Cost of Living Crisis
This is going to be a gruelling winter for so many families who are already struggling.
One mum, Jade, recently told us:
“There are some days where I’m literally praying, thinking where’s our next bit of money going to come from, how am I gonna feed her, my partner, his kids, how am I going to be able to keep everyone going?”
We recently carried out a survey of baby banks across the UK and the results were harrowing.
One baby bank told us they met a family who were unable to afford nappies and as a result, their baby suffered grade three pressure sores.
Another said that a family visits the baby bank each week to stay warm.
You can read the full survey results in our report here.
Why is this happening?
Although the Government has capped energy prices, bills are still too high for many, especially as benefits have not increased with the rate of inflation. Many families are working and 40% of Universal Credit claimants are in work. But wages are often not enough to cover the basics such as housing, bills and food.
What we’re doing
We will provide as much support as we can by giving families some of the items their children need to thrive this winter. However, we need more help if we are to continue to meet rising demand.
We will also continue to raise awareness of how the cost-of-living crisis is affecting the families we work with via the media and social media. It’s important to give families a voice and to try and bring about change to the systems that trap people in poverty.
Want to help?
It’s easy to feel powerless in the face of this crisis, but you can help us and other baby banks. We all need more volunteers, funding and donations.
Donate money
Please consider donating money to help Little Village support the growing number of families we’re seeing.
Volunteer
We always need volunteers and are especially short in Brent and Hounslow and in need of volunteer drivers to deliver donations to families. You can find out more and sign up here.
Donate stuff
Find out where and how to donate your great quality preloved items for under 5s here.
Find your local baby bank
If you’re not in London, you can find your nearest baby bank here.
Need help?
You can find out more about how to get referred to Little Village here. We’ve also put together an overview of resources that might help with the cost of living, which you can access here.