Heat or Eat?

Written by Kita Berman van Heerden, Challenge:ELBA Project Manager

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Cherifa Atoussi from Account3 to chat about how the cost-of-living crisis has been impacting the women of the Tower Hamlets Women’s Network (THWN). This group is part of the LBTH Equality Hub and meets quarterly to discuss various topics. Account3 works with ethnically diverse and marginalised local women, to find solutions to issues which adversely impact their lives. They do this by providing advice, support, resources, and education to local people using a community development framework to build local capacity and resilience. The group is made up of Tower Hamlets residents, many of them mums and 89% of whom come from Black and Ethnic minority backgrounds. Account3 has been a community partner that ELBA has worked with for many years, particularly with the annual Toy Appeal.

Less work, higher levels of anxiety and loss of sleep; sound familiar? Several women in the group discussed how difficult they were finding the current crisis and the same battles from the pandemic were just as apparent, particularly for Ethnically diverse mums. When asked to rate how worried the members of the group are about the cost-of-living crisis on a scale of 0-10, almost the whole group rated their answers 8+, with many stating “I’m very worried”, “I can barely afford the essentials” and “it’s triggering my anxiety and leading to poor mental and physical health”. Some of the sacrifices that the women shared include skipping meals, having their children shower at local swimming pools, spending a few hours at public libraries to keep warm after school and one woman even cut her hair short to save on washing essentials and water bills. Cherifa shared with me how one member is a single mother and has 6 children to support, 5 of whom have additional needs; requiring lifesaving equipment that all need to be charged daily, leading to huge increases in energy bills. One of the most difficult things the women agreed on was their inability to financially help friends and family who were in the same position as a direct result of their own struggles.

Despite the heartbreaking reality that these women are facing, they are resilient and are finding solutions together as a collective. Expressing their solidarity and being there for each other, the THWN is supporting the women to build upon the mutual aid that was developed during the pandemic. Sharing tips on how they can safely reduce the cost of energy bills, the women are caring for one another in this dire time.

In the lead-up to this year’s festive Toy Appeal, ELBA is committed to providing toys to families and children across Islington and east London. However, we are also aware of the immense impact that the cost-of-living crisis has had on these same families and as such, we are responding in kind. From providing energy credits, digital devices, emergency packs full of toiletries and household items and more, we are working with our respective contacts to ensure we’re doing all we can.

If you’re interested in supporting the Toy Appeal or our cost-of-living initiatives this year, please contact Kita Berman van Heerden at kita.bermanvanheerden@elba-1.org.uk for more information or visit our Just Giving Page.

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