Carlisle families going hungry amid 'Dickensian' poverty, says vicar

The charity’s Carlisle and Eden branch issued the warning as a Carlisle vicar revealed that the cost-of-living crisis is creating 'Dickensian' style poverty for some families who are now struggling to afford food.

The Reverend Alun Jones, who works with Currock’s Rock Youth Project, said he regularly sees local families who must choose between paying their heating bills and feeding themselves.

Andy Auld, from Carlisle and Eden CAB, said: “The cost-of-living crisis hasn’t gone away and we’re bracing ourselves for what’s to come.

"Citizens Advice helped more people in January to April 2023 than in the same period of any other year on record.

“The crisis has been broadening out to hit new cohorts of people who would have otherwise never needed our support including people who are in employment. 

“We’re concerned about what comes next.

“The clearest thing in our data is the number of people facing a monthly bills crisis; they get to the end of the month and just can't pay their bills. It used to be around a third of people we advise on debt couldn’t cover their expenses.

"Now it’s more than half. Energy affordability is a long-term problem, and it needs a long-term solution.”

The charity nationally says the scale of the current cost-of-living crisis is unlike anything seen before - even in the pandemic.

Strikingly, CAB has been helping more people with crisis support like food bank referrals and access to grants because they simply can’t pay the bills or put food on the table.

The charity’s Carlisle and Eden branch has dramatically expanded its operations in the last few years, but the ending of fixed mortgage deals and the issue of landlords increasing rents above inflation levels is storing up more trouble.

Andy said: “We’ve taken on extra resources and are just about keeping on top of things, but we need to taken on more workers. In April, we worked with 982 clients, with just under 3,000 issues. We helped those people get back £645,000 and helped them write off debts of almost £37,000.

“We also referred 100 people for charitable foodbank support.”

The Rev Alun Jones (Image: Newquest)

The Rev Jones provided a stark insight into the levels of poverty now existing in Carlisle. “I know a lot of families in our city who are struggling to put food on the table,” he said. “A lot of kids come to the Rock Youth Project in Scalegate Road for a meal because their parents can’t afford to feed them.

“It’s definitely accelerated since Covid with the cost-of-living crisis.

"It's Dickensian. People are literally having to choose between feeding themselves and paying for their electric or gas. I know of houses where there is no electricity, no gas, and no food, where they are sitting in the dark.

“I put money on their meter cards to pay for electric.”

As well as running a food bank, the Rock Project also offers clothes washing facilities to those who are struggling to afford to pay for that basic need. The project is also offering women and girls who need them free sanitary products.

The Reverend Jones, vicar of St Herbert's on Blackwell Road, thanked the Rock Project’s major funder The Frances C Scott Charitable Trust.

According to the Trussell Trust, one in seven UK households are affected by food insecurity, equating to 11 million people. For more information about Carlisle and Eden CAB – including volunteering opportunities - check out their website.