Lisa's story

"I lived out of the country with my husband and 2 children. He was working. He started being violent so I and the children left him and came home on 31st August. I have had to rely on my father who is a full time carer for my brother who has learning disabilities. I could claim nothing for 3 months. My husband is not the father of the children who have no claim on him. I have now applied for benefits & have provisionally been offered a house. My local church have also been very helpful.
I need food but I also need money for the deposit on the house so I cannot buy food."

Thank you to Lisa for sharing her experience with us.

Dom's story

" Dom lost his job in Scotland and moved down here. No work. Promised income of £71.00 per week but has had no money for the last 3 weeks. 
Had money but left it in the hands of his son - who blew it!!"

Thank you to Dom for sharing his experience, and to the volunteer who listened and wrote it down on his behalf.

Mary's Story

"My internet provider was TalkTalk and I had to change my passcode after it was hacked. I am receiving Income Support and Child Tax Credit and when I telephoned to inform the Benefits Agency they told me that I had notified them too late and that my benefits would be late and that this would cause an overpayment which will have to be repaid."

Thank you for sharing this with us Mary.

Gemma's Story

"On the 5th October I was notified that my Child Tax Credits would stop. I would usually get £52 per week on a Monday which I would use to buy groceries and pay bills. I am an unemployed single parent of a 4 and a half year old child so I rely on this money and live week to week. HMRC claim I did not renew my tax credit claim on time, which I dispute and therefore making a 'late renewal' means I now have to wait at least two weeks for any payments. I have all correspondence from HMRC which confirms that I did everything I should within the time limits."

Thank you so much to Gemma for sharing her circumstances with us.

Sean's Story: "No food except for friends sharing with me yesterday"

"On a zero hours contract and getting hardly any work. Getting into debt as a result. Having to wait 10 days more for benefits. Debt counselling from CAB who found I had no benefits and issued a voucher. No food except for friends sharing with me yesterday."

Thanks to everyone who shares why they need emergency food from us.

6 weeks to wait for payment is too long...

"Had been on Universal Credit but got a job for a couple of months. Reclaimed Universal Credit on 4th September but first payment will not be until 17th October. Hadn't realised he would lose his Housing Benefit. Now owes £900 rent to [landlord]. He has agreed to pay £500 out of first Universal Credit payment. 6 weeks wait for payment is too long."

Thanks to Harry for sharing his circumstances with us and to the volunteer who listened.

Tanya's Story

"I am claiming Employment Support Allowance and put sick notes in and am waiting for payment. I didn't receive any money for 3 weeks, so rang them. They told me that the sick note was lost, so had to get another one. I put another sick note in. Again after 2 weeks I had still received no money so I rang them and was told my new sick note had been lost. I went into the Job Centre to make a statement, this also got misplaced.

Now finally after 5 weeks I hopefully should get paid, but it has been a struggle. I am lucky to have my family and to know about the Foodbank."

Thank you Tanya for sharing your story with West Cheshire Foodbank.   

Restoring Faith in The Safety Net

Church Action on Poverty has launched its latest report on "Restoring Faith in the Safety Net" (.pdf file).  As it points out in its introduction:

A truly compassionate society is one which expresses concern for the welfare and dignity of all its citizens. In a world of growing insecurity, a compassionate society is one which provides a bedrock of social security: the security of knowing that becoming sick, disabled or unemployed, or suffering a financial shock or crisis (be it a bereavement or a broken cooker), will not leave anyone penniless, hungry or at risk of destitution.

[...]

This report restates the case for a social security safety net. It also documents an increasing number of holes in that safety net – undue delays, errors, or excessive sanctions, many of which are leaving large numbers of people without income for days, weeks or even months at a time. Too many people, including children, are being left at risk of hunger or destitution as a result.

You can download and read the report by clicking here (.pdf file).

For more information, and to take action to restore faith in the safety net visit the Church Action on Poverty Website: http://www.church-poverty.org.uk/safetynet

Perry's Story

"I have been told that I owe £17 000 in overpaid disability benefits.  I haven't had any money for ten days and I am waiting for an appeal in another ten days.  I just have to tell the truth.

I get quite down thinking about it.  I have been borrowing odd bits of money from my neighbours."

Thank you Perry for sharing your story with Foodbank.

Robert's Story

"Robert was working full-time and put on to Employment Support Allowance due to a leg injury.  He had an appointment at a work related activity group, but could not go as he collapsed in town as the injury to his leg turned out to be a serious blood clot.  Robert was rushed to hospital, so missed the appointment and had his benefits stopped.

Robert came out of hospital to be told that as his injury is now 'different' he has to make a new claim which they say will take three weeks to sort out.  He had been in town to collect the two weeks money he was owed, which he hasn't had and they now say he won't get, because it is a new claim.  This means that there will be a minimum of 5 weeks that Robert will be without money."

Thank you Robert for sharing your story with Foodbank

Celia's Story

"Currently homeless or staying in B&B. On ESA but all money goes on B&B (£500/wk). Partner claimed PIP (Personal Independence Payment) 4 weeks ago but was told it would take 26 weeks for a decision to be made. Partner has type 2 diabetes and mental health issues. Have to leave B&B at 10am and not allowed back until evening. Have 15 year old son. Housing Solutions team will contact client regarding accomodation."

Thank you to Celia for sharing her story with us and to the volunteer who wrote this down on her behalf.

Rachel's Story

"Benefits delayed - Child tax credits not come through. Washing machine broken leading to extra costs so money tight, too tight to pay for everything. Energy costs are too much."

