Mental Health and Financial Hardship: A Common Link
Mental illness affects roughly one in four people at some point in their lives. The impact often extends well beyond health. Bills go unpaid, relationships become strained, and getting through the week can feel overwhelming.
Research suggests that around half of adults struggling with debt are also dealing with depression or another form of mental health difficulty. The two problems tend to feed into each other, making recovery harder on both fronts.
According to NHS data, a significant proportion of people with depression do not access treatment, though this has improved in recent years with expanded mental health services. Half of those living with mental health conditions have children who rely on them. And children whose parents have mental health problems are themselves more likely to experience similar difficulties later in life.
These patterns mean that large numbers of families face overlapping pressures. When a parent is unwell, the effects can ripple through the household for years. Charities working in this area often find that practical support, alongside emotional help, can make a genuine difference.

Tell us what you need funding for and we will match you with the types of UK grant most likely to accept your application.
Try our Grant Eligibility Finder free, here on this site →What Family Action Does
Family Action has been operating since 1869. The charity runs around 100 services, primarily across England with some provision in Wales.
Each year, the charity supports more than 45,000 families and children. This help takes several forms: emotional support, practical assistance and financial grants. The aim is to help people through difficult periods and reduce the long term effects of hardship on children.
Family Action also runs education focused programmes. These include grants and information services that reach a substantial number of additional people annually, though exact figures depend on funding levels and partnerships in any given year. The charity works with schools, local authorities and other organisations to identify families who may benefit from support.
Services vary by location. Some areas, particularly urban centres, have access to intensive family support workers. Other areas, especially rural communities, may only have grant schemes available. You can check what is offered in your area through the Family Action website.
In response to the cost of living crisis, the charity has seen increased demand for its services and has worked to adapt its grant criteria to address rising energy costs and food insecurity affecting families.
Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.
Grants Available Through Family Action
Family Action administers a range of grant funds. Some are general welfare grants, while others are restricted to particular groups or purposes. The charity manages these funds on behalf of various trusts and donors.
Grants may help with:
- Essential household items such as beds, cookers or washing machines
- School uniforms and children's clothing
- Fuel costs and energy debts in some circumstances
- Educational expenses for those in further or higher education
- Other one off costs that are causing significant hardship
The amounts available and the eligibility rules depend on the specific fund. Some grants are only open to people in certain professions, specific age groups, or those living in particular areas. Others have broader criteria but limited budgets.
Most grants are one off payments rather than ongoing support. They are intended to help with immediate needs rather than replace regular income. You will usually need to show that you have explored other options, such as benefits or local authority support, before applying.
How to Apply and What to Expect
If you think you may be eligible for a Family Action grant, the first step is to visit the charity's website. There you can search for grants by category, location or personal circumstances. The site provides details on what each fund covers and how to apply.
The application process typically works as follows:
- Search the grant finder tool on the Family Action website
- Check eligibility criteria for relevant funds
- Gather evidence such as benefit letters or bank statements
- Submit your application online or through a referring professional
Many applications still require a referral from a social worker, health visitor, support worker or advice agency. However, the charity has been expanding its online application system, and some funds now accept direct applications.
Processing times vary. Some funds receive many more applications than they can support, so there is no guarantee of an award. If your application is unsuccessful, you may still be signposted to other sources of help.
For general advice on benefits and financial support, GOV.UK provides up to date information on what you may be entitled to. Citizens Advice can also help you understand your options and may be able to refer you to relevant grant schemes.
I am on a cocktail of anti-depressants, anti-anxiety, anti-psychotics aswell as sever painkillers from early onset Osteoarthritis.
I dont have social workers or anything like that as I have server issue with dealing with people I dont know.
I have tried the social worker and therapy route however it causes more issue than it helps I have 2 careres that I trust these are friends I have has since I was young but I hate having to ask them for help since they have lifes and kids and jobs ect
My meds keep me stable My father comes to stay with me when I am at my worst my main therapy is playing games on my computer and my pets they are the only things which tbh keep me going.
I dont drive due to my condition and I live in a ground floor flat with a garden over the years the garden have become a dumping ground as the council wont pickup large items anymore And I cant drive so its a mess.
Everytime I look for help It always says I have to have a official apply for me ect but I dont have those and yes I know its by choice I need help clearing my garden and a new bathroom due my health conditions I only have a bath and its becoming difficult to use due to my arthritis.
I also need a new bed I am sleeping on a mattress on the floor at the moment as my bed broke.
I use my money I get on the only things which keep me going my computer and my pets.
If anyone can give me advise how I get a little financial help with my garden bathroom and household stuff without a socail worker one of my careres is a Police Officer but im not sure that counts.
I get great therapy online and all my social interactions are through gaming and chatting online where I am confortable speaking to people.
