A financial help service in Co Tyrone says it is experiencing unprecedented demand due to the current cost of living crisis.
With inflation at its highest level for 30 years, essential items are rising at their highest rate in three decades
Meanwhile, fuel and energy prices have rocketed to their highest ever levels.
Michael Roddy from Omagh Independent Advice Service said he has never seen anything like the impact of rising prices recently, with working families in particular struggling to make ends meet.
Michael told MyTyrone working people are now coming to his service in numbers which are unprecedented.
“We’re seeing people now that traditionally we wouldn’t have seen before,” Michael said.
“Everybody knows that fuel poverty existed prior to all of this but it was usually confined mostly to people who were benefit dependent.
“What we’re seeing now is a completely different scenario altogether in that it is working people and working families are really struggling to make ends meet in terms of the rising costs.
“These are practically new enquiries, stuff that we never would have been dealing with before.
“Most of our enquiries are coming from new sources as opposed to our traditional repeat clients that we would expect to see once or twice throughout the year."
The rising cost of living is having a negative effect on local people’s quality of life, as well as contributing to a growth in mental health issues, according to Michael.
“What we’re seeing here is something that we’ve never seen before in that the fuel prices are at an all time high.
“The cost of living in terms of ordinary expenses are all going through the roof.
“It’s happening at a time when wages are not going in the right direction.
“People are struggling to fill the gap between income and expenditure.
“All that coupled with the rise in the basics is just having a really negative effect on their quality of life."
While things may be difficult for people now, the manager of the local independent advice service said the problem could deepen in upcoming months as prices continue to rise.
Michael added: “I think where we are going to see the problem is probably further down the line in terms of people who have got into debt problems.
“I don’t know if there is much light at the end of the tunnel.
“I think there is going to be a massive fallout somewhere down the line, possibly in the next six months to a year where you are going to see people who are struggling to cope with the debt that got them through the harder times.”
