Partners who refer with trust

Starter packs reach SHAX through a partner referral system—not ad hoc calls or walk-ins from the public. Referrals are submitted by people who already hold responsibility: housing officers chasing a move-in date, support workers sitting with someone who has just been told they have keys, NHS or social care colleagues who know cold rooms make recovery harder.

Partners use that system because starter packs are time-sensitive. A family can hold keys on Friday and have nothing to cook with by Sunday. SHAX is built for that gap—not long-term furnishing for every room, but the emergency layer that makes a tenancy survivable in week one.

Trust runs both ways. Agencies need confidence that clients will not be charged, that data is handled carefully, and that stock exists when promises have been made in fragile conversations. SHAX relies on those same agencies to describe household size and urgency honestly in the referral so packs can be tailored.

The network is deliberately local. Dumfries & Galloway is not one town—it is villages, farms, coastal communities, and estates—but the referral pattern is the same: when public and voluntary sectors align, people move with dignity instead of shame.

Fundraising on this site does not replace those professional pathways. It pays for the stock partners expect once a referral is in the system.

Businesses that work alongside housing or health teams often choose sponsorship so their support is visible in the community they serve. The full list of referral partners is on shax.org.uk/starter-packs. Donors can call to give and ask how packs are funded.