'Unexpected' £225k housing grant awarded in Horsham
Some of the money will be used to continue the food and fuel voucher support scheme
An unexpected grant of £255,000 has been accepted by Horsham District Council to help those in need during the cost of living crisis.
The Household Support Fund was received from West Sussex County Council in August and will be worked into the budget of the community development team.
The grant was accepted during a meeting of the full council on Wednesday (September 6), with one councillor saying it would be ‘nonsensical’ not to do so.
The money must be spent by the end of March 2024 and can only be used for certain things.
Sam Raby, cabinet member for housing, communities & wellbeing, told the meeting that these include continuing the food and fuel voucher support scheme which have been managed by Citizens Advice and Horsham Matters.
There will also be money for services working with those most affected by the cost of living.
This will focus upon food and utility support, financial support and advice plus warm spaces/warm hub provision.
Financially vulnerable households which have not received any central government help via cost of living payments will also be helped.
And there will be money for a series of multi-agency networking and information sharing events.
Of the latter, Mr Raby said: “This will support more joint working, less duplication and a better experience for residents who need support from several services.
“Many of the people who are going through a cost of living crisis have multiple needs, so they may need mental health support, they may need relationship advice as well as advice with finance and debt.
“That may be multiple agencies – so getting them to work together is absolutely crucial.”