The Direct Applicants AngelBox Policy has been instated to ensure that as a community organisation we can provide emergency relief to as many London newborn’s through our AngelBox service and other parental services with the dignity, trust and respect underprivileged families deserve in a fair, concise and transparent manner which benefits all stakeholders involved.

This policy is designed to guide and inform parents of the AngelBox process and the eligibility criteria required to successfully apply.

Referrals will be approved from any local authority service including family/children centres, NHS services or from schools. Civil society groups such as registered charities and community groups are also eligible to submit a referral.

Approved Referrers:

• Social Workers
• Triage Officers
• Doctors
• Psychologists
• Nurses
• Midwives
• Health Visitors
• Occupational Therapists
• Pastoral Staff
• Teachers
• Charity Staff

Referrals can only be submitted for families with children 18 months and under (including pregnant mothers whose due date falls within a month of when the referral was submitted) that meet the criteria set out below.

Exemptions to age restriction: Referrers must call our Head Office or email their assigned borough liaison or support officer and seek approval before submitting a request. 

A referrer must be either a registered employee or volunteer with the referring organisation and must have full credentials and the authority to submit an application on behalf of the family. Referrals should at all times where possible be made using your organisational email and not a personal account such as Gmail, Yahoo or Hotmail.

Referrers will be provided with minute information and access to our referrals portal which includes any documentation, services offered to parents, a delivery report and how Basch Helps CIC is supporting the family on an ongoing basis.

All referrers should make referrals through the proper channels unless instructed to do so by your Borough Liaison. 

Where a referring organisation is charitable or community based in nature, we may request more information about the nature of your work to adopt a better understanding of the work you do with the aim of building a strong collaborative relationship which benefits families.

All referrals must be made via www.baschhelps.org/referrals-portal unless otherwise stated by our organisations Borough Liaison.

The application form is a simple 3 step process which includes entering staff credentials, parent details and baby details.

If a referrer isn’t certain as to whether family qualifies for an AngelBox, we recommend contacting your Basch Helps CIC volunteer via phone or email whose details can be found in the automated messages received post submission.

As a referrer you are kindly requested to make a fair assessment of the family’s needs on behalf of our community organisation. By carrying out this task, you confirm that you or your organisation have made every reasonable effort to understand the family situation in order to make an informed decision as to whether the newborn will benefit from the AngelBox service.

Family Eligibility Criteria

All applicants must have a total household income of less than £18,000 per annum or a maximum disposable income of less than £600 per month. 

For those on Universal Credit we do not include the housing component as part of our calculations.

AngelBox Eligibility Criteria:

The newborn or toddler must be no older than 18 months from the time of referral.

Parent Eligibility Criteria:

Must be either a lone parent or couple of any age that meet one or a few of the below criterias:

Asylum Seekers: including those granted Indefinite Leave to Remain but still live in temporary or hotel accommodation. Must either be awaiting a benefit decision or have No Recourse to Public Funds (not entitled to benefits).

Parent/s suffering from medical conditions: an individual or family member with a physical or mental impairment whom are frequently under the care of a health professional or have an intervention plan in place.

This includes victims of war trauma, domestic violence or human trafficking or those experiencing  abuse, including but not limited to physical or sexual abuse, psychological or emotional trauma, those who have been controlled, manipulated or are recovering from substance misuse.

Lone parent or Carer of newborn: individual must be either heavily pregnant and 1 calendar month from the expected due date or has a child no older than 18 months of age and must reside in either:

• Temporary accommodation provided by the local authority.
• Registered as homeless this maybe a parent staying at friends or family, staying in a refuge, hotel or hostel.
• Social housing.

The parent must have full benefit entitlement or has had their benefits either capped or sanctioned.

Low income family: Low income is defined as a family that has been persistently facing financial hardship for a period of at least 2 years and where one or both parents are registered as unemployed. Or where the family has experienced a sudden debt problem or are facing eviction and are being housed by the local authority in temporary accommodation.

Your duty to authenticate family status: All authorised referrers should undertake some form of due diligence on the family’s status which can include checking their marital status, immigration status, medical documents, benefit status, bank accounts etc.

