The South African Social Security Agency(Sassa) has recently stated that applications for the Social Relief of Distress grant are now open. This comes after the grant was temporarily discontinued in order for Sassa to make amendments to its eligibility.
The purpose of the Social Relief of Distress grant is to provide temporary support to people who are in desperate financial need, making them unable to meet their families' most basic necessities.
This could be due to any of the factors listed below:
- You need assistance while you wait for your children’s grants to be processed
- A crisis or disaster has occurred (e.g. your house has burnt down)
- You do not qualify for a grant, and you are in a desperate situation
- You are unable to work for a period of less than six month because you are medically unfit
- You are unable to get maintenance from the other parent of your child or children.
- The breadwinner in the family has died
- The breadwinner has been sent to prison for a short time (less than six months)
- You have been affected by a disaster, but the area or community in which you live has not been declared a disaster area.
The Social Relief of Distress may be in the form of a food parcel or a voucher to buy food. Some provinces give this assistance in the form of cash which amounts to R350.
