Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
‘I haven’t had the heating on since before Christmas...’
As the cost of living crisis continues to affect growing numbers of people, reporter Laoise Gallagher speaks to one woman who tells how drastically her life has changed...
Adisabled mum says she hasn’t turned the heating on since before Christmas, layering jumpers and using a hot water bottle to stay warm as the cost of living crisis bites.
Rita - who asked that we not use her surname - will also wake at 5am to do housework to make use of the Economy 7 cheap offpeak electricity, and lives by candlelight as she has removed all light bulbs in her home to save money.
She has spoken of her crippling fear that she could soon become homeless if household bills continue to rise.
The 58-year-old privately rents a small three-bedroom home and says rising costs have left her so anxious that she struggles to leave the house and has been diagnosed with high blood pressure.
Due to complex PTSD alongside other medical conditions, Rita is unable to go to work and also needs to be at home to care for her 23-year-old autistic son.
Rita says her rent has risen by £400 recently, and her electricity has jumped from £78 to £249 a month.
She believes the govern
ment has forgotten about those at “the bottom of the financial ladder” and says she feels like a “leftover”.
With inflation hitting its highest level in 30 years in January, it was predicted that the average household would face a
£1,200 hike in household bills this year, something that has become very real for Rita and her family, who live in Medway.
For the first time in her life she is now using a food bank, something she never thought she would have to do.
“I remember we were driving somewhere when the pandemic first started,” she says.
“We went past Canterbury Street and we saw the queue for the Gillingham Street Angels.
“I said ‘poor people’. I’m one of them people now. I never thought that would be me.”
Rita is trying to be as self-sufficient as possible and is replanting vegetables from the food bank so that she can grow her own to use in the future.
She will eat just one nutritious meal a day and will often use a slow-cooker overnight where possible to save money.
Even boiling the kettle takes a lot of electricity, and according to the mum-of-two it’s cheaper to make a pot of tea in the morning and then microwave each cup.
Speaking of this “depressing” existence of watching every penny, Rita says: “I remember the 1970s when there was a three-day week, there were strikes, there was an energy crisis, you’d have power cuts, but only one parent needed to go to work to support a family.
“You had school dinners. You had a bottle of milk at school.
“People were all in it together but it doesn’t seem to be like that now.”
She continued: “There is an us and a them – we are the bottom of the ladder.
“We are left. We’re left with
‘I said, ‘poor people’. I’m one of them people now. I never thought that would be me...’
the leftovers. We are the nothing.”
The physical impact of the cost of living is also becoming apparent for Rita, with a flare-up of fibromyalgia due to the cold weather, as well as the psychological strain she’s facing.
“I wake up crying and my heart’s pounding,” she says.
“I’m constantly crying, I can’t eat and even when I do manage dinner I’m often sick because of the anxiety.”
The family also have a dog and cat, which could become another financial strain if they were to get sick.
Ritasaysifitcametoitshe would make sure their bills were paid before putting food on the table for herself, and explains how her son would give up everything he loves before letting go of his pets.
“We are with the PDSA and you do still have to pay for treatment, but it’s not too expensive and luckily, although they’re both old, they’re healthy.
“I’ve got nothing left to sell. I’ve sold everything.
“My son is autistic and doesn’t go out much but the one thing he likes are his games. He would sell them all, everything he has.”
Rita is very clear in her view that this crunch on finances is not new, and says there has been a slow and steady rise since October.
She says the fuel crisis, in particular, was there “long before the war in Ukraine”.
She is now fearful of the future not only for herself, but also for her 18-year-old daughter, son and grandchildren.
“The malnutrition that’s going to affect the children in the future because they haven’t had the nutrition that they need will affect their bodies in later life,” she says.
Calling on the government to listen to the plea of those on low incomes, she adds there is just one word to describe her experience – “awful”.
“It’s going backwards,” she says. “Just what are they going to do to help?”
■ Canterbury Food Bank can provide a food parcel that would last you and your family for at least three days.
Staff are available to take calls between 10am and 2pm weekdays.
Visit canterburyfoodbank.org or call 01227 936450.