About the Alliance
We are working together to provide joined-up support for Somerset residents experiencing financial crisis, and to help people build longer-term financial resilience.
The Alliance is funded by the government’s Crisis and Resilience Fund, through the Department for Work and Pensions and Somerset Council. The funding is in place until the end of March 2029.
The Alliance exists to do two things
First, to respond quickly and effectively when someone is in financial crisis, so their situation does not get worse. Second, to help people avoid hardship in the first place, or from facing it again.
To do that, the Alliance is creating clear routes into help for people in crisis, providing support that deals with the underlying causes of their situation, and community activities that build resilience locally.
Shared front door across the Alliance
Receive emergency help
Crisis payments issued to eligible individuals/households to address financial shock.
Recover & build financial resilience
Targeted one-to-one support for eligible individuals/households, with specific outcomes.
Remain financially resilient
Community based resilience activities available to anyone (universal support).
Evaluation and learning
The Alliance has 3 goals
Provision of crisis support for those experiencing a financial shock e.g. heating oil help, crisis payments, housing crisis payments.
Targeted support to strengthen individual financial resilience.
Bolstering the local support landscape to build community resilience through grant funding and a creating a shared front door to access support.
The founding partners (Age UK Somerset, Thrive, SASP and Citizens Advice Somerset) are fully operational, and other Alliance partners are joining in phases, with the majority operational by the end of November 2026.