Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF)
Types of support
What the fund can help with
The fund can provide:
- fast, flexible help if you’re on a low income and you are facing immediate financial hardship
- advice and support to help you manage financial shock and cope better in the future
- connections to local services for help with income, debt, housing and wellbeing
Support is based on your situation at the time you apply. The fund is not guaranteed and does not replace benefits such as Universal Credit.
What we mean by financial shock
A financial shock is when something unexpected makes it hard to pay for essential living costs.
This could include:
- a sudden loss of income or reduced working hours
- an unexpected essential bill or expense
- a delay or change in benefit payments
- illness, caring responsibilities or a family emergency
Our approach
As well as emergency help, the CRF aims to support you to:
- build financial stability
- improve budgeting and money management skills
- increase household income where possible
- reduce repeat crisis situations
- build confidence and independence
If you apply, we may also connect you to services that offer longer‑term support.
The four parts of the fund
| Crisis payments | Short‑term emergency financial support for people in immediate financial difficulty. This is to help stabilise your situation quickly. |
|---|---|
| Housing payments | Financial support for households struggling to meet their housing costs. This is to help prevent homelessness or housing instability. To be eligible, you must be entitled to housing benefit, or the housing element of Universal Credit. |
| Resilience services |
Advice and support to help:
This may include help with:
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| Community coordination | We're working with voluntary and community organisations across Walsall. This is to make it easier to find and access help, and supports our ‘no wrong door’ approach. |