A Christmas letter from Turn2us

At this time of year, more than any other, our thoughts are with those individuals and families who are struggling with money.

At Turn2us, we know that anyone can find themselves in this position.

In April of this year we launched the Turn2us Response Fund. The fund helps people when they need it most – when they are coping with a life-changing event such as bereavement, job loss or ill health.

The first grant was awarded to grandparents whose only daughter had died within months of being diagnosed with cancer, leaving two school-aged children in their care.

In June, the charity responded quickly to the devastation caused by the Grenfell Tower fire.

We worked with the local emergency centres to provide direct grants to those affected within days of the fire.

In total, we gave £275,000 in grants to former Grenfell Tower residents and residents in the surrounding area who had been displaced by the fire.

The tragedy has been life changing for the community and for many the emotional effects may last a lifetime.

We cannot change the circumstances for anyone involved but our response hopefully offered some immediate financial assistance.

As we enter 2018, our thoughts are towards the future and how we can provide timely and practical help in the New Year.

Our #LivingWithout campaign is aiming to bring an end to appliance poverty; we will be launching our first PJ5000 event for students; and we will continue to tackle the symptoms of poverty by helping put cash in people’s pockets.

A massive thank-you to everyone who has worked with us over the past year, we appreciate all you have done!

Wishing you and your family all the best for the year ahead.

Alison Taylor, Director of Operations

Helping more than ever

In the first half of the year, over 3.7 million people used our services – that’s one million more than last year, for the same period.

Over 1.7 million Benefit Calculations and Grant Searches were completed and over two million people accessed information on benefits and grants.

Through our own direct grant giving, we provided over £2.1 million.

It's enabled people to take control of their finances and helped them to start to reduce their money worries and anxieties.