Christmas struggles worsen as Blackburn faced difficult lockdown year

The town of Blackburn has been hard hit by Covid-19, with many areas having been under some form of restrictions for most of the year.

This has added more struggles for those who have found themselves unemployed, struggling to make ends meet and some people even finding themselves homeless, meaning charities and not-for-profit companies like Nightsafe and Secret Santa CIC have had to adapt how they work to continue helping those in need who are struggling more than ever this year.

Community interest companies like Secret Santa are doing their bit this year as they are sending out 1,000 sacks of presents for children who would otherwise wouldn't receive any Christmas presents this year.

When the company began work in for Christmas 2017, they were told they would need 700 sacks for children, but with 300 more children being recognised as financially struggling by council services, poverty in the borough is worsening, putting more strain on public services and charities to ensure that families have food on the table and a roof over their head.

Founder Phil Boulding said: "For Christmas 2020 we need around 7,000 presents – that is huge! But so is the need in Blackburn with Darwen with nearly 40% of families living in child poverty meaning the need for Secret Santa has never been higher."

While Lancashire remains under Tier 3 restrictions, meaning hospitality businesses which would normally be seeing their busiest month remain closed, the situation is not set to improve by the new year for families who are on universal credit or being furloughed.

As many wet-pubs have been closed since October and restaurants closed other than for take-away since the start of November, there are now fears that people could be made redundant if pubs have to close their doors for good, which could see even more families on the breadline.

Phil added: "This year there will be families that have never been on the breadline before, through Covid-19 some will have lost their jobs or been furloughed on lower wages.

"So many who have been just about managing before are now not able to “manage” at all and people that six months ago were quite comfortable that have lost their jobs now find for the first time how awful things can be when you don’t have enough to go around."

Recent research has been worrying for Blackburn with Darwen, with data showing that the borough has the highest levels of child poverty in the North West, with a rise from 30.9% to 39.1%, as well as having the sixth highest level of child hunger in the UK.

In the past, low incomes in some areas were counteracted by cheaper housing costs, but in the last five years, the cost of running a home continues to rise and for some families, once their housing costs are paid, they do not have enough money to meet their children’s needs and are left no option but to turn to crisis help, like food banks, and are increasingly reliant on free school meals.

Another company who have seen a surge in demand this year is Community & Business Partners CIC who have been delivering food parcels and launched an initiative called "waste not want not" which gives away fresh food which the supermarkets would ordinarily throw away.

The not-for-profit company has seen more families coming to them that are struggling who have never had to rely on a public service for food before, and CEO Amanda Meachin has said recently, more people who work in pubs have been coming forward for help.

Amanda said: "The demand for our food has gone through the roof. We usually have forward orders and requests for food for about a month in advance but we are not taking requests for April.

"Usually in November we would have people requesting Christmas packages and in December we would have people asking what they can have after the holiday period.

"We are now getting people asking when the next time there is availability for a family box and we are saying April and they are asking us to put them down for one."

Community & Business Partners CIC are working with Blackburn with Darwen council to deliver food for the next three months to families who are struggling. In the partnership, if Amanda receives a call about a family who needs an emergency food package, she will tell the council who will refer this family to another charitable organisation which will help.

One of the biggest Blackburn with Darwen charities, Nightsafe have been working throughout lockdown and even though are having to operate at a reduced capacity to ensure social distancing measures are being followed, the demand is as high as ever this year as the festive season approaches.

CEO of Nightsafe Jan has said that although it is awful for young people to be homeless around the festive season, to her, it heartbreaking no matter what time of the year it is.

Jan said: "There is no good time to be homeless. It's painful all year, it doesn't make any difference if it's Christmas because live in a multicultural society and families weren't able to celebrate Eid.

"I'm not saying it isn't worse over Christmas, it is for some young people but nevertheless there is no good time to be homeless and it doesn't make any difference if its the 24th December of the 1st June."

The services that Nightsafe are able to offer have been hit hard by Covid-19, with group employability sessions being cancelled and their night-shelter being closed for a long period of the year.

The Blackburn based charity assist people aged between 16-25 who are homeless to help them find housing, employment and help them learn life skills including using a washing machine, cooking and creating a CV.

Despite these difficulties, the charity have continued to work with young people and now have four housing schemes across the borough, housing 20 people aged 16-25 to help them get on their feet.

Jan continued: "Our young people, like all other young people, have been listening to the guidance. Everybody who comes to our door who is accessing our day centre are very mindful and have been very respectful of maintaining social distancing and making sure that they follow the rules.

"I don't think the numbers are any less but what we are experiencing is a lot of phone calls and contact via social media with young people asking for advice."

As Christmas time approaches, charities always see an increase in demand, but for charities in Blackburn with Darwen, the demand has been higher than ever this year as more families are struggling during the Covid-19 pandemic.