A leading North East mental health charity has been joined by two local MPs to highlight how the cost-of-living crisis is already pushing more people in our area to "breaking point" and call for the Government to do more to help.
Labour MPs Kate Osborne and Sharon Hodgson said they had "serious concerns" about the way price rises across society would impact on the poorest - while the charity Mental Health Concern (MHC) has revealed it is already experiencing a "significant rise in cases of people struggling severely with their mental health" due to rocketing day-to-day costs.
The charity explained that one of its South Tyneside support workers was helping a man who is considering taking the drastic step of giving up his council flat and living in a van because he can't afford his bills. Another person being helped by MHC is, the charity says, working full time but struggling to afford food - and that this has had a "severe" impact on their existing mental health worries.
Read more: Rishi Sunak 'fails' to deliver for families facing cost of living crisis
Another person helped by the charity has now begun to struggle to attend vital therapy sessions as she is unable to afford her bus fare. This comes as pressure mounts on the Chancellor Rishi Sunak to do more than was announced in the Spring Statement to mitigate the impact of rising energy prices.
Adam Crampsie, chief executive at MHC said: “We know people in the lowest 20% income bracket in Britain are two to three times more likely to develop mental health problems than those in the highest. In the face of what the Office for Budget Responsibility calls the biggest hit to household finances since comparable records began, the Chancellor has done nothing more for those dependent on benefits, the very poorest."
Mr Crampsie said that as of this month, one in three households would be "unable to afford life's essentials" - and he added: "This Government’s plans are woefully out of touch with the reality facing millions of families. I am so worried about how this cost-of-living crisis is going to escalate and the impact of people’s health and wellbeing.
“Our team is working around the clock to support people who are at breaking point, but there is only so much we can do on our own. I am so pleased to have the backing of MPs Kate Osborne and Sharon Hodgson in calling for the Government to do more for our country’s most vulnerable people."
Kate Osborne, who represents Jarrow, continued: "The cost-of-living crisis is causing people huge amounts of worry, with energy prices and food costs at the forefront of people’s anxieties.
"I met with Adam Crampsie recently to discuss the work charities like Mental Health Concern are doing in offering integrated mental health support to people who are struggling with the impact and pressures of the cost-of-living. It is so important that more is done to protect and support the most vulnerable in our society."
And in Washington and Sunderland West, Sharon Hodgson echoed this. She said: "Serious concerns about the trajectory of effects of the cost of living crisis for vulnerable people must be taken seriously. When it should be helping people pay their bills, this Government is hitting people with a cut to [Universal Credit], workers with a tax rise and allowing families to face the desperate choice between heating or eating.
"The work done by organisations like Mental Health Concern to help those in crisis receive immediate care and help them rebuild their lives with security and respect is so important, but I worry that their job will only become harder."
Outlining his mini-Budget last month, Mr Sunak said: "This statement puts billions back into the pockets of people across the UK and delivers the biggest net cut to personal taxes in over a quarter of a century. Like our actions against Russia, I have been able to do this because of our strong economy and the difficult but responsible decisions I have had to make to rebuild our finances following the pandemic.
"Cutting taxes means people have immediate help with the rising cost of living, businesses have better conditions to invest and grow tomorrow, and people keep more of what they earn for years to come."
But at the time the Institute for Fiscal Studies agreed with opposition parties that the measures announced did not help the "very poorest". Paul Johnson, director of the IFS, said: "In the face of what the OBR calls the biggest hit to household finances since comparable records began in 1956-57 he has done nothing more for those dependent on benefits, the very poorest, besides a small amount of extra cash for local authorities to dispense at their discretion."
Days after the announcement, Nadhim Zahawi - a cabinet minister - hinted on Sky News that the Chancellor might revisit this - he said Mr Sunak would "continue to keep an eye" on the issue.
