Experiences from the frontline: responding to the financial crisis of COVID-19
Share your stories of helping others through financial implications of COVID-19 and make the case for more support from the government.
21 April 2020
We know that small and local charities across England and Wales are at the forefront of responding to the wide-reaching effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Even in more normal times, charities are doing vital work such as supporting people when they face mental health challenges, helping someone to access safety from abuse or find a secure place to call home.
During the coronavirus crisis, all of this work is more important than ever, as charities are seeing a rise in demand as the effects of the virus and lockdown play out in their local communities – and those who are dealing with these issues already are often the most acutely affected. Charities are finding ways to adapt their services to difficult conditions, providing support in new ways so that no one is left behind.
However, we are also hearing that, on top of this already vital work, charities are increasingly finding themselves spending more time and resources simply ensuring that the people they support have the basic essentials to survive through financial crisis.
This might be through:
- providing food parcels or other emergency items
- ensuring people can access the benefits that they are entitled to
- connecting them to sources of immediate financial support.
We want to hear from you:
If your charity is providing this kind of emergency support to people facing financial crisis, we want to hear from you.
The Foundation is joining the Children’s Society and other organisations in collecting examples of providing emergency support for those in financial crisis, which will be fed into conversations with government and decision-makers, to make the case for more support. If you’re helping people (of any age) facing financial crisis, you can share your experiences using this form created by the Children’s Society.
We hope that this will be a way for you to highlight the issues that you are facing in responding to financial crisis, in order to influence systemic change on this issue.
