Displaying items by tag: support for vulnerable

Shelter states that two-thirds of families living in temporary accommodation (TA) have been there for over a year; some families have lived in TA for more than ten years. TA is usually overcrowded and of very poor quality. Children share beds with siblings or parents, with little to no space for belongings. Youngsters have no room to play safely or even learn to walk. Older children have no privacy, nowhere to do homework or have friends over. Parents struggle to feed their children nourishing meals without suitable cooking facilities, relying on expensive, unhealthy takeaways or what they can heat up with a kettle or a microwave if they have one. Children attend school tired, or late, or hungry; many travel long distances from their TA. Families are cut off from support networks. Families live in limbo. They move frequently. Uncertainty and insecurity hang over them. Their children’s mental health suffers.

Big Zuu, a TV cook and rapper, has discovered how a simple hub to distribute surplus food has grown into a national movement bringing communities together. He spent a morning at the Afghanistan and Central Asian Association which supports refugees and asylum-seekers. It is one of many places benefiting from a community fridge network called Hubbub. The Co-op and local businesses give surplus food that would otherwise be thrown away. People come and take free food home, watch demonstrations on how to use spices, berries, etc, receive English lessons, professional support and guidance, and even join a community sports club. 250 new venues funded by Co-op and Hubbub are up and running; they plan for at least 500, which would save 34 million meals from going to waste annually. Zuu said when people have a base to come to, they become involved in each other’s lives and help each other.