Hampshire & Isle of Wight Community Foundation (HIWCF), an independent charitable foundation, is calling for more donations to enable them to help smaller charities survive the knock on effect of the rising cost of living.
As a result of rising costs organisation 'End Child Poverty' say now over 31 % of children on the Island live in low income households on a par with the figures for Southampton and Portsmouth.
Small charities, who are able to apply to the HIWCF for grants are in need of more funding so they in-turn can meet the needs of families desperate for their help.The Foundation reports an unprecedented demand is emerging for financial and mental health support from families too, many of whom are working hard but are finding themselves unable to cope.
Foundation bosses and other charity leaders from across the Isle of Wight and Hampshire have recently met to look at ways of tackling the crisis.
Rebecca Kennelly MBE, Chair of Trustees at HIWCF said:
"All of those who attended, which included Citizens Advice and Pan Together described an escalating crisis among groups of people they haven’t traditionally supported such as families with working parents and private household owners.
"We've heard families and individual householders are most commonly seeking support with rent and mortgage payments, energy, bills and food. The increase in numbers of people needing help in the first few months of this year is stark, and looking at the statistics of average living expenses, it isn’t surprising."
According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the cost of everyday consumables has risen by 16.5%, the highest rise since September 1977 and at the end of 2022, more than half of adults were buying less food. In the last year energy prices for the average household have gone up 20%. Despite the speed of inflation slowing, costs continue to rise at a rate of nearly 9%, and food prices are at a 45-year high.
Record energy costs are also a concern for charities and non-profit organisations. According to the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), average energy prices for charities are still four and a half times higher than in February 2021, yet charitable income has not seen a like-for-like increase.
On the Isle of Wight, Rachel Thompson, manages Pan Together, a community centre in an area ranked 5.8% in England’s most deprived. In 2019 35% of children there were reportedly growing up in poverty, against an England average of 17%. Demand for support from Pan Together has grown at unprecedented levels, with a 183% increase in visitors to the Pan Community Larder in the first quarter of 2023 - the majority of whom are working families.
Rachel said:
“Nobody should have to choose between fuel, food, and childrens’ clothes. We (small charities) can’t change the world, but we can make a real and tangible difference to peoples’ everyday lives. The need is pressing and urgent.”
HIWCF awards grants on behalf of donors including local companies, individuals, families, charitable trusts, government agencies and local partnerships. In 2022 it gave out approximately £1.9 million, £1.3 million of which was given to help reduce the impact of poverty across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
To find out more about HIWCF, how to apply for a grant, or how to donate to the current ‘Cost of Living’ campaign, visit: www.hiwcf.org.uk
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