Financial Support and Guidance

Here are some resources below that might help if you require financial support and guidance.

 
Mental Health and Debt Guide

If you or someone you know is experiencing financial hardship, the Mental Health and Debt Guide may help. The guide includes how to handle debts when unwell, free debt counselling, specific tips for bipolar disorder or people with depression and whether to declare a condition and more.

If you are receiving services from HPFT and need additional support in accessing help, please contact your care team who will help you. People can also contact their local Citizens Advice Bureau at www.citizensadvice.org.uk

Household Support Fund

In October 2024, the government announced that it was extending the Household Support Fund (HSF) for a further six months until the end of March 2025.

Since the launch of the grant in October 2021, local authorities have been using this funding to support residents to deal with the rising cost of living.

The Household Support Fund includes: 

• Supermarket food vouchers for families eligible for benefits related free school meals for the Christmas school holidays and February half-term 2025. The number of families eligible for this support has grown by nearly a quarter since this funding began in 2021.  
• Welfare assistance scheme helping households on low incomes facing an immediate financial crisis, including providing outreach clinics to support the those who are unable to access online support. 
• New ‘Winter Essential and Winter Tangible schemes’, providing supermarket vouchers, heated blankets, warm bedding and clothes to families in crisis
• Support for food banks and help with energy costs delivered by district and borough councils and Hertfordshire Community Foundation. 
• Support for homeless people and survivors of domestic abuse. 
• £150 vouchers for new pensioners registered for Pension Credits. 
• £50 vouchers for care leavers over the age of 19
• Further funding for the Money Advice Unit and Citizens Advice to enable them to continue offering financial and debt support. 

For more information about the Household Support Fund click here.

 
Money Advice Unit

HPFT’s Enhanced Primary Mental Health Service (EPMHS) has partnered with Hertfordshire County Council’s (HCC) Money Advice Unit (MAU) to help people whose mental health has been impacted by the cost-of-living crisis. The service has been running since June 2023 and supports service users to access financial support and advice. Find out more here.

Help to manage the cost of living

Find out more about what support you can get with the cost of living: 
Help to manage the cost of living | Hertfordshire County Council 

The flashcard below also provides advice on support around the cost of living.