Cost of Living update by Meryl Praill, CEO Newbury Soup Kitchen
Statistics with great thanks to West Berks Foodbank, West Berkshire Homeless and CAB West Berks.
It’s very difficult out there now and things are changing all the time. We have noticed a change in people’s habits recently due to mental health, addiction and the general sadness that is in the vulnerable community. We are getting more antisocial behaviour through alcohol addiction, a couple of which have gone through the court process.
It has become very apparent that our food provision numbers have definitely gone up, this is a small view of this:
June 2022 we provided 396 meals –June 2023 we provided 476 meals
July 2022 we provided 359 meals – July 2023 we provided 497 meals
Those figures may not seem large to some, but please be aware that that is only 3 sessions a week and two of the sessions are much, much smaller. These are served from a mobile van in the Wharf comprising of a takeaway provision rather than a sit-down meal.
West Berkshire Homeless Year on Year Cost of Living Stats
As shown in the above graph, West Berkshire Homeless have seen an huge increase in the need for support for those living in poverty. Working closely with others in the voluntary sector and West Berkshire Council and using the Loose Ends food provision sessions five days a week, the Charity’s Volunteer Befrienders work alongside those who are facing eviction, struggling to cope with bills or forms or in emergency need of support and have seen their expenditure in this area double in the past year. Supporting clients with sorting out bills, universal credit, and tenancy problems has given a great insight into the increasing poverty caused by the rising cost of living. – Erica Gassor, West Berkshire Homeless.
Accommodation
Things are changing all the time, for the last couple of years we have been providing kettle packs for people in emergency B&B accommodation. Through lockdown and the period after people have been put in this form of accommodation to get them off the streets to avoid COVID as part of the ‘everyone in’ Government directive. Many of those individuals have now been housed. However, it is coming to our attention that many of those people are coming back out again due to section 21 no fault evictions due to interest rises for landlords and Section 28 evictions for rent arrears or anti-social behaviour for example.
B&B accommodation had been used by the council and sometimes by us as there is no other substantial emergency bed provision in the area. This means we are all, including the council struggling to find housing for people who are homeless. Kettle pack demand has gone down because there are less people in emergency accommodation now, therefore less people who only have access to a kettle. The hotels and B&B accommodation availability has reduced. This is for many reasons: The hospitality trade is now open again, anti-social/ chaotic behaviour and the struggles through mental health issues that some of clients sadly have. As a result, we are starting to see the physical street rough sleeper numbers going up. This means that our food provision session numbers are increasing. There has been waiting list for the hostel, but I don’t know what situation is at the moment.
More people are coming for food. Whether they are local or moving through. We do not judge and will feed anyone who needs our support. The demands for tents, sleeping bags are definitely on the rise and this is incredibly worrying given the fact we’re now coming into Autumn and inevitable Winter months.
58% of West Berks FoodBank users are new or have not sought support during the previous 6 months.
Bills
With the winter looming, we then have the issue of utility bills. People who are struggling to pay their utility bills will not be able to cook. A kettle with no electricity is useless so even the kettle packs will not help some of our regular housed vulnerable clients. Other charities have the ability to provide fuel vouchers which helps a bit. Therefore, we signpost to people that direction. We means test our clients to support with utility bills if that becomes necessary.
Samaritans
We have been very lucky to be chosen as a pilot scheme for the Samaritans who have come on board and come to our sessions on a Thursday. This is new for them as face to face is not the way they’ve worked in the past. Now our clients are getting to know the two experienced volunteers who come each week and benefitting from their presence and listening support. Newbury Soup Kitchen works very hard to engage with as many statutory services as possible in order to provide the support and outreach that we can’t do and also to enhance the work we do.
It’s finding the right balance when it comes to working with people who are in the revolving door of homelessness and addiction, to gain trust in order to get the engagement. This is the first struggle and we do that through food provision and care. Our ethos is to do anything we can to help anybody who comes to us with a problem, we will do our best to help and if we can’t we find somebody who will. Nourishing Hope, Rebuilding Lives.
