Cost Of Living Crisis: Charity Tells Council They're Facing 'Perfect Storm'

A frank account of how the cost of living crisis is impacting charities has been shared with the West Sussex Health & Wellbeing Board.

During a meeting on Thursday (January 26), Helen Rice, CEO, Age UK West Sussex, said charities were facing a ‘perfect storm’ of increasing demand for their services while they struggled with rising costs.

And she asked the county council to remember that a community is not just made up of individuals but also those who provide help and support.

Ms Rice described how Age UK was having to sell its Brighton building to help counter its cash-flow problems, the ‘massive challenges’ faced when keeping buildings open to use as warm hubs, and how staff would bear the brunt of the £400,000 savings which needed to be made.

With no money to offer cost of living increases to staff pay, she also worried that many would leave to earn a higher wage elsewhere.

She added:

“We are secure and a lot better off than many charities out there.

“I know we will weather the storm. We will make the cuts we need to make and we will be here tomorrow.

“There are others that will be gone.

“So they will not be delivering to the communities who are also in a cost of living crisis.”

Luca Badioli, CEO of Arun & Chichester Citizens Advice, shared many of her concerns, describing demand for services as ‘very, very high’.

He added:

“People are really struggling. [They] are deciding whether to heat the room or eat food.

“We are faced with people with complex needs which ultimately affect their health and wellbeing.

“We see them every day and we’re seeing more and more people who have never been to us [before] coming to us.”

Mr Badioli wondered whether the county’s joint health and wellbeing strategy allowed for the possibility that the cost of living crisis would last longer than just the winter.

Other health & wellbeing concerns came from Natalie Brahma-Pearl, chief executive of Crawley Borough Council, who worried about the cost of living impact on the health and wellbeing of children.

She said:

“Lots of people are voting with their feet and not sending children to activities.

“So if we haven’t got four-year-olds or nine-year-olds going to Saturday morning football classes because it’s £6 or £7 that the parents can’t afford any more, that’s going to start to have impacts on children’s physical and mental health.

“Most of that’s delivered by the voluntary sector – that is part of the cash flow.

“So if you’ve got children falling away, it’s sort of a knock-on effect.”

Ms Brahma-Pearl also reported an increase in people asking for help with housing, such as those struggling with rent arrears and those whose landlords had decided to sell up.

Pointing out that the basic needs of food, shelter and warmth were missing for some, she added:

“Keeping people with a roof over their heads is a big challenge at the moment.

“In Crawley alone we have about 380 now in temporary accommodation, nightly paid, it’s the highest rate we’ve ever seen.”

The board shared the view of Catherine Howe, chief executive of Adur and Worthing Councils, that the Low Income Financial Tracker software which is used by her councils should be rolled out county wide.

She explained that the system, which included Universal Credit data would tell when a household was in danger of crossing the boundary from ‘coping’ to ‘not coping’.

Emily King, the county council’s assistant director for communities, said a business case had been drawn up but some of the district and borough councils were still to be convinced to join.

The board also supported an idea from Amanda Jupp, cabinet member for adults services, that information about finding help during the cost of living crisis should be sent out with every council tax letter.

The county council’s own Cost of Living page also offers advice and practical support.