Support quality, independent, local journalism…that matters

From just £1 a month you can help fund our work – and use our website without adverts. Become a member today

“I think we’re living in really desperate times aren’t we?” said Byron James, retail and reuse manager of the social enterprise, the Furniture Revival, as he looked around the large warehouse space usually reserved for second-hand sofas, fridges and bric-a-brac.

“There are people with a lot of vulnerability in this time – a lot of need,” he added. “I think any support, any advice that can be given is critical really.”

This was why normal business had been suspended. Instead, eight tables set out into a horseshoe shape covered with gingham, red and green tablecloths marked the “Cost of Living Roadshow” – organised by Caerphilly County Borough Council.

Here, on November 23 in Rhymney, organisations such as AgeCymru, the Parent Network, Platfform and Caerphilly County Borough Council’s came to give advice to people during the cost-of-living crisis.

The only problem was, an hour into the event and there wasn’t yet anyone to give advice to. A sign, perhaps, that it was 11am on a Wednesday, of the bad weather putting people off or possibly of the way people feel about admitting they are struggling. 

“It’s difficult to acknowledge that you’re struggling,” added Byron, of the obvious lack of attendees. 

Events like these, however, show that help is out there if people need it. Platfform, a mental health and social change charity, was one of the organisations on hand to help. 

“We do crisis work,” said Darren Lewis, a caseworker for Platfform in the north of Caerphilly. “Anywhere where anybody’s struggling they can come to us,” he said, adding that they can help people with finance, budgeting and tenancy issues. 

Sometimes it’s also about pointing people in the right direction, Darren said: “There [are] probably avenues we can help them with or if not we can…help them access the most appropriate service.” This could include food banks or making people aware of food redistributor FareShare Cymru.

Caseworkers like Darren, who can be found at events like these and other drop-in services around the county borough, are finding that there is one thing people are really struggling with at the moment. 

“It’s finance. Struggling to manage,” he said. Statistics reflect this, as from October to November this year, 91% of adults in Great Britain stated that they had seen an increase in their living costs, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Platfform themselves are finding it hard to find solutions. “The way things are going now, there isn’t a great deal we can help people with,” said Darren. “A lot of people we see now, what they’re living on, the margins are so tightly squeezed now. You haven’t got many solutions at the moment as far as budgeting aspects go.”

But they still make sure they check all routes and options available, according to Darren. “All we can ensure is that they are accessing what they are entitled to.”

The same can be said for the new cost-of-living team from Caerphilly County Borough Council which also exists to help residents access what they are entitled to. 

Jo Thomas, who works for the team and was at the event, said: “We can try and make sure that everybody’s getting their cost of living payments that perhaps they don’t know about.”

The team has funding for 12 months and operates throughout the county borough. It is possible, however, that this may be extended if there is “a need for services” and this could be the case as there are many challenging months ahead.

Indeed, people are already feeling the bite. Using less fuel at home is already one of the ways people are reducing their outgoings because of the cost-of-living crisis, with 63% of people reducing their use of gas and electricity in November, according to the ONS.

Things could still get worse, according to Jo. “A lot of people haven’t reached that cold, cold bit yet,” she said, adding that there may soon come a time when people have to put their heating on and so will then have to forgo other things.

If this happens, the cost-of-living team will be on hand to help. “I think we will have a lot of reaching out,” said Jo. 

Their help is wide-ranging and can be practical. “So you[‘ve] obviously got a lot of people who can’t read and write, probably haven’t got the digital skills so then we can do [their] applications for them,” she said.

If people are passing they are maybe more likely to access such services, according to Jo, who explained that at the job centre in Bargoed recently there was “person, after person, after person”. It was at this event the team helped a man who had not had electricity for five weeks after his meter broke. 

“He was living like a homeless person,” said Jo. “And because he didn’t have electric, he couldn’t have gas, because he didn’t have electric powering his boiler.”

The team followed up with a welfare check and saw just how much of a difference they can make if people just access their services. 

“It is it is good for some people,” Jo said of the help the team can offer. “It’s just whether everybody knows about these things to be able to come.”

There’s another benefit too, according to the Furniture Revival manager, Byron and that is that these events can act as a one-stop shop for cost-of-living support. 

“It’s not like you’ve got to travel throughout the whole of the borough,” he said, adding that people need to know what’s on offer from the local authority. 

“There is a bigger group of support. It’s not just little boxes here there and everywhere,” he said. 

Help from Caerphilly County Borough Council can be accessed by contacting the Caerphilly Cares team at 01443 811490 or caerphillycares@caerphilly.gov.uk. 

Platfform’s Caerphilly branch can be contacted at 01495 245802 or by emailing connect@platfform.org. 

The Furniture Revival can be found at Unit 21 Lawn Industrial Estate, Lawn Terrace, Rhymney, Tredegar NP22 5PW.