there are a lot of charities that will help out with essential expenses if you're in severe financial hardship. when DH first lost his job (before i returned to work) we accessed some assistance
we are technically still in a position where we CAN - but at the same time, i am doing all i can to avoid accessing them because it may be seen that, due to my work, i'm making use of facilities i only know about because of work, and abusing the system (that isn't the case AT ALL - but it's about perception kwim?) - it would have to be pretty dire for me to take that path again, given there is that work issue in the background