Individual Grants
Our Individual Grants give practical support to Stonewater customers who are facing a difficult time. We offer six different types of grants, depending on your situation.
What we can help with
We provide:
- Immediate Resettlement: If you’ve just arrived at a Refuge or Youth Support accommodation, we can help with essential items like clothing and food.
- Critical Incident: Support after a flood, fire, or another serious incident in your home.
- Essential Household Items and Services: Support with items in your home, like furniture or white goods.
- Heating & Eating: Assistance with food and utility costs.
- Flooring: If you or a child in your home has a medical or social care need, we can help with safe flooring.
- Education, Training & Employment (ETE): Support for travel, equipment, or other costs to attend work, college, or training.
What we can’t provide grants for
- Rent
- Ongoing support with income
- Non essential items (e.g. holidays, subscriptions)
- Property adaptations (including painting and decorating)
- Gardening equipment and garden clearances
- Items you’ve already bought
Who can apply
Individual Grants are only available to residents of Stonewater homes or housing schemes. Applications must be submitted on behalf of the customer by a Stonewater staff member.
Stonewater customers should email: customers@stonewater.org if they want to apply.
Eligibility at a glance
All Stonewater customers can apply for the ETE Grant.
For other grants, you or someone in your household will need to be in one of these situations:
- Living with a disability or diagnosed health condition
- Receiving treatment for a mental health condition or substance addiction
- Moving from homelessness into your own home or a support scheme
- Fleeing domestic abuse
- Victim of a reported crime
- Social services involved with your family
- Your child receives free school meals
- Facing financial hardship when benefits don’t cover housing costs
You may be asked to provide documents such as medical letters, prescriptions, school confirmations, council letters, police reports, or bank statements.
How to apply
Read our eligibility criteria carefully before applying. If you are a Stonewater colleague and you are unsure of customer eligibility or have any questions, please contact us at grants@longleigh.org.
Stonewater colleagues can complete the online application form on the customer’s behalf.
We aim to make decisions on Immediate Resettlement and Heating and Eating Grants within two working days. Other applications are usually decided within seven working days.
Finding Breathing Space: Sarah’s Story
Sarah and her partner* faced financial difficulty when she left her job and her partner was diagnosed with cancer. Despite receiving Universal Credit, bills and travel costs for hospital appointments left them with nothing to cover essentials.
Longleigh awarded them a grant, that covered utilities, food, and petrol for hospital visits. Sarah said:
“The money gave us the breathing space to focus on my partner and his health. The whole experience was stress-free, and the support arrived just when we needed it most.”
The grant helped them avoid rent arrears, budget effectively, and feel more secure. Sarah encourages others in similar situations to reach out:
“Take a deep breath, listen, follow their advice and you won’t go wrong. Longleigh has given us confidence that there is light at the end of the tunnel.”
*Names changed to protect identities.
Our Data and 360Giving
We are committed to transparency. Sharing insights about our grant-making helps others to learn and collaborate in the social housing and charitable sectors.
That’s why, like other grant makers, we work with 360Giving to openly publish data on the grants we award.
