Ellie* is a single mum from Swindon who, along with her children, Daniel* (10) and Violet* (14), has received support from the Barnardo’s Swindon and Wiltshire Phoenix Project. This year, Ellie was able to buy food vouchers through our poverty fund to help her family cope with the cost-of-living.
"Kathy is absolutely brilliant”
“My kids have a lot of childhood trauma, and they have spent time in care. I fought to get them back and did a lot of work on myself so I could be a better mum for them.
“I got my kids back, but we still needed support, and so my social worker at the time put us in touch with Barnardo’s. That’s when I met our workers, Kathy and Lorna.
“Kathy is absolutely brilliant. My daughter, Violet, absolutely loves going to see Kathy every week. She can talk to her about absolutely anything. From day one, Kathy got to know Violet for who she is. She got to know her likes and interests and she’s truly gone above and beyond for my daughter. It’s unbelievable.
“I’ve gone through quite a bit of therapy myself, and Violet went through a lot of different therapists before she found someone she felt comfortable speaking to. Kathy was that person for her.”
I’ve gone through quite a bit of therapy myself, and Violet went through a lot of different therapists before she found someone she felt comfortable speaking to. Kathy was that person for her.
Ellie
“Kathy has helped me access lots of help and support. The woman deserves an award! She’s so caring and really has helped our whole family a great deal. I can talk to her about absolutely everything and I really do see her as a close friend.”
“The support took so much weight off my mind”
“When I gave birth to my son, Daniel, my back became injured and gave up on me. I have a slipped disc in my back and a crumbled disc underneath that. Every so often, my back will seize up and it’s really unpleasant - it limits my mobility, and I can’t do much at all. Even getting out of bed can be difficult sometimes. It makes day-to-day life really hard.
“My condition also affects my work. I pick up as many extra hours as I can, but when you can’t work and earn money, it puts such a financial strain on our family, and I do worry about not being able to feed the kids.
“Earlier this year, I was speaking to Kathy to ask for some help because I was panicking. I couldn’t move, was in a lot of pain, and I’d had to take three weeks off work. I didn’t know what to do and wasn’t sure how I’d feed the kids. That’s when Kathy told me about the poverty fund and how it could help—and she applied for it straight away. That same afternoon, I had the food vouchers which was amazing.
“Because my back was bad, it meant I could go home and get straight online to order a food shop. I was so relieved and was able to stock up the fridge and cupboards with loads of food. It saved us for those few weeks. It really saved us. Especially over the school holidays - I was having sleepless nights worrying about how I was going to buy things. The support took so much weight off my mind.”
“It’s a constant juggle of trying to figure out a way to make my money stretch”
“The cost-of-living feels evil right now. I have access to universal credit at the moment which helps with my rent, but the system has to change.
“I’ve worked in my job for 10 years now. I love my job and the people I work with, and luckily my boss is very supportive and gives me extra hours when I need them. However, when I work extra hours, my universal credit payments get lower - so at the end of the month, I’m no better off no matter what I do. It’s a constant juggle of trying to figure out a way to make my money stretch so I can support myself and the kids.
“The system around free school meals right now is also an absolute joke. Violet isn’t able to get free school meals at the moment because I earn about £40 over the threshold. It means that every week, I have to put between £20 and £30 on her lunch account so she can have a hot meal at school. Sometimes, that might be the only hot meal she gets in the day, especially if I’m working evenings and don’t have the time to prepare something at home. It’s costing me an absolute fortune. I think the government really need to look into free school meals to make them more accessible and fairer.
“The worst part about cost of living at the moment is not being able to do much with my kids. It breaks my heart every single day. I definitely feel the pressure from other kids and parents at school who are going on day trips and going bowling and things like that… I would love to do those things, and I feel so bad and guilty that I can’t always afford to.
“I think the kids feel the pressure from other kids at school too. Others make assumptions about who they are because we don’t have a lot of money as a family. They notice the things we don’t have. Then I have to pick up the pieces and it’s just overall really difficult.
“We do go to Devon with the kids every year which they love. We’re lucky to have those memories and the kids always enjoy it. But even that costs me at least £1,000 - and if we didn’t have a payment plan then even that small trip wouldn’t be possible.
“While things are still difficult sometimes, I can’t thank Kathy and Lorna enough for how they’ve helped our family. The support they’ve given us has been amazing - and they’re an absolute credit to Barnardo’s.”
*Names have been changed to protect the identities of the family
Get support
Need a helping hand? We’ve got you. From parental advice to support in your local community, we can meet you where you're at.
How to bring healthier food into communities with food partnerships
Too many young people find it difficult to get the food they need in the places they live. Becca (24), Hamaam (19), Rachel (24), Kyson (22), and Ola (20) from our Co-op and Barnardo’s Youth Advisory Group explain how food partnerships can help make it easier for young people to get nutritious food in their communities.
“The support in place at the moment just isn’t fitting with the degree of poverty people are experiencing.”
Sonia, a mum of two boys, who we’ve supported through our Cumbria LINK service, shares her experience of poverty and explains why she thinks the government should do more to support families who are struggling to make ends meet.