However, some clients avoid fully utilising the range of available services and instead resort to selling items like tents, sleeping bags, food, and clothes for monetary gain. This often leads to a state of disarray. To address this issue, it is essential to establish unified collaboration among all service providers. This ensures that clients engage comprehensively with the services provided, with all parties in alignment. Consequently, a policy has been implemented to cease simply providing resources. For instance, a specific couple has received a large amount of tents, sleeping bags etc this last year or so. Unfortunately, this influx of resources has not resulted in any significant progress in their engagement with support services. At times, challenging decisions must be made. While such decisions might be unpleasant, they are necessary to uphold responsible allocation of public funds and ensure judicious spending.
Citizens Advice Bureau Crisis Support national picture to June 2023
Food
Supermarkets are so generous with their food donations, ensuring our supplies are sufficient. Any surplus food that we cannot utilise is promptly contributed to the Thatcham Community Larder and similar projects, benefiting hostels such as 107 and 210.
On a Thursday, our clients receive a weekly assortment of fresh fruits, vegetables and bread from which they can freely choose, resulting in minimal waste.
However, financial contributions from the public have notably dwindled. Despite efforts involving platforms like Good Exchange, PayPal, and JustGiving, fundraising struggles persist. This phenomenon is somewhat anticipated during this time of year, and we’re curious to observe how it evolves during the holiday season. Our attempts to raise awareness, including articles that highlight homelessness beyond the festive season, have had limited impact on public response.
The volume of ambient food donations from individuals via supermarket collection bins has diminished, resulting in our volunteers and staff organising in-store Supermarket bucket and food collections to replenish our stocks. Customers are very generous at these events. The community are incredible in that way.
Presently, our shelves are well-stocked due to collaborative efforts with organisations like the Food Bank, sharing and redistributing food as needed. Despite the tremendous quantity of food available, the challenge lies in efficiently directing it to those in need. Our close partnership with the community has been mutually beneficial, as they receive considerable support from us, bolstering their inventory in instances where other sources fall short.
West Berks FoodBank monthly average for past two year compared to 2023 so far…
Working with others
Our ethos is very much not to enable clients but to work with them and encourage them to be more aware of their spending and support them when necessary, in a positive way. However difficult, it is at times not right to just keep giving money out to individuals who are on large benefits such as PIP or Universal Credit. Many of our Cohort choose to prioritise spending in a different direction due to addiction, mental heath, lack of skills to manage money and reduction of benefits.
It’s frustrating when a client will go from one charity to another on the hope that eventually one will just give out money, cash or fuel vouchers easily without any form of conversation or support.
The Foodbank is extremely good at Counselling, Educating and supporting clients, they also have a benefit advisor now which is a wonderful resource. We work very closely with West Berkshire FoodBank and respect the work they do. It has been a tough time managing the increase in food demand.
Running a charity such as Newbury Soup Kitchen, is hard at the best of times, however sharing the load with charities such as The Foodbank, does help. Fran the Foodbank Manager, and I are very good sounding boards for each other when it gets stressful, sometimes I feel out of my depth or overwhelmed with the responsibility I have. This is very important for us both. We do share many clients, we work together to support them in a positive way as not to duplicate or enable. Communication and transparent working is key.
The Foodbank Hungry Holidays initiative, serviced 1490 people during the 6 week school holiday.
Challenges
We encounter situations where clients, due to mental health challenges, addiction, and life experiences, struggle to engage adequately with the system to secure housing. While it is understandable that housing providers require some level of engagement, certain individuals face significant difficulties in doing so. Many individuals are reluctant to utilise hostels as they perceive them as unsafe, despite the commendable efforts of the dedicated staff to create a secure and welcoming environment.
Some individuals choose not to engage with the option of staying in a hostel and progressing through the system to eventually secure their own housing. Unfortunately, this can lead to prolonged periods of homelessness. Additionally, these individuals often carry rent arrears from previous housing situations, which becomes even more complicated if they have been evicted. We collaborate closely with the local council to assist with discretionary housing payments (DHP) and administrative processes, aiming to facilitate the transition of people into suitable housing. This scenario is becoming increasingly common.
Finally
Everything is on a downward spiral, I do not see a positive Winter. However, me, the team and all the volunteers love what we do.
Volunteering is an incredible thing to do:
Makes an impact
Strengthens communities
Meet new people
Improve your health
Share expertise
Improve skills
Improve your CV
Find new opportunities
Saves local resources
It just feels good
However, desperation, sadness, homelessness, addiction, mental health, people in crisis is on the rise and we can’t stop it. What we can do is do our best to make people’s lives better, safer, and more positive.