Additional screening: Should Basch Helps CIC feel that the family hasn’t been screened appropriately then we have the powers and resources to assess the parents listed on the referrals to check the genuinity of the application submitted. These measures include requesting evidence or carrying out searches using third-party/external accredited providers.

Priority is based on the newborn’s age and the family’s circumstances.

We do not accept applicants who are active director/s of a registered company. 

We do not normally accept Student Visa family’s unless the referrer has the necessary documentation and evidence to support the hardship family is experiencing.

Lone Parents who are found to be in a relationship upon home visits will be reported and barred from any future support unless the identified partner is thoroughly screened.

AngelBox is a community service provided by Basch Helps CIC. Applications are welcome from all London boroughs.

Brent, Barnet, Bromley, Camden, City of Westminster, Croydon, City of London, Ealing, Greenwich Haringey, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow, Hounslow, Islington, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Kingston Upon Thames, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Richmond Upon Thames, Southwark, Sutton, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth.

We offer parents many community service which benefits their journey of hope and recovery.

AngelBox: Emergency tailored relief for newborns 0 to 18 months of age. Exceptions are made for up to 2.5 years of age but has to be approved by the head office.

All baby essentials, food items and equipment are brand new and ready to use.

Check out our AngelBox page for what’s included as part of our emergency relief package.

Activity Pack: An educational activity pack for children aged over 3 years of age and upto 10 years of age.

Parent Befriending & Signposting: We try our best to build a connection or relationship with as many parents and newborns that we meet along the way. This includes access to our 0800 freephone parent support line and our WhatsApp service.

When demand is high for our AngelBox service at seasonal times of the year and a backlog begins to form which may impact our level of both telephone assessments completed or distribution, we may restrict our eligibility criteria to Lone Parents only or give greater priority and access newborns already born.

We endeavour to remain within our 72 hour delivery and engagement window 96% of the year.

All referrers receive confirmation of delivery and a report or safeguarding concerns via email once completed.

AngelBox is a community service provided by Basch Helps CIC. Applications are welcome from all London boroughs.

Brent, Barnet, Bromley, Camden, City of Westminster, Croydon, City of London, Ealing, Greenwich Haringey, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow, Hounslow, Islington, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Kingston Upon Thames, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Richmond Upon Thames, Southwark, Sutton, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth.

We offer parents many community service which benefits their journey of hope and recovery.

AngelBox: Emergency tailored relief for newborns 0 to 18 months of age. Exceptions are made for up to 2.5 years of age but has to be approved by the head office.

All baby essentials, food items and equipment are brand new and ready to use.

Check out our AngelBox page for what’s included as part of our emergency relief package.

Activity Pack: An educational activity pack for children aged over 3 years of age and upto 10 years of age.

Parent Befriending & Signposting: We try our best to build a connection or relationship with as many parents and newborns that we meet along the way. This includes access to our 0800 freephone parent support line and our WhatsApp service.

When demand is high for our AngelBox service at seasonal times of the year and a backlog begins to form which may impact our level of both telephone assessments completed or distribution, we may restrict our eligibility criteria to Lone Parents only or give greater priority and access newborns already born.

We endeavour to remain within our 72 hour delivery and engagement window 96% of the year.

All referrers receive confirmation of delivery and a report or safeguarding concerns via email once completed.

Basch Helps CIC doesn’t limit AngelBox to one child per household. Each child as long as their under 24 months will be supported with their own individual emergency relief package.

Once parent has been assessed and the baby needs identified an AngelBox is assembled in accordance to the specifications provided. On average each AngelBox has over 65 essential items.

Newborns (0-6 months): The AngelBox includes on avg. 144 nappies, 720 wipes, sleepsuits, bodysuits pack, bibs, blanket, sleepsuits pack, 500ml toiletries, bath tub (optional) bath mat (optional), hooded towel, sponge, milk formula or breast pump, bottle starter kit which includes 3 bottles and brush.

Equipment Available: Cots, Pillow & Duvet, Carriers, Bouncers, Bottle Steriliser, Sensory Toys, Play Mats.

