Sometimes families cannot afford a smartphone/computer or data/broadband. This is essential in managing benefits claims, finding and applying for jobs, and getting qualifications that can lead to work or better pay.

STRM has partnered with the Good Things Foundation to offer free internet data for our SEND parent carers in Southend, Castle Point, and Rochford Districts.

STRM members can receive 20GB of data, free texts and calls, or up to 24GB of data, from either Three, O2, or Vodafone, with a free SIM card for their phone.

Please complete the contact form if you are digitally excluded and need support.

At STRM, we understand the actual cost of disability. Evidence has repeatedly shown that there are increased costs when either a parent or child is disabled.

Furthermore, this financial burden is disproportionally higher than those of families without disabled family members.

To support our families, we regularly invest time in seeking sources of funding to address these inequalities. Registering with the charity allows you to be invited to apply.

We have received funding from Southend Emergency Fund for our Southend families, where we supplied the below items:

Summer Project July 2022

Summer Fuel Voucher

Supermarket Vouchers

Winter Warmer Project Dec2022

Supermarket Vouchers

Winter Fuel Voucher

Children’s Warmies & Blankets

Blankets

Draft Excluders

Children’s Winter Coat Voucher

Mattress Warm Toppers

Health Inequalities Fund, in partnership with Southend City Council

Slow cookers

Electric Blankets

Click here to view our impact reports:

Summer Project 2022

Winter Warmer Project 2022

Food banks are community organisations that can help if you cannot afford the food you need. We can refer you after an appointment with our Disability Benefits Manager, or if you need crisis support, please complete the contact form if you are struggling.

STRM partners with St Vincent’s Southend, Southend Foodbank, Storehouse, and One Love Soup Kitchen.

Other Support

We can also help with other benefits, including Carer’s Allowance and applications to the Family Fund.

You can usually get Carer’s Allowance if all the following apply:

• You are aged 16 or over
• You are not in full-time education
• You spend at least 35 hours a week caring for a disabled person

We can support individual families living in severe poverty. This means there is a lack of the basic facilities most of us take for granted and additional pressures such as domestic violence, disability, benefit pressures, or poor health in the family. STRM partners with local and national charities to provide this support, and there is a referral process issued by the Disability Benefits Manager.

Our partners

Fuel Crisis

Fuel Bank Foundation is the only UK charity to focus on the challenges of people living in a fuel crisis.

Relief of Child Poverty
Sunshine Baby Bank is a charity that supports children in poverty aged 0-5 years, including pregnant women, new parents, and households living in poverty.

Children in Need Emergency Essentials
This program provides items that meet children’s most basic needs, such as a bed, a cooker to give them a hot meal, clothing, and other items. These items are critical to children’s well-being in a crisis.