My pets keep me going and I live for them I have a few snakes and I know most people would not be fans I have raised all my snakes from babys and if you have ever felt a python wrapped round you and giving a little squeeze is amazing apparantly the hug releases oxytocin, serotonin and dopamine, all chemicals that help to lower anxiety, stress and blood pressure so they are amazing companions for me and my condition.
If you are interested in the medications I am on I freely dont mind listing them it took a long time to find the right medications and doses that work I am on Duloxetine, Quetiapine, Pregablin, Nitrazapam for my EUPD and Morphine Sulfate MST for my Arthritis all of the medications work to keep my stable and pain free but also somewhat vegitated alot of the time but its better than the alternative.
So if anyone can advise me if I can get help for the mentioned things and how to do it I would be very grateful.
Thank you for reading
Anything relay would help and I would be very thankful
Julie
I would like to apply for grants or financial assistance for my disabled son suffering from cerebral palsy and has not seen his mum since October 2018 my son lives with me in UK and only see's his mum via video link and misses his mum a lot and can't see her until they come over to UK which is in progress and will take time maybe another year i am looking after my son who needs 24 hour assistance and help with everything he is 6 years old and only can sit up on his own he cannot walk , talk or even feed himself band recent lockdown has made matters harder and we are in need of a much needed break and a loving reunion be it for a week or two due to financial reasons I tried to take him and his mum but failed please let me know if there is any type of help that would widely be appreciated by my son his mother and myself .... Thank you
I wonder what help I can get
I have 3 kids living at home with me
I have fibromyalgia and ptsd from previous marriage issues
I’m now divorced and supporting my kids on my own
I can’t work
We haven’t been away together since we were all a family and we just need something too uplift us as one of my kids has behavioural problems and anxiety
It would just be so uplifting
Thank you
I am wondering if you can help me.
I am currently not working due to severe depression and anxiety to which I cant leave the house. This is the main reason why my marriage fell apart which has made the situation even worse.
I have spent time in various mental health hospitals due PTSD from my time the military. Money worries are a huge reason for my current state and I am wondering of the grants you offer would I be eligible for?.
I dont know where else to turn at the moment as I have no family other than my children from my failed marriage.
If you can help please let me know.
Regards,
Aaron Newton
I have stage 3 copd and im now left stuck indoors as my mobility scooter has been vandalised right outside my front door!!
Is there a grant scheme i can possibly apply to that could help me purchase a second hand one that would fit inside my flat rather than needing to be outside..
I’m 36, live in Cornwall, I have a BSc degree in social work with 2:1 honours. I’m on universal credit and have zero funds. And in a nut shell I’m facing financial hardship because I lost my domiciliary health care company last March due to government cut backs within the social care sector
This has ment that myself and my daughter last our home, we’re now in emergency housing and I have £20.000 of debt and now means of funding bankruptcy. The debt collectors are due to turn up any day now and in desperately searching around for financial help because my family are not in a position to support us. I can’t even get to a food bank because we’re stuck in the middle of nowhere with no transport
My duughter is in year 11 and doing her GCSEs but I can’t get her to school. The council have offered a bus pass but the bus stop is about a 45 minute walk along a dangerous country lane that’s full of blind bends and in dim light. The school are going to issue a fine but I can not get her to school and did not choose to live here where there is no public transport.
We both suffer with mental health issues.
I have a mixed form of ADHD, depression, anxiety, self harming, suiside attempts. Occasional psychosis and insomnia
Kelsi has PTSD. Depression, anxiety and self harms
I battle addiction on a daily basis, I’ve Been abstinent from drugs for about 6 months. I stopped abusing drugs when I was finally diagnosed with ADHD and put on amphetamines. I was abusing cocaine because it made me feel normal. Now I have the correct medication I don’t feel the need to use cocaine any more. Cocaine is obviously a stimulant and was helping my brain to function normally in the same way amphetamines do.
Please please help us. I’m not coping and neither is my daughter
She’s had a lot to process. She’s gone from attending a private boarding school to being in a special section of the state school because she needs more one on one support.
Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated
Words can’t express how great-full I would be and how it would change my life.
Thank you for ready this email
Kind regards
Lucy Millard BSc (Hons)
It would be lovely to see my husband smile to see a shed there him .can you help please.the shed his also for his scooter at the moment it in the house and in the way
Thank you hope you can help
I'm not sure how I can apply for a grant. We are in desperate need of finacial assistance. We have been undergoing problems with universal credit since we first got forced onto it last August which has had a serious detrimental effect on my already fragile mental health. I suffer from Manic Depression Anxiety and recently I bavent felt like I want to be here anymore all things universal credit have been made aware of yet still refuse to provide us with any help and we really dont know where to turn. Theyve left us in so much debt that we currently have £22 pounds to live off for the rest of the month. We are a family of 4 (Myself, my partner and our two children aged 2 and 4). We would like the grant so that we are able to continue to get my partner to work. There have been so many times we havent been able to afford to get him there that he was recently given a disciplinary and told if he has any more time off he will lose his job. Again universal credit are aware of this but refuse to help us.
