HI

During lockdown you had an emergency fund which offered money for phones, is this something you will still be funding as it was extremely useful. I am working in South Wales and a number of areas are in local lockdown so we are trying to continue to work remotely. This can be very challenging when people either do not have a mobile or have no credit.

Hey Hi all not really a question but just wanted to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to you all who do a fantastic job, and for all the people who's lives you have changed, many of my customers would still be homeless so yes thank you

HI VRF
I like to make 2 points
First during the emergency fund I was able to gain some funds to get Electric Power Meter Top Ups to enable clients who were struggling especially in setting up home to have electric.
Second is on extensions . I have requested an extension 24/8/20 for a client and again 7/920 but had no reply. I know you guys are extremely busy and the work yous do is amazing. Like my self many work from home and the extension request is the VRF email. Wondering if a dedicated email for extensions or something similar good be looked at
As always from us here in NI a big thank you to the VRF team.

Thank you for the questions so far!

If you haven't already, please post a comment or question, and Nat or Mark will respond to you quickly as possible.

Hi Mark and Nat,
Just popped on to say thank you so much for all your help so far! We share your service with lots of colleagues in the homeless sector as it has been amazing working with you to prevent rough sleepers return to the street via our direct access HARRP and keeping people in their homes safely during COVID. Absolutely life saving work... so thank you again!!

Good Morning - Some of my clients have been very fortunate to have been helped by the VRF and this had a great impact on helping them turn their lives around. From myself and my clients you are owed a huge thank you..........So, THANKYOU.

One of my clients was awarded money from the VRF late last year as he was due to move into accommodation. This did not happen as it should due to work that needed to be carried out and then covid hit. I was unable to provide the evidence in a timely way as I was on leave and my account was blocked. I emailed to explain and have updated since then. I asked to be unblocked so that other clients could be helped and so I could return the money that has not yet been used ( client is still in temp acc awaiting a solution). I have not had a reply and am unable to log in so I cannot to do either. Please help

Hi everyone,

I'm Alexander, one of the coordinators of the Vicar's Relief Fund, and I'm here for the next two hours to answer your questions you might have!

Good Morning and welcome to the C-19 Frontline Worker Forum!

Today we have Mark and Alexander from our VRF team with us to answer questions and on the Vicar's Relief Fund.

We will be responding to your comments and posts throughout the session, and will collate the key resources you share in your comments at the top of the thread (Key Resources).

Please remember that this Forum Event is an open conversation, and we need to hear from you!

If aren't able to post a comment, please do use the like button, so that other Frontline Workers can see which comments are most helpful.

We look forward to hearing from you all and hope you enjoy this session.

Many thanks,

Marcus
Frontline Network

Good Morning!

Firstly thank you for all your help throughout the pandemic with regards to emergency funding!

Currently DDC has a temporary allocations policy, whereby properties are being direct matched to vulnerable/homeless customers within days, housing associations seem to be doing the turn around of sign ups pretty much on the same day as completing the initial income and expenditure checks. Unfortunately this means that problems are arising when the housing association request rent in advance, customers have already signed up. This is then putting the customer into arrears from the commencement of their tenancy and due to the VRF current policy not allowing an application to be made once a tenancy has commenced the tenancy is starting off in arrears. Is there any possibility while the pandemic is still happening and our temporary allocations policy is in place that cases can be reviewed on an individual basis, rather than a blanket policy?

Hope this questions makes sense, please do let me know if you have any further questions.

Thanks in advance!

Hi all
We have recently updated our FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) and you can find them here
https://frontlinenetwork.org.uk/vicars-relief-fund/faq/
We'd welcome any feedback colleagues had about how they have found using them or if they contacted us before looking at these, why?

Your awards have been so incredibly helpful during the corona virus & I can only thank you for all the people that you have helped. Also your form is extremely user friendly & clear.
I am worried about the number of people getting into serious arrears & the risk that these numbers could rise significantly over the winter months , when it seems likely that there will be further lockdowns & the associated job losses etc.
You are currently offering a maximum of £350 for arrears, but I wondered if this figure may be increased as for the majority of people , this would represent less than a months rent. Many people only seek help when their arrears are getting really high & then the landlord cannot agree to let them stay for only £350 , if the total arrears is high.
Also will you only be able to pay arrears if the landlord has issued a NTQ or can they be paid if there is a risk of an NTQ being issued ?

Thanks for all your amazing work

Hello Vicar's Relief Fund Team
I would like to thank you all for supporting our clients during this pandemic. My team applied for funds for few clients and the application was successful, two clients are able to buy a tablet, one was supported to pay off part of her arrears. The clients were happy and without this fund it wouldn't have been easy.
We know you are there and we can always ask for support for our clients.

Thanks so much
on behalf of St Mungos
Palace Road Team

Hi All,
Alexander and I are here today to answer any of your questions related to the VRF. Ask away!
Best wishes,
Nat and Alexander

Hi,

Again repeating what other people have said we have been very grateful for the support that the VRF emergency fund has given us especially during lockdown.

I had a question around requesting money for emergency accommodation. If we were to house a client on a Tuesday when the fund is closed, can we request, along with evidence of costs, for emergency accommodation costs from the Wednesday onwards? Obviously there is no guarantee we were to get the funding but in theory is this possible? It seems to be from looking at your FAQs.

Thanks,