Headway Emergency Fund

Supported by The Stewarts Foundation

Why does the fund exist?

• The Emergency Fund provides one-off small grants to help adult brain injury survivors and their families cope with the practical implications of brain injury.
• Please ensure you review the type of support the Emergency Fund can and cannot provide before making an application.
• Most of our grants (82%) are used to help families be at the bedside of a loved one following a brain injury.
• Since the fund was launched, we have supported thousands of families and provided grants of more than half a million pounds.

Who can apply?

As Headway – the brain injury association supports adults with a brain injury, we are unable to accept applications for children and their families. We are unable to support applicants who do not reside in the United Kingdom. Only one application per survivor of a brain injury can be considered and there must be a clear link between the request and the brain injury.

Please note, the Emergency Fund is there to support families who cannot afford the sudden practical implications of brain injury, therefore, we cannot support applicants with over £1,000 in savings.

What support can we provide?

• Travel costs for families visiting relatives in hospital or rehabilitation
• Emergency accommodation costs when visiting a relative in hospital
• Clothing needs (related to the brain injury, such as significant weight loss)
• Travel costs to ongoing outpatient appointments relating to the brain injury
• Essential white goods where the need is related to the brain injury. For example, the survivor has lost their accommodation due to their brain injury and has been re-housed in accommodation lacking basic equipment such as a cooker or fridge.
• Bedframes and mattresses.
• A one week self-catered carer’s break at a cottage in Pickering, Yorkshire

We are unable to fund:

• Taxi journeys, flights or visa costs
• Costs already incurred
• Mortgage or rent payments
• Food
• Everyday household expenses
• Debts
• Private medical treatment
• Utility bills
• Childcare
• Items or services that are the responsibility of the local authority or NHS to provide
• Medical equipment 
• Funeral costs