“For one month, I will be comfortable”: Cost of living pushes poverty-stricken London borough into further crisis
Residents of Newham are forced to rely on household support vouchers distributed by a local charity to combat the ongoing cost of living crisis.
Today, Vasha Bholah is among the 19 people queuing up at the East Ham-based charity, Skills Enterprise, to claim her Tesco voucher. Due to her pending immigration status, Bholah is not permitted to work in the UK, but she still has to contribute towards the soaring cost of her gas and energy bills.
“If I don’t do that, they will remove us from where we are living. It’s been really hard to pay that from the money we get from social services — which is not a lot. You only get £112,” she said.
The vouchers provided by the charity are worth £50–250 in Tesco stores and are funded by the government’s Household Support Fund to support vulnerable households in England. Skills Enterprise was nominated by Newham council to distribute the money.
Bholah had to put her name and details on the list ahead of today’s handout but she had to wait patiently to find out whether she was eligible to be covered by the fund as it depends on each family’s circumstances and number of children.
“It’s hard work to do all the paperwork and get everyone to be here on time, with their IDs and paperwork ready. But once we get to this day where we hand out the money, it’s really nice,” said Skills Enterprise’s staff member Karen Bryzak.
As a Newham resident, Bhola lives in one of London’s most “deprived” neighbourhoods. In fact, 37 per cent of the area’s population live in poverty, second only to neighbouring Tower Hamlets, according to Minority Rights. Considerably, 71 % of the population is also from a Black, Asian and minority ethnic background.
“The voucher will make a big difference because we’ve been struggling,” Bhola said. “We’re getting sick as well because we can’t use the heater, so every other week we have a cold. Like today, my son is sick at home.”
Among the many challenges posed by the cost of living crisis is Bholah’s ability to afford her autistic son’s restricted diet. Every day, she will take him to the store to buy him a pack of crisps and one box of juice. “That’s his routine and if you don’t do it, you can’t get him to go home after school,” she said. With the Tesco voucher, however, she is able to allocate that money to shopping trips for him over the next month.
“At a time where everything is so expensive, you take 10 pounds to the shop and you buy two things and you’ve finished it. I wasn’t expecting to get anything but I got it so I’m very grateful. For one month, I will be comfortable.”
Their situation is far from unique, considering that 49% of Newham’s children live in poverty, a much higher percentage than the London average, as reported by Trust for London.
“The vouchers make a great difference. It certainly shows on the smiles of some of our users,” Bryzak said.
