Youth Cost of Living Grant

The Youth Council's Cost of Living Grants are for young people in Kensington and Chelsea experiencing financial hardship or who are in severe financial need.

Individuals can apply for up to £250, which will be provided via One4All vouchers, Sainsburys vouchers, payment to school uniform suppliers and/or Oyster card top up.

Grant money is not awarded via cash payment or bank transfer.

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Where does the Cost-of-Living Grant money come from? 

The Cost-of-Living Grants come from the borough's Youth Participation Fund, a dedicated pot of money to support young people’s development and engagement in the design and delivery of small programmes and projects. 

This is the second time a Cost-of-Living Grant has been distributed by the Kensington and Chelsea Youth Council based on its successes in the last year and continued demand by young people who live, work, and/or study in the borough. 

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Who can apply?

Young people aged 11 to 19 (or up to 25 if they are care leavers or have special educational needs or disabilities) who live, study or work in Kensington and Chelsea.

Applications MUST be in the young person’s own words. Parents/guardians can support the application but should NOT write it for them unless they have Special Educational Needs or Disabilities which prevent the young person from communicating their needs.

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What can you apply for?

Learning resources:

• Stationery
• Textbooks
• Software
• Calculators
• Internet dongles

Toiletries:

• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• Shave gel
• Feminine hygiene products (tampons and pads)

Travel:

• Oyster Card top ups 
• Oyster card replacements

Food shopping:

• School meals
• Household shopping

Clothing:

• Everyday items e.g. coat, shoes

School uniform clothing: 

• Logoed school uniform items e.g. school branded blazer, school branded bag, etc

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Adult Sponsor Requirements

All applications MUST have an adult sponsor (e.g. parent/guardian, teacher, youth worker, key worker etc.) who supports the application.

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Application process

Assessment:

• Applications will be assessed weekly by our panel of Youth Fund Assessors (YFAs) who are a trained group of young people who have co-designed the application form, evaluation and monitoring processes for the Kensington and Chelsea Participation Fund.

Anonymity:

• All applications are completely anonymised before marking and YFAs have no way of knowing if siblings have applied.

Results:

• Applicants will be made aware of results via email one calendar month from the day of the grant’s closure.

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If successful, grants can be collected through the following ways:

• By the young person who applied. They should bring a form of ID such as a school ID, passport, Oyster card with picture clearly showing, provisional or full driving licence. 
• By the sponsoring adult. They should bring a form of ID which identifies the young person who applied such as a school ID, passport, Oyster card with picture clearly showing, provisional or full driving licence.
• If neither can attend, the member of the Youth Participation Team will liaise with applicant to confirm who the young person has nominated to collect the award on their behalf. The nominated person should bring a form of ID which identifies the young person who applied such as a school ID, passport, Oyster card with picture clearly showing, provisional or full driving licence.

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Deadline

Midnight Sunday 17 November 2024 or sooner if applications exceed the grant total. 

Application will be reviewed on a first come first served basis.

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Contact us

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the youth participation team at: [email protected] or call the following Youth Participation staff members for further information: 

Hasheam Burnett, Youth Participation Manager – 07875 878 859

Shamime Ibrahim, Senior Our Place Worker – 07817 054 891

Karan Patel, Our Place Worker – 07870 370 105