We were asked by the same agent to help two separate families they were helping. Both families had been subjected to domestic abuse and had found themselves urgently leaving the family home and ending up in a refuge.
The first family, the mother left her husband, the father of her three children, ages 12, 8 and 4 years. Her benefits payments have been sanctioned (stopped) as she is now claiming as a single person rather than as a couple. She will not receive any money until the DWP have done their calculations and released payment. In the meantime she has nothing at all, so we agreed to send her £150 so she could buy some clothes and toiletries for her and the children.
The second family as a mother and her 6 year old daughter. She fled from a domestic violence situation and left her partner. They are now in a refuge but she needs to buy some food for them both over the next two weeks until her benefits payments begin. She also needs to buy some shoes for her daughter as all she has at the moment is a pair of wellington boots. We agreed to send them both £120.