Never ever before overdrawn, after always managing to just stay in the black, elderly widow Rosalind Copeland shudders as she thinks about the searing energy bills emptying her account.
The 78-year-old was desperate and despairing after her supplier upped her monthly direct debit from £66 to £166 and took out extra money in a mix-up.
Tearful Rosalind recounts: “I had a call from the bank. ‘Mrs Copeland’, they said, ‘you have gone into the red.’.
“That was the first time in my life and was the biggest shock I’ve ever had.
“I never slept that night and went straight into the bank the following day to try and sort it.
“Thankfully my OAP pension came in and I thought of switching to pay-as-you-go but that would cost more.
“I don’t have a lot but I know I’m more fortunate than others who have much less, so if I’m feeling the pinch and I’m in the middle, the people below are feeling it much deeper.”
The one-time barmaid, home help and Labour city councillor is a volunteer able to relate to people like herself who rely on a Salvation Army centre in Tyne and Wear’s Southwick, on Sunderland’s underprivileged north side.
It is officially classed as one of Britain’s most deprived areas, scarred by poverty, ill health, low education success and high unemployment since Austin & Pickersgill and the rest of the Wear’s shipbuilding industry was sold down the river in the Thatcher period.
Soaring power prices meant Austin House, the Sally Army centre, received Warm Welcome support from the Daily Mirror’s 2022 Christmas Appeal – one of its many helpers.
Full English breakfasts on Mondays and Fridays, plus free lunches on Tuesdays and Thursdays, guarantee a hot meal as well as warm space to meet and talk for the Rosalinds of the world.
Community manager Graham Wharton, 64, hails the resilience and resourcefulness of Southwick folk unfairly denied opportunities. Help finding jobs, claiming grants, keeping fit and a “bread and butter thing” providing £35 worth of food for just £7.50 are part of the friendly welcome.
Graham says: “I’m a big Disney fan and I like the idea of guests. I want you to have a good experience. It’s about mutual respect and lets people know you matter. Some have issues with authority but we don’t judge.”
Donations are vital to the work and every penny is spent on the needy.
One man recently walked in to give £500 in £1 coins he had saved. Another handed over £90.
And a local Sikh family took gifts to honour a deceased relative.
Graham says: “We are here for people from the cradle to the grave with a warm welcome for everybody.
“I’m a bit of a Del Boy and £1,000 can give £4,000 value, not eking it out, more managing it wisely. The most important part of this building is the people who come here and volunteer.”