Thank you for reading my comment.
Hannie
I have a life long disability due to being born with a condition called craynosintosis which lead me to have an operation on my head at that moment 22 years ago no one knew if I was going to survive but luckily I had someone watching over me that day. Ever since I have suffered with being partly blind and deaf in both ears 3types of epilepsy learning difficulty and everyday is a challenge for me because all though I'm not physically disabled and I only have mental disabilty it's been difficult to cope in life when I feel as though I am being discrinsted by certain professionals. I would like to apply for a grant to help me feel stable again. For more information I would be happy to share. Thank you
I am currently claiming Universal Credit as I lost my job due to my mental illness.
I am in debt and was wondering if there was any financial help available.
Many Thanks
I have bipolar disorder
Now on very low benefit
My dog needed operation cost me just under 4 thousand pounds
3 thousand for actual operation
Had to get in debt paid on mother’s credit card can’t afford payments
This is spiralling my disorder severly
Have all evidence that’s needed
Is there anyway you could help me please
I’m having to go to food banks for little bit of food what they can give
I would be grateful if your organisation can hep.
0330-222-8156. I am on benefits. If you can assist shall be obliged
I wear braces on my leg,both hands,both feet and neck so everything is an effort plus I am constantly tired,get up in the morning and can’t wait for bed time.
Today my washing machine went wrong,the engine burnt out and am not able to buy a new one but nor can I keep washing by hand
------------------------------
Millions of people worldwide suffer from depression. Thousands of people die by suicide. And who is suffering, to live with depression is very difficult.
I spent many years developing a technique: the treatment of depression without the use of antideprisanty, without the use of other medicines, without the use of any substances - purely physiological.
In this direction, I have achieved considerable success.
Depression can not be cured, but its negative effects can be compensated by the positive impact of factors.
From depression to a greater or lesser extent affects all people in a bad mood - a weak depression. A person who does not have depression, using a technique will significantly improve the quality of life.
Mild depression affects a person throughout life.
Man in a state of depression takes wrong decisions.
The studies revealed positive side effects. When applying the factors of the positive impact of improved quality of work of all body functions.
It defines the following symptoms of depression:
- Directly to depression;
- Bad mood - a weak depression;
- Neurosis;
- Fatigue;
- Drowsiness;
- sleep disturbance;
- headache.
These symptoms are treated the same way, so the reason they have one and the same.
After applying the positive impact factors, the state of the human becomes the opposite simtomov above, the person becomes active, increased work capacity, normal sleep, the headache goes.
In depression there are two reasons - the real and the imaginary.
The real reason - it just depression, which does not depend on external factors.
Imaginary reason - this is the reason that the man himself explains its currently poor state - have problems in life.
There are no apparent causes of depression, a person's life is good, but there is a valid reason why a person suffers and does not understand what the cause of suffering.
If a person has problems happen, but there is no real reason for such problems it is experiencing relatively easy.
Creative people, poets and composers, cease their activities under the influence of depression. Successful men, businessmen, in which everything in life is good, in a state of depression commit suicide. The American scientist, one of the founders of quantum physics, Boltzmann, under the influence of depression, committed suicide.
Over time, the effect of depression is amplified, and then explains the problems that arise old age. It does not correspond to reality. A man and a 25 and 30 years may suffer from depression. Conversely, and in old age can be a full and dignified life.
Depression - a system of deterrence, which manifests itself in different ways throughout life. While studying at the school the child hard to assimilate new knowledge, and all the processes of l
Please help to fund the holiday for my young daughter and l. My Mum sadly passed away in March 3m recent) which has left us truly broken hearted.
I am a widowed mum with 3 children. I work, have depression and am in a lot of debt (which I am taking steps to sort out). Due to my debt situation I am unable to get finance, a loan or remortgage on my home (I own it outright).
I am now struggling to maintain the appliances in my home. The oven no longer works, nor does my car but I am unable to either repair or replace either.
I have searched the internet relentlessly but cannot find any financial help and support for a woman in my situation ie working, I receive no benefits other than widowed parents allowance . It seems there is help and support for many other groups of people but none for a working widowed mum with depression who just needs some help and support. Have you any suggestions please?
Ask Grants Expert a question
Ask our editorial team a question and we will reply with our advice. Tell us as much about your situation as you can: the more detail you give, the more useful our answer can be.
You do not need to use your real name. Please do not include your full address, phone number, email address, or the names of other people. We may edit or remove identifying details for privacy and legal reasons.
Comments are moderated before publication.