A Tyneside charity has warned that the cost of living nightmare will kill people this winter as the North East’s most vulnerable are dragged further into poverty every day.
In a damning new report, Changing Lives has demanded urgent action from the Government to combat a “perfect storm” caused by rocketing food and utility bills that will hit the region’s deprived communities hardest. The looming threat of the energy price cap rising in October has left the charity, which now supports thousands of people across the country facing issues such as homelessness, addiction, and long-term unemployment, “terrified” for the lives of those it helps.
One struggling Northumberland business owner told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that the crisis has already forced her to go without food for five days and that she is contemplating switching her gas off this winter. Mary Hall, from Lynemouth, turned to Changing Lives for help as her pet training business was rendered unviable after struggling through the Covid pandemic and now finds that her Universal Credit payments are not enough to cover her rent, food, and energy bills.
