When your choice is to eat.. or heat
ROBERT Beg arrived at the food bank after not eating for days.
Despite having severe epilepsy and painful ulcers on his legs which burst open, he’s somehow managed to walk from his home in the Gorbals to Govanhill.
His deteriorating health means he had to give up his job as a fabricator and soon found himself on the streets.
Life hasn’t been easy for the 45-year-old and, although he now has a small flat, he simply can’t afford to heat it.
He’s not been able to shower or wash his clothes for weeks and his only hope is that he qualifies for an electricity voucher from the food bank.
Unfortunately for Robert, he was given his winter fuel allowance a few months ago and despite the fact that it’s run out, he doesn’t qualify for another voucher until next year.
And although he’s given a small bag of food, without electricity, he has no way of cooking it.
The prospect of having no heating or electricity over Christmas and New Year is too much for Robert and he breaks down in tears.
He said: “I just wish I’d known before I walked here. I’ve got nothing.”
Moved by his situation, I and photographer Victoria Stewart take Robert to a local shop to top up his electricity.
It’s not much, just £20, but to Robert it’s a lifeline.
“Thank you so much. I’ll be able to put my heating on for the first time in weeks and I can cook a decent meal too,” he said.
There’s no doubt in my mind that the system has let Robert down. How on earth is he expected to work when he can barely walk?
So while Theresa May tucks into a lavish turkey dinner on Christmas Day I hope she takes a minute to think of people like Robert.
People who are being badly let down by the welfare system and who have to choose between heating and eating.
Food poverty is real, and cases like Robert’s should bring the issue of hunger and its causes into the public consciousness.
The idea of no heat at Xmas is too much and he breaks down in tears