Islington Giving’s Lisa Robinson, left, and Sarah Benioff, right, with Gill Carter and Ken Kanu from Help on Your Doorstep

A CRISIS appeal will be launched today (Friday) by a charity trying and support people being pushed into devastating poverty after spiralling costs left them unable to afford heating, rent and even food.

Lisa Robinson, a director at Islington Giving, the first giving scheme in the country since copied across London, warned that without help this winter would be impossible for many to manage.

Ms Robinson called on those who live life a little more comfortably than others to consider “donating the rebate” – in reference to the £400 the government is giving to every household this winter to cushion the rising cost of energy – or giving as much as they could afford.

She said: “Our idea was effectively we need to try and raise as much money, as we can from those who might be able to spare some money to then grant that out to those individuals who are really kind of fluctuating above and below that poverty line, kind of all the time, because this, you know, the energy bills alone are plunging people into unmanageable costs that then will spiral out.

“I think it’s about giving where you live, so it’s very much about supporting your neighbours who might not be in as comfortable a position as you and in many cases, actually, who are in a really, really uncomfortable position.”

The Islington Crisis Appeal follows on from an anonymous single donor who gave the Angel-based charity £20,000 last month to help support some of the borough’s most at risk from rising costs in both fuel and food prices over the winter.
Islington Giving began life 12 years ago and is based at charity The Cripplegate Foundation’s headquarters in Elliott’s Place. The charitable work it does is completely funded by private donations – usually from individuals and big businesses within the borough – while its costs are paid for by Cripplegate.

Ms Robinson pointed out that while Islington is often regarded as a wealthy borough, it was already one of the most unequal places to live in the UK before the cost of living crisis struck, with 43 per cent of children and a third of over-60s living in poverty. In Islington today there are now more than 11,500 families living in fuel poverty, and 27,400 people in households receiving benefits.

“There are people who are really struggling, week to week, day to day,” she added, describing how outreach charity Help on Your Doorstep referrals to Islington Food Bank had already doubled since last year, “and that’s before we’ve even hit winter”. Similarly, Citizens Advice Islington has seen enquiries shoot up by 20 per cent.

She added: “We are the national picture, in local, you know: we’re talking about people who are choosing between heating and eating – it’s a fact – and there are people who are struggling, and struggling to make those choices. There is huge need.”

Some of the starkest crises will be faced by private renters who have no protection from landlords free to name their price on rents or ask for six month deposits upfront. Similarly the elderly will be some of the hardest hit by the energy hikes and could face a winter of sitting in cold homes with little respite, she warned.

“Could people die? It’s possible, I think it’s possible,” she said.

It is not just individuals at risk from the rising costs either, she added, suggesting that many voluntary agencies, from food banks to community centres, were running their organisations in the face of staggering increases in cost. The possibility that some could be forced to close or run out of food cannot be ruled out, she said.

She added: “Our own voluntary partners are also experiencing the same energy prices rises. So those who are running community centres, who are running drop-ins, who are running physical buildings are also seeing their prices go through the roof. Will they run out of food? No one is saying that at the moment, but never say never because we just don’t know.”

To donate to Islington Crisis Appeal, go to: https://islingtongiving.org.uk/lp/islington-crisis-appeal/