low income and faced with exceptional, unforeseen circumstances, such as a health or safety concern. Help from the Emergency Transition Support is also only for individuals or families with a connection to Northumberland and that are over the age of 16, and it is a last resort too. For more information or to apply for support, call 0300 303 1931.

Expenses addressed from the Northumberland Emergency Transition Support

There are three main components of it, and it will depend on the results of an assessment being done. Most of the people that are selected for an award will be on some other form of government benefits, or they were in the process of applying for assistance such as a DHP housing payment and were denied. No matter the outcome, the aid will be provided in the form of a grant, the goods themselves, or maybe a low interest loan.

In an emergency, the council will help ensure the residents health and safety do not deteriorate. So NETs can provide clothing, food, funds for utilities such as gas bills, or free baby items. Any help is usually provided in the form of a voucher to the client, but if a loan is issued, then at most £500 is provided. When seeking emergency support, a decision on the application will be made in a matter of hours.

There is also transition support, and this is for those that are moving in Northumberland and can include furniture and the like. In these cases, the individual will more than likely be given the goods themselves, and decisions can take as long as 5 days.

The last form of support from the welfare scheme is referrals. Specialists from Five Lamps or the Northumberland County council will refer clients to other charities and programmes in the region. As there can be many types of assistance found from the other groups, and the council has a directory of services for residents to use.

When grant awards are issued, this will be done in the form of a voucher from the Northumberland Emergency Transition Support scheme. At the time this is done, there will be a referral to an organisation that can provide the help using the grant, whether it is a food bank or a fuel provider. So the individual gets both the voucher as well as information on where to go to use it.

In many cases, the Northumberland County council will require the client to provide the voucher (whether it is for food or fuel card) at a local paypoint centre. This will then allow them to access the support they need from NETs.

To apply for Emergency Transition Support, people can either call 0300 303 1931 or contact Five Lamps or Dawn Advice Ltd. Customer support teams will assist the family and provide advice.