I am currently assisting a neighbour who has been in the UK for many years and always worked up until last summer when he tried to sign on for JSA. He was subjected to a test called the Genuine Prospect of Work test and the DWP said he did not meet the criteria and so he received nothing. He had been unable to provide 'compelling evidence' that at the time he signed on he had genuine prospects of finding work. He is currently going through the appeals process. He's been relying on food banks and showering at the sports centre. Due to having no wages and no benefits, he has been unable to pay his rent so he is also being evicted for rent arrears. Again, he's relying on the outcome of his appeal to get backdated housing benefit but it's a private landlord and they don't care about that. He has had no gas or electricity all through the winter. He has now been offered a permanent, full time job which he starts on Tuesday but he will not be paid until the end of April. He needs to pay for bus fares (£22 a week) and get some cash for his meters so he can have a shower and cook himself a meal at the end of the day. He needs clean clothes and some work boots. He says the food parcel he gets wont be enough to sustain him for a month of heavy work and he hasn't got any power for his phone charger or alarm clock. It's the little things.
I think crowd funding could really help turn things around for him, with a relatively small amount of cash. He just needs something to help him get through April, get him to work, keep him fed and warm and give him breathing space to find somewhere else to live.