Just a thought the other day concerning food bank use in the UK...Are the governments purely to blame for their rise? I remember when my son was small and money was tight my parents helped out a lot with food. Is it possible that extended families live more separate lives often miles apart. Also has the encouragement to save for a rainy day been lost? Family economic priorities have also shifted with many locked in to phone contracts and media entertainment contracts that are not easy to get out of?
The previous Labour government stopped paying housing benefit direct to the Landlord and instead decided to pay it to the claimant. It was meant to empower people to budget but if you have very little money the temptation to spend the rent is a strong one! In the current system the landlord can request a direct payment but only after several months of arrears have accumulated. As a result many people are being evicted for non payment of rent and cannot be rehoused because they are seen to have made themselves homeless by not paying their rent!
This current governments Tax Credits, in some regard, seems brutal especially sanctions and the long wait to receive financial help. There will always be people in need as circumstances can change overnight, loss of work, ill health, breakdown of relationships etc. Perhaps food banks should be viewed as a welcome friend in need, funded and stocked by those within the local community who care and are pleased to have a avenue to show their concern in a practical way, rather than a embarrassment for the UK.
The Trussel Trust are campaigning to end the need for their food banks in the UK but through their charity work they are enabling families in need to come forward and request help without fear of refusal, judgement or prejudice which must be commended.
The previous Labour government stopped paying housing benefit direct to the Landlord and instead decided to pay it to the claimant. It was meant to empower people to budget but if you have very little money the temptation to spend the rent is a strong one! In the current system the landlord can request a direct payment but only after several months of arrears have accumulated. As a result many people are being evicted for non payment of rent and cannot be rehoused because they are seen to have made themselves homeless by not paying their rent!
This current governments Tax Credits, in some regard, seems brutal especially sanctions and the long wait to receive financial help. There will always be people in need as circumstances can change overnight, loss of work, ill health, breakdown of relationships etc. Perhaps food banks should be viewed as a welcome friend in need, funded and stocked by those within the local community who care and are pleased to have a avenue to show their concern in a practical way, rather than a embarrassment for the UK.
The Trussel Trust are campaigning to end the need for their food banks in the UK but through their charity work they are enabling families in need to come forward and request help without fear of refusal, judgement or prejudice which must be commended.
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