On The Breadline: ‘It’s our job to catch people who fall through the gaps into despair’

Helping out at Christmas: Sara Cox with Guiding Hands boss Tracey Davis

(Picture: ES Composite)

For Flora, a single mother of two sons, the cost-of-living crisis has led her to the edge of despair. The foster carer had fallen down a spiral of credit card debt after she split up with her husband. When Christmas came around, she did not want to let any of her relatives down and so continued to buy presents for her large extended family.

She said: “I couldn’t bear to tell people I couldn’t afford to buy them gifts so everything went on cards. Then my washing machine broke down and I put that on the card too. Soon food and petrol was bought on credit. My heating bills were £110 a month and now they’re £250 a month. I was trying to hold the fort but it was crumbling down on me.”