Our thanks to Rachel for sharing this with us.

Jesse's Story

"The reason for my crisis is because of my benefits being delayed and I had nothing whatsoever and nobody to ask for some help. But my JSA should be sorted out very soon as it is being looked into."

Our thanks to Jesse for sharing this story with us. 

Elizabeth's Story

"I had a diagnosis of cancer at the end of January. Due to a change in benefits plus payments being taken directly from what little benefits we have left, we were left living on £20 a fortnight. I was told that the PIP (Personal Independence Payment) I applied for at the start of February could take up to 6 months to be processed. Most weeks it had been a choice of heat or eat, we're thankful it's getting warmer. Even my partner can't be classed as a carer until the PIP payment is sorted out."

Thank you so much to Liz for sharing her story.

Rebecca's Story

"We have just had a new baby - Rebecca is nearly 6 weeks old. 

Daddy was made redundant and is receiving JSA. Mum is awaiting maternity allowance but because of a delay in the tax office we will not be receiving a payment for as long as 8 weeks. Because of this we are experiencing significant hardship. We didn't expect for the process to take this long and we have exhausted all the financial options available. We are very grateful for the foodbank. Thank you."

Thank you so much to this family. We're really grateful you felt able to share this with us. 

Jill's Story

"My partner moved in and I claimed for working tax credits. I was told they would send me out a claim form which would take two weeks but I never received it so I rang them up for them to tell me they had forgotten to send me out a claim pack. I finally received one after 4 weeks and now I have to wait another 5 weeks to get paid. It's the same story with housing benefit: they didn't ask for the right information. I now am struggling to pay the rent."

Thank you so much to Jill for sharing this with us.

Love, Joy and Hope? Joe's Story



Joe recently visited one of our Foodbanks for the first time. He had just been sanctioned because he was told to complete a job search on 25/12/13 and 01/01/14. He was asked by the Jobcentre why he had not looked for jobs on Christmas Day and on New Years Day and was then sanctioned for 4 weeks. He is now anxious he will be unable to pay his rent.

Joe was referred to us by a statutory agency that has worked closely with him for some time and has verified that they understand the account given above to be accurate. Joe has now applied for a Hardship Payment but will not find out what decision has been made about this for another 5 days. He said he felt disillusioned with the support provided by the Jobcentre: "I came from college and didn't know where to start [looking for work]. I needed advice but there's nothing. For young people there's no support. They [the Jobcentre] get me in and out as fast as possible." Joe has considered asking for advice on appealing against the decision to sanction him but was concerned about repercussions: "I don't want to appeal. If I do it they might sanction me further. I can't go on with no money". 

Our thanks go to Joe for sharing his circumstances with us.

Foodbank Debate: Our Response

Yesterday's debate on Food Banks illustrated just how much the UK population cares about the increase in numbers of people going hungry in the UK. It is not often that a Commons Debate trends on Twitter.

 

We are disappointed that the gravity of the situation faced by those receiving emergency food across the UK and in West Cheshire was not uniformly respected by MPs. We recognise that there is still work to do in ensuring that all members of parliament recognise the human costs of hunger in the UK. We are particularly disappointed by the failure of some MPs in Cheshire West to attend the debate; by the notable lack of representation from the Minister for Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Owen Paterson) and the lack of democratic accountability demonstrated by the Minister for the Department for Work and Pensions (Iain Duncan Smith).

 

We would however, like to extend our sincere thanks to Stephen Mosley MP and Andrew Miller MP for their attendance.

 

We are especially pleased that Stephen Mosley MP:

 

- recognised the work of West Cheshire Foodbank.

 

"At the end of last month, I was privileged to visit the West Cheshire food bank in my constituency. Like all food banks, it is run by a group of hard-working volunteers and supported by generous donations from across Cheshire."

 

- understands that changes to benefits and benefit sanctions are a primary driver of Foodbank use.

 

"My visit to the food bank was an opportunity not just to see the fantastic volunteers who make it happen but to hear first hand the reasons people are using food banks. The results were striking. Figures from my local food bank show that 59% of those who have used the food bank since April have visited because of changes to benefits and a growing number of people are visiting because of sanctions."

 

- supports the Trussell Trust's call for a Public Inquiry into Food Bank use.

 

"[W]e need to find out more about food banks and I back the call from the Trussell Trust and my hon. Friend the Member for South Thanet (Laura Sandys) for an inquiry into their use."

 

- shares our concern over the suppression of the DEFRA commissioned report

 

"We need a clear picture of the role and extent of the banks and we need to know who uses them and why. Then we can have a debate based on the facts. Otherwise, this important debate will always run the risk of being hijacked by politicians hoping to score cheap political points, which does absolutely nothing to help those in need. The university of Warwick has produced a report for DEFRA on household food security and the provision of food aid. I hope that it will be forthcoming."

 

A full transcript of the debate can be found here:  

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmhansrd/cm131218/debtext/131218-0003.htm#13121855000003

You can find out what The Guardian thought of Mr Mosley's contribution here:
http://www.theguardian.com/society/patrick-butler-cuts-blog/2013/dec/19/not-all-tories-in-denial-about-causes-of-rise-in-foodbanks

 

 

Joseph's Story

"My wife is disabled. Her benefits were stopped because she did not attend at the Job Centre. I explained that she was in hospital at the time and was told that my wife needed to re-apply. I have told them that she is house bound and won’t go out of the house and that someone needs to come out to her, they have to get someone to come see her."

 

Our thanks to Joseph, who wrote this whilst collecting emergency food at one of our Centres.