‘We get people coming in suicidal’ – food bank volunteer

AS THE GOVERNMENT FINALLY ADMITS A LINK BETWEEN FOOD BANKS AND UNIVERSAL CREDIT, SARAH SINCLAIR

“I don’t know if I’ll get through one day to the next, that’s the honest answer,” admits dad of one, Glen, at Bethany City Church food bank in Sunderland.

“If I didn’t have a four-yearold girl I wouldn’t be sitting here having this conversation, I’d be six foot under the ground, without a shadow of a doubt. I’ve even considered that anyway, because it’s so hard.”

Having been employed as a contractor for the last 20 years, Glen, from Sunderland – who didn’t want to give his surname – would never have imagined that he’d be forced to rely on a food bank to feed his family.

In October 2018 he found himself out of work and applying for Universal Credit. Almost four months after he first entered the system, he is yet to receive a penny.

As he sits opposite me, sipping tea from a paper cup in the church’s community cafe, Glen’s despair is palpable.

“I didn’t expect to be in this situation, certainly not,” he confesses.

“None of my family and friends would have any idea that I was here, it’s not a conversation I would have, it’s not a conversation I believe I should have, nor probably anyone else in this room. Whilst I don’t know everyone’s individual circumstances, they are probably in here because one way or another they are not getting what they are entitled to.”

Unfortunately, Glen’s story is just one among many at the church in Ashbrooke. The food bank deals with over 60 per cent of all referrals across Sunderland and over the last year it has been a lifeline for almost 4,000 people.

Anyone can find themselves this desperate. Ashamedly, I was taken aback on arrival, when a man ap- proached me to ask if I was there to collect a food parcel. But at 4pm on a Wednesday, I am one of few here who is not.

With the numbers of users rising expeditiously, the common misconceptions about those who rely on food banks are far off the mark.

The Trussell Trust food bank network’s latest statistics show a 13 per cent increase, with more than 1.3 million three-day emergency food supplies issued nationally, from 2017-18. Over half of referrals to Bethany City Church last year were a result of benefit changes or low income.

“We find the biggest reason of referral is because of Universal Credit,” says assistant church pastor Daniel Alcock.

“We get people coming in suicidal, like genuinely, really needing help, once a week now, at least.”

He cites Universal Credit as a contributing factor.

“For some people it’s the thought of being homeless for the first ever time, is just soul crushing,” he adds.

Andrew Hedley, 46, from Ashbrooke has been on Universal Credit for three years. He was a regular at the food bank before becoming a volunteer himself. It’s the sense of community here has kept him going.

“It’s had its ups and downs,” he says of his experience of the system.

“The ups are coming out and mixing with the community, but the downs are that you’re always thinking about your last week, when you’re getting paid. It’s from the third week onwards, you’re struggling for that last week before you get paid again.”

He continues: “They’re saying it’s a good idea, but who for? Is it for the government or the people? Because it’s not for the people.”

This month in Parliament, Sunderland MP Sharon Hodgson secured an admission from the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Amber Rudd, that the rise in food bank usage across the UK is linked to the roll-out of Universal Credit. This is the first time the government has acknowledged this connection.

CounGeoffWalker,cabinet member for health and social care at Sunderland City Council, blames the government’s preoccupation with Brexit for the mistakes which have been made in the roll out of the system.

“It’s good to hear that Conservative ministers can realise the connection between