Revive Winter Aid Launched To Combat Deepening Cost Of Living Crisis
Revive Healthy Living Centre in Chaddesden has launched a special Winter Aid initiative to ensure some of the most disadvantaged people in the city can prepare hot food as well as light and heat their homes in the coming autumn and winter months.
Thanks to the generosity of individuals, groups and businesses, Revive has bought a wide range of equipment such as electric slow cookers, air fryers, insulated kettles and sandwich toasters; shopping vouchers; winter duvets and electric throws; energy efficient LED light bulbs; pre-payment energy meter top up cards and heated throws for elderly and disabled people living with a life limiting or terminal illness.
These will be distributed to people identified as in need in Chaddesden, Derwent, Spondon and Oakwood during September and October.
Other deliveries will include boxes of fresh food distributed by the Food 4 Thought Alliance and cooking on a budget recipe cards which have been prepared by employees at the EOS facility at Rolls-Royce plc as part of their support for the initiative.
Revive trustee and Derby City councillor Martin Rawson explained: “We have already seen the devastating impact that the cost of living crisis is having on people in the area that we serve.
“With energy prices set to rise further in the coming weeks and temperatures starting to fall as we approach autumn and winter – many more people of all ages and circumstances are going to face miserable and potentially life-threatening conditions.
“We already know about people of all ages from working parents to pensioners who are having to make the daily choice between eating or heating and even turning on the light switch.
“People with chronic illnesses such as cancer are in danger of effectively become prisoners in their own homes as they need to keep their body temperatures regulated so stay under a duvet with multiple layers on rather than turning on the heating.
“We have also heard from families whose children go to bed in their school uniforms and winter coats just to stay warm at night.
“Our goal through Revive Winter Aid is therefore to ensure individuals and families have the means to put hot food on the table, stay warm and light their homes.
“We also wanted to make the support more sustainable – providing the means to cook food rather than just supplying food bank parcels and help people to reduce their bills to help with their weekly budget.
“For example slow cookers cost 1p an hour; heating the person with an electric throw rather than the room saves up to £350 a year and each LED bulb uses £9 less electricity a year.”
Among the supporters for Revive Winter Aid is the wellbeing committee at Rolls-Royce plc EOS facility in Derby.
The team there have been long-term supporters of Revive, including the annual Secret Santa appeal, and secured funding through Unite the union to be able to buy more than 20 slow cookers for the project.
EOS facility technician Iain Fairnington explained: “The EOS workforce is made up of local people and we have always been keen to support an organisation that gives back to the local community that we live amongst.
“The energy crisis will be affecting everyone in the coming years but we hope that this Revive initiative will help people cope a bit better with the challenges ahead and allow them to be able to eat and stay warm instead of prioritising one or the other.”
The initiative was welcomed by local woman Sue (66) who is one of the many people that Revive Supports.
Sue had to give up her minimum wage job nearly three year ago when she was diagnosed with lymphoma and needed aggressive chemotherapy.
Revive helped her to claim the benefits she was entitled to and is now in remission but the cancer treatment has been left with heart failure and nerve damage so she is in constant pain and not able to work.
“I feel the cold really badly and it’s a constant struggle to keep the gas and electricity meters topped up.
“I feel very anxious about how bad things will get in the winter and I always think twice about buying anything or even whether I need to eat a meal.
“Now that I have retired and I don’t get pension credit, I have just about enough to cover the mortgage and bills so there is very little left to buy food or replace anything that breaks.
“The support that I get from Revive is invaluable and I am very grateful for the extra support this winter with things like the electric throw.
“My family are also struggling even though they all work – particularly with the price of petrol and it has been very hard not to see my grandchildren as much as I like as they are having to cut down on car journeys other than for work.
“These are really scary times and I know there are so many other people worse off than I am.”
For more information about Revive Winter Aid and ways that you can support the charity, please email Martin Rawson at reviveaid@revivecentre.com