It is a charity that provided a vital lifeline to thousands whose lives were devastated by Storm Desmond.

Now it has diversified and expanded to help others in desperate times of need.

But the Community Emergency Response Team, known as CERT (UK) Ltd, is at threat of closure as its current funding stream from Cumbria Community Foundation is due to dry up – meaning it can only survive for as little as six more weeks.

Bosses have come up with an emergency plan to raise £200,000 to secure its future for another 18 months and have appealed for financial support. This will buy time to find funding so that it can continue long-term.

Since its establishment in December 2015, CERT – formerly Eden Flood Volunteers – has supported more than 20,000 home owners and businesses across the country.

It continues to support more than 700 clients, including flood victims, veterans, victims of domestic violence, ex-convicts, vulnerable, disabled and elderly people discharged from hospital and those moving from homeless shelters into their own homes.

The charity said clients would be left with nowhere to turn if it had to fold.

Among their latest beneficiaries is Ricky Wright.

The 46-year-old has lived in a homeless shelter in Carlisle for more than a year.

He has just been found a new home in the city and told The Cumberland News that, thanks to the charity, he had been given a better start than he otherwise might have had.

“I wasn’t expecting anything like this. It’s all good stuff,” he said.

“It’s just getting used to paying bills now. I think it’s brilliant what they’ve done.”

His homeless support worker Louise McGrath was unaware of the charity and she’s been “overwhelmed” at what it could do to help.

During the 12 years she has worked to support those moving from homeless shelters, she has seen benefits tighten and a former Community Care Grant, of up to £1,000, disappear.

Now, those she supports are given a voucher, worth about £120, to go towards a bed, sofa and chest of drawers from Impact Furniture.

“It’s absolutely amazing to see Ricky get this delivery. I’m so made up for him,” she said.

“Ricky has come from going through hard times and to see his face, it’s amazing for me.

“This is what I do the job for,” said Mrs McGrath, who now works for Turning Point, a social enterprise which provides health and social care services for people with complex needs.

This week Ricky was given two sofas, a television, fridge, bed, two sets of drawers, coffee table, curtains, cutlery and crockery as well as a food pack, cleaning pack and toiletries pack.

“To us, it’s the major thing to help the guys maintain and sustain their own property,” Mrs McGrath continued.

“Bringing them in with hardly anything, it just makes their depression and their mood a lot lower. They feel like they’ve just been dumped.

“It just makes them want to go back to square one.”

Sue Dust, client liaison officer at CERT, explained that the charity is looking to be there for the long-term, not just for Cumbria but for the whole of the UK.

“To know that we’ve been able to give somebody a hand up when they’re at their absolute lowest, is brilliant.

“We keep banging on, there is this void. The powers that be need to open their eyes and see that there is little to no support for these people and all they are asking for is a hand up and some pride and dignity,” she said.

It costs up to £10,000 a month to run the charity, covering the hire of the van, utilities and wages for two full-time warehouse staff and two part-time admin staff.

There is a possibility that it could also lose its warehouse, which is being leased rent-free from Cumbria County Council, leaving them with the task of finding alternative facilities or affording a commercial lease on the current space.

Mrs Dust and chief executive Kerryanne Wilde do not take a wage. They are supported by a core team of half a dozen volunteers, with about 60 more they can call on in a time of crisis or disaster, such as another flood event.

All the items are donated and there is no shortage of supply. It is redistributed to those in need and all they ask is for a delivery donation to cover fuel for the van.

Mrs Dust said: “It’s been clear from Ricky’s situation, to be told ‘you only need a bed and a sofa, what else would you need’, that’s wrong on so many levels.

“How on Earth are you going to inspire somebody if you only set them up like that? It’s horrible.”

The volunteers offer a variety of support from providing furniture, to counselling and emotional support, working closely with agencies such as social services, Citizens Advice, Red Cross, Mind and Age UK.

Donations of furniture must be in good, clean condition and anything upholstered must have its fire label intact.

To donate to the appeal visit www.crowdfunder.co.uk/save-cert-uk .