Apply for financial assistance

If you live in Barbados and need financial help you can apply for financial assistance.

If you need help with things like food, clothing, burials, assistive devices (for example, dentures, hearing aids and spectacles), as well as payment of utility bills and house rent, you can apply for assistance in-kind.

A welfare officer will assess your needs under the National Assistance framework and make a recommendation to determine if you should be granted assistance.

Who can use this service  

You can apply for assistance for a range of reasons, including if you:

• are unemployed or underemployed

• are elderly

• have a disability but are not receiving National Insurance and Social Security Service (NISS) benefits

• have children or dependents who you are struggling to support

• have finished school and are unemployed but have enrolled in a tertiary institution

• are homeless

• are the victim of a disaster or an accident

How to apply for financial assitance

Apply online or in person

You can apply for financial assistance either by:

1. Going to the welfare office in the parish where you live and completing a paper form (the National Assistance application form). At the moment, the form does not ask for your contact number but you must include one so an officer can reach you and arrange an interview.

Welfare offices
Weymouth Corporate Center
Roebuck St. Bridgetown
St. Michael

Republic Bank Building,
Chapel St,
Speightstown,
Saint Peter

Country Road
Bridgetown
St. Michael

2. Completing the online form: Application for National Assistance
   It will automatically be submitted to the department.

What to bring

If you use the online form to apply, an officer will contact you and let you know how to share your supporting information.

If you apply in person, you will need to bring:

1. Your completed National Assistance application form.

2. Your national identification card. If you are applying on behalf of a child, you must also show their national identification card.

3. Bank or credit union details so financial support could be sent if you are eligible. (The electronic transfer of funds is not available yet but details are being taken in preparation).

4. Certificates or documents that are relevant to the assistance you are applying for. For example, proof of your income or unemployment, details of dependents, a medical form completed by your doctor, proof of your expenditure, for example, your utility bills.

If you are applying for health-related financial assistance, the welfare officer assigned to your case will issue you a medical form to take to your doctor to be completed.

After you have applied

A welfare officer aims to complete their assessment within 6 weeks of receiving your application.

If you applied through the online form, they will let you know which supporting information they need, and where to send it.

The officer may ask you to take part in a phone or online interview, office interview or arrange a time for them to visit you at your home.

Following their investigation, the officer will compile a report on your circumstances and make a recommendation to a senior welfare officer to approve or reject the application. If they approve it, your bank information and the details of your payment will be forwarded to Accounts.

No address and/or no bank account

If your application is approved and you do not live at a fixed address, you can make arrangements through the Post Office to receive your cheque. It is also possible to send cheques in care of a trusted friend or family member. The Department can also facilitate banking arrangements on your behalf.

Reassessment and evaluation

Assistance is usually granted for 3 to 6 months. You can expect to have a review before the end of that period to determine whether an extension is needed. Welfare officers may ask to see your updated certificates and documents such as a more recent medical form or a letter from school which verifies the child is still in education.

Get help with your application

If you want to apply but you cannot visit your local welfare office, and you cannot complete the form online either, contact:

Welfare Department
Weymouth Corporate Centre
Roebuck Street
Bridgetown
Saint Michael

+1 246-535-1000/16/23

welfare.department@barbados.gov.bb