Somerset Crisis & Resilience Alliance

About the Crisis and Resilience Alliance

The Somerset Crisis and Resilience Alliance is a partnership of voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise organisations, led by Citizens Advice Somerset.

We are working together to provide joined-up support for Somerset residents experiencing financial crisis, and to help people build longer-term financial resilience.

The Alliance is funded by the government’s Crisis and Resilience Fund, through the Department for Work and Pensions and Somerset Council.

The Alliance exists to do two things. First, to respond quickly and effectively when someone is in financial crisis, so their situation does not get worse. Second, to help people avoid hardship in the first place, or from facing it again.

To do that, the Alliance is creating clear routes into help for people in crisis, support that deals with the underlying causes of their situation, and community activities that build resilience locally.

The Alliance has 3 goals:

Provision of crisis support for those experiencing a financial shock e.g. heating oil help, crisis payments, housing crisis payments.
Targeted support to strengthen individual financial resilience.
Bolstering the local support landscape to build community resilience through grant funding and a creating a shared front door to access support.

Read on for full details.

Crisis help

Heating oil help

If you are struggling with the cost of oil due to recent price increases we may be able to help. Heating oil help is available for low-income households who rely on oil and are at risk of running out.

Eligibility criteria:

live full time in Somerset
use heating oil as your main way of heating your home or water
have less than 300 litres in your tank
are at risk of being unable to heat your home or access hot water
are in receipt of universal credit or pension credit or are not in receipt of any benefits but can show you cannot afford the minimum order required for a delivery
have less than £3,000 in savings.

You’ll be asked to provide evidence to show your eligibility.

If you are unable to apply online or need help, call 0808 278 7842 and select option 3.

Housing crisis payments

If you are getting the housing element of Universal Credit or Housing Benefit for your current home, a CRF housing payment help may be available towards:

a rent shortfall
one-off costs like rent deposits
rent in advance
removal costs.

Exceptional hardship payments also exist for help with a Council Tax shortfall or arrears.

This help is delivered by Somerset Council.

For more information and to apply, visit the discretionary award page on their website for more information.

Crisis payments

Crisis payments may be available to offer financial support for households experiencing a financial shock or sudden financial hardship.

You may be eligible for a crisis payment if you:

Live full time in Somerset (other areas operate their own schemes)
Are facing hardship due to an unexpected financial shock
Have an immediate need
Have an adult in the household that is currently entitled to a means tested benefit, such as Universal Credit, Pension Credit (Guarantee Credit), or Housing Benefit or have a low household income after paying essential living costs
Can show the household does not have sufficient resources to resolve the immediate crisis without missing out on essentials, incurring unmanageable debt, or exacerbating financial harm
Have less than £3,000 in savings.

You’ll need to provide evidence to show your eligibility.

Resilience help

Targeted, individual, one-to-one support for people recovering from a financial crisis or considered to be at risk of a financial crisis.

People can access resilience support by through any Alliance partner as we have a ‘shared front door’.

Over 20 local organisations are working together to deliver targeted programmes. Each working with individuals to agree a personal resilience plan and provide a range of support enabling their clients to overcome a financial crisis and strengthen their financial resilience.

The founding partners (Age UK Somerset, Thrive, SASP and Citizens Advice Somerset) are fully operational, and other Alliance partners are joining in phases, with the majority operational by the end of October 2026.

Age UK Somerset is providing targeted support to older residents assisting them with advice on income maximisation, access to help with food, warmth and companionship with links into community support.

Citizens Advice Somerset has a team of Resilience Caseworkers delivering targeted advice and casework tailored to the financial crisis and circumstance of each person. Providing advice on the issues underlying the crisis including income maximisation, money and energy advice, family breakdown and employment issues etc.

Thrive has a dedicated team of Crisis and Resilience Village Agents providing support and assistance to people who are in financial crisis or who are at risk of crisis. Each Agent will support an allocated number of people delivering help to recover from (and re-build) financial resilience following a crisis.

Somerset Activity and Sports Partnership are supporting families experiencing financial crisis (or at risk of) by providing term-time wrap-around childcare through partnerships with local primary schools and activity centres.

Other partners, who are in the process of setting up services, include: The Balsam Centre, Minehead Eye, Second Step, Burnham and Weston Energy, Navigate, Taunton Area Debt Advice, Yeovil 4 Family, Foodbanks, Bridges to Wellbeing, Heads Up Somerset, Fair Frome, Spark.

More organisations are in discussion about joining the Alliance and we’ll update this space when we can share more.

Community based, universal, help and prevention that is open to any member of the community and helps build local financial resilience.

This is being delivered by local Anchor Organisations and will ensure community members can easily access food pantries, lunch clubs, job clubs, warm spaces and more, with a pathway into the wider range of support available through the Alliance.

The grant process for Anchor Organisation funding is delivered by Somerset Community Foundation, and provision will come on stream early to mid-October.

The Crisis and Resilience Alliance

Working in partnership to ensure everyone in Somerset has access to the right support at the right time, to build resilient communities.

Founding alliance partners

Associate alliance partners

"Citizens Advice Somerset is thrilled to have been confirmed as the Alliance Lead for the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) work across Somerset. We're looking forward to building on our existing work with VCFSE partners and Somerset Council, to make sure help and support is easily available at a local level. Combining crisis payments with preventative and wraparound support will make a real difference."