Babies (6-18 months): The AngelBox includes on avg. 144 nappies, 720 wipes, sleepsuits, bodysuits pack, weaning bib, blanket, sleepsuits pack, 500ml toiletries, bath tub (optional) bath mat (optional), hooded towel, sponge, milk formula, food jars, porridge, fruit pots, bottle starter kit which includes 3 bottles and brush, plates, cutlery, training cup.

Equipment Available: Cots, Pillow & Duvet, Carriers, Baby Walkers, Bouncers, Bottle Steriliser, Sensory Toys, Play Mats.

Everything is brand new, sealed and traceable back to the manufacturer. All baby equipment have warranties and Basch Helps CIC doesn’t accept donated or circular items for redistribution.

Where AngelBox is impacted due to demand we may restrict stock to emergency baby essentials and provide equipment requested at a more suitable date and time.

Where a parent has been promised an item which was made out of stock after their telephone assessment, our organisation will endeavour to arrange for a second delivery of missing items within 48 hours.

These shortages will be communicated with both parent and referrer.

An AngelBox once assembled is allocated to a voluntary team capable of understanding the parent or newborn’s needs or illness. Regardless of the severity of the referral all scheduled deliveries are mutually agreed by the parent of the newborn and both referrer and parent will receive an automated email confirming the delivery slot.

On the day of delivery, parent will be sent a WhatsApp delivery notification notifying them that the delivery team is closeby.

Volunteers will wait upto 10 minutes for a parent to answer the door this can include a phone call to parent if there is no doorbell or the refuge doesn’t allow visitors.

AngelBox is then opened in front of parent to double-check all baby essentials and equipments requested are correct before a delivery photo is taken and delivery note signed.

Volunteers at the behest of parents stay for a chat, support or signpost parents through issues of concern and will report back such interactions.

Our teams are also trained to provide guidance on how to use equipment such as breast pumps and sterilisers and can help assemble baby furniture.

All home delivery teams wear HD body-worn cameras which are clearly visible and wear visible ID cards, plus uniform.

Genuine family’s referred who have been reported by our home teams as in need of further support will automatically be allocated upto 2 additional top-ups.

Families that did not participate in our befriending service but who go back to their referrer to request an additional top-up will be screened by the Basch Helps CIC assessor and the corresponding home team that visited their home.

Although we welcome all top-up requests, we recommend a minimum time of 1 month to elapse from day of delivery as all items are provided in abundance to cover the short-term needs of the newborn.

Items excluded from top-ups include bottles, sippy cups, weaning bibs, bath tubs, changing mats, cutlery and plates.

Genuine family’s referred who have been reported by our home teams as in need of further support will automatically be allocated upto 2 additional top-ups.

Families that did not participate in our befriending service but who go back to their referrer to request an additional top-up will be screened by the Basch Helps CIC assessor and the corresponding home team that visited their home.

Although we welcome all top-up requests, we recommend a minimum time of 1 month to elapse from day of delivery as all items are provided in abundance to cover the short-term needs of the newborn.

Items excluded from top-ups include bottles, sippy cups, weaning bibs, bath tubs, changing mats, cutlery and plates.

In certain circumstances, Basch Helps CIC may refuse a referral. As a community enterprise we have put in place anti-fraud screening measures which apply to every application submitted to us.

This can mean we maybe in possession of information on family which has not been disclosed to the referrer at time of the initial application.

In such a situation the AngelBox assessor will notify a senior member of our organisation to double-check and verify the findings before reporting back to the referrer with clear grounds for rejecting their referral including all findings.

Grounds for refusal include:

• Community led intelligence
• A search of public registers reveals the parent is an active company director
• A search of the electoral role reveals the parent to be in a relationship or married
• Upon a full document screening it is revealed the family income level exceeds our eligibility criteria and that the expenses of having a child can easily be met.
• Families have requested items which have been previously sourced by another charitable organisation.
• Evidence of families sharing their emergency relief with other relatives or are selling delivered items on social media and as a result a top-up request is made within 4 weeks of the original delivery.
• The families circumstances have changed but they have not informed the relevant authorities.
• Parents who have previously applied directly but have not provided their evidence of financial hardship.