Community Care Grant

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NOTE: The Community Care Grant scheme has been replaced by grants available through the Discretionary Support Service

 

If you need financial help to live independently in the community or to ease exceptional pressure on you and your family you may be able to get a Community Care Grant. You don't have to pay it back and it will not impact on other benefits you receive.

Eligibility

You can apply for a Community Care grant if you are:

  • Already getting Income Support, income-based Jobseekers Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, State Pension Credit, or payment on account of one of these benefits
  • Likely to start getting one of these benefits within the next six weeks because you're moving out of care

and if:

  • You're moving out of residential or institutional care to live independently
  • You're moving to a new home which will be more suitable for you following an unsettled period in your life and are being resettled by an organisation like the Simon Community, Women's Aid, Salvation Army, Extern or Edward Street Hostel
  • You need help to stay in your home and not go into residential care or hospital
  • You need help because you or your family face exceptional pressure, such as family breakdown or because one of you has a long-term illness
  • You look after someone who is ill, or disabled, or has been released from custody on temporary licence
  • You need help with expenses such as visiting someone who is ill, or to go to a relative's funeral

There are items you cannot receive a Community Care Grant for, a detailed list of these items is available  NI Direct.  You also cannot usually get a Community Care Grant if you have already asked for the same items or services in the last 28 days.

What you may receive

The amount you may receive depends on your circumstances and the amount of money you may get is reduced if you have savings of:

  • over £500 where you and your partner are aged under 63
  • over £1,000 where you and your partner are aged 63 or over

How Community Care Grants are paid

The grant is paid into a bank, building society or other account provider's account.

How to apply

You can make a claim by printing out a claim form and filling it in or asking for a hard copy from your local Jobs and Benefits Office. When you have filled in the form you can either:

  • post it to the office whose details are shown on the form, or
  • hand it in at your nearest Social Security/Jobs & Benefits office

 

For more information on Community Care Grants you can visit NI Direct.