A debt advice centre run by a coalition of local churches is calling on the Government to ‘look again’ at the reality of the destitution experienced by many people in South East Cornwall.
CAP, together with thousands of its supporters, has called upon the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the incoming Government to take decisive action to tackle UK poverty.
Research carried out by the Joesph Rowntree Foundation shows that of the 14 million people in the UK living in poverty, eight million of these are in a household where at least one person is working.
Destitution is described as a form of extreme poverty where people are living without one or more of the six basic essentials - shelter, food, clothing and footwear, heating, lighting and basic toiletries. In the UK, it’s estimated that 1.5 million people live in destitution.
Darren Arulvasagam is Liskeard and Looe CAP Debt Centre manager. He said: ‘It’s just not right that in a just and compassionate society, so many people in the local area are going to bed cold and hungry, unable to afford the most basic essentials.
‘It’s about time we all did something to challenge it.
‘Meeting clients in desperate need of help who have been squeezed by a system that is stacked against them is the most challenging part of my job as a Debt Centre Manager.
‘However, the best part of my job is being able to give them genuine hope that we can help them, and that this help is completely free of charge. For many of our clients this has been life changing. Our message is that the system can be redesigned and that small changes can have widespread positive effects.’
There is still time to sign the Look Again petition at http://capuk.org/takeaction