The United Kingdom is in crisis and the coming winter is projected to plunge an extra three million into poverty across the country. Crisis, a charity which tackles homelessness, has said that up to 1.7 million people are at risk. It has forecast that rent, energy and food will amount to 133% of their monthly income – a simply impossible figure, with its chief executive saying that the situation could not be more desperate.
These issues are of course nationwide, but closer to home analysis by Friends of the Earth has shown that 76 out of 345 neighbourhoods in Sheffield are at the highest level of risk of financial hardship when the price cap rises next month. Sheffield was a city at the heart of the industrial revolution, and whilst steel mills and coal mines may no longer dominate the landscape, the working-class roots are still very much ingrained in the city once nicknamed the People’s Republic of South Yorkshire.
There are many campaigns and political movements which are rapidly growing, looking to tackle the root causes of the current problems. The most prominent of these are the Don’t Pay UK campaign and the Enough is Enough campaign.
A recent study suggests that more than 1.7 million households are planning to cancel their direct debits for October, with a majority of these commenting that this has been as a result of the aforementioned Don’t Pay UK campaign. Meanwhile, ‘Enough is Enough’ have recently held rallies in London, Manchester and Liverpool in an attempt to ‘help turn anger into action’, which have included speeches from Mick Lynch and Andy Burnham. These campaigns are hugely important in ensuring the problems we’re facing this winter don’t become established and normalised in society.
This winter is still going to be a struggle for many across the area, and students are one group doing what they can to help. This may be through getting involved on the ground with the dozens of fantastic projects which are trying to help the most vulnerable in our society get through the winter with fuel, food and dignity.
There are lots of different opportunities to volunteer through the University, and three additional ways listed below in which you can help with the cost of living crisis.
1. Donate food
There has been much talk of people choosing between heating and eating – due to the nature of food and fuel, it is almost certain that there will be a significant increase to the two million people who already rely on food banks. Food banks rely on the generosity of the local community donating either food or their time to ensure nobody goes without. The S6 Foodbank currently feeds over 1200 people a week via 11 sites across the city.
For those wanting to donate food the following items are deemed as urgently needed: tinned fruit, toiletries, UHT milk, tinned vegetables and rice.
Donating these items couldn’t be easier no matter where in the city you live.
Where to donate:
Endcliffe/Ranmoor – Tesco’s in Crosspool and Broomhall, and Sainsburys in Broomhall all contain food donation points.
Crookesmoor – Sainsburys/Co-op in Crookes or Beanies in Crookesmoor also have donation points.
City Centre – Tesco on West Street has a donation point.
2. Volunteer
With the growing unaffordability of heating a home there is a likelihood that many people will look to spend the daytime in free public buildings in an attempt to save money on heating and stay warm. One such sector expecting to see an increase in visitors is local museums, and keeping these open throughout the day is going to be an important lifeline to many people struggling.
Furthermore, Sheffield museums run a variety of family activity sessions which not only provide an alternative to being at home but also provide an engaging extracurricular education for local children. A lot of the work done in museums is done by volunteers and there are a number of different roles available. For more information about these and to get involved contact [email protected].
You can also volunteer for the previously mentioned S6 Foodbank. A volunteer application form can be found under the heading Give Help on their website. There are a wide variety of roles including, but not limited to: stock sorting, packing food parcels, food parcel delivery driver and supporting a Foodbank session.
3. Fundraise
Of course, places like the S6 Foodbank need goods, they need volunteers, but what they also need is cash. Just like households they also have energy bills to pay and these are operating costs which are going to rise significantly in the winter. Between April 2021 and March 2022, food banks in the Trussell Trust’s UK wide network distributed over 2.1 million to people in crisis, with 832,000 of these going to children. Food banks are just one example of a community service which is providing essential support to vulnerable people due to the failure of the government to adequately provide for these people. Whilst we all hope for a future where there isn’t a void to fill and people have access to the basics, right now these community led and funded projects are for many people their only hope at successfully surviving this winter. Therefore, it is imperative that we, as a university, step up to raise what we can in this time of need for so many of the local community. The students of the University of Sheffield must do all we can to help – whether that’s donating food, money or time.
As students in this city we all have a social responsibility to try and help those who are struggling. Many people in Sheffield want to help but can only offer their evenings and weekends, whereas students are likely to have more flexible timings available to offer, which is invaluable to these organisations. Vulnerable people should never be in this terrifying situation and it is important to recognise the root causes of this crisis, and fight for real social and political change. Any campaign for change starts with directly offering help to those who this winter will be hungry, cold and desperate.