Cost of living issues being faced by all parts of community

With fuel and energy prices rocketing up and food bills getting larger, the work of organisations such as House of Bread in Stafford has become vital to people struggling to feed themselves or facing difficult decisions about using electricity.

House of Bread has been working with vulnerable and homeless people since 2010 through activities and drop-in sessions providing food, friendship, support and advice.

The cafe it runs, Cafe 43, offers anyone who needs it a hot meal and a range of cold and hot drinks, as well as a food bank with a range of essentials, a washing service for those who need it and has recently installed a shower on the premises.

For people like 55-year-old Wayne Roberts, who lives in Rising Brook, House of Bread has been a godsend for the way it has helped him in the past and through the current crisis.

He said: "Without this place, there's a good deal of people who would be at a complete dead loss as it helps out in so many ways, not only with food, but also by showing you the avenues you need to go down and what specific areas there are for the help you need.

"They will push all the boundaries to help you, as they did with me as my benefits had been stopped and I was having real problems with my electricity and gas supplies and various medical issues.

"Right now, I have the issues with rising electricity prices as while I am on the lowest applicable tariff that they could put me on, there is still a rise that is hard for me to keep up with.

"I'm also on employment and support allowance payments as my personal independence payment has been disabled due to a late return of the application, so money is tighter, but House of Bread are doing what they can to help me."

Grace Praise has been able to see both sides of the charity, having been helped by it in the past and now working as a volunteer at it and the 58-year-old from Stafford said the current crisis made services like House of Bread vital.

She said: "With me giving up my job to help my daughter and my husband taking early retirement due to illness, our income has dropped dramatically, so we're having to work out whether we have enough money to survive.

"I also know people who are struggling, such as one woman who has been trying to live on £12 per week to feed herself and her cat, and she's part of a generation who feels they shouldn't have to beg for their food.

"What makes this place work is that House of Bread goes further than a lot of the other food banks by supplying food, but also offering help with fuel costs and building friendships and people's self-worth, such as helping homeless people build bank accounts."

Director Will Morris said it was worrying to see the increase in people coming in for support, with more than 40 new people, and said the charity was having to work out what to do next.

He said: "We're having to anticipate what will happen in the next few months leading up to the winter to allow us to have a strategic plan.

"The biggest issues at the moment are debt, with people who have been in debt before and are now struggling through the cost of living increase, so we are working to be the advocate to help people and encourage people to face up to their issues and not bury it."