We received two cases in one day from the same agents. The first case was a young mum with a one year old daughter. She has fled a domestic violence situation with her daughter and ended up in a completely different area with very little in the way of personal belongings. The only way of cooking she has is to warm up ready meals in a microwave, which is not good for her or her daughter. She is currently at college, training for a career so that she can provide for her and her daughter in the future. We agreed to send to her £70 so that she could use that money to source a second-hand or reconditioned cooker in the area where she lives.
The second case was again a young mum, who had fled her previous tenancy with a newborn and ended up homeless. She has been sofa surfing with her young baby with various relatives and has finally, after a lot of hard work, been able to secure a flat for her and her daughter. She has very little in the way of belonging and has been living out of a suitcase. She needs a cooker and a washing machine, and the places our agents usually try for grants are not available at the moment, due to lack of funding. We agreed to treat this case the same and offer £70, and then she could choose which to buy, the reconditioned cooker or washing machine.