Ismail Bahriyeli, head of carers and community at Age UK Islington

“THIS is the worst I’ve ever seen it” warned a boss at one of Isligton’s major charities as they saw demand for some of their services increase by 100 per cent.

Ismail Bahriyeli, head of carers and community at Age UK Islington, described how the massive rise in need for help in the form of grants and energy discounts had left workers turning to their “work buddy” to talk through their distress.

Mr Bahriyeli described how some of the calls that workers on the front line of support are receiving are “very disturbing” as people are facing up to the reality of not being able to feed their children or pay their energy bills.

He said: “Some of our staff members who are on the helpline are being so affected by the callers that you’ve got to be a robot not to be affected by some of the stories. Because this started with the Covid pandemic we’ve built something into our organisation so that everyone has got a buddy they can turn to.”

Describing how callers are receiving higher demand than ever before, with some of the worst stories they have ever heard, he said it can be upsetting.

“It’s not an overstatement – a lot of the calls we’re getting are from people having to make some really hard choices. It is the worst I’ve ever seen it,” he warned.

“A very distressing call that came through last week was from a single mother of three young children. She didn’t have enough food to give her children. It’s very disturbing when you’re working on the helpline and you’re listening to some of the issues people are presenting with.”

He said that while government support had got through in part, such as the energy price cap which should see people’s bills lowered by £67 a month from October, more could be done.

Singling out the example of a change to over-60s travel cards, which used to be 24 hours a day before the pandemic but now are restricted to use after 9am, he said some unpaid carers are now being forced to pay for their morning travel.

Age UK Islington is part of the Islington Giving Crisis Appeal, and Mr Bahriyeli said the money was never more needed.

“We’re delivering some grants to the most vulnerable but that’s just being swallowed up at the moment in terms of crisis grants because we’re identifying these individuals who are really struggling. Looking at their bank statements they are well overdrawn and they’ve got demands coming through from their energy providers.

“Everything is just being swallowed up because there is such demand for these initiatives.”

However, he said it was heartening to see the community rallying round and said that was the best way of getting though the hardships ahead.

He said: “We go through disasters – the reality is as a community, as a collective, we do find a way of getting through this stuff and that’s what we’re doing currently – working with other organisations and grant-givers and looking at ways we can support the most vulnerable.

“We’ve done it for years and somehow we’ll get through this as well.”