500 together

We have just made donation 75 after a member got in touch to tell us about a man she is supporting.  We cannot share all the details of his situation, but this was a donation we had no doubt we wanted to make. K is a father of 4.  He continues to suffer with some mental health difficulties after the death of his mother and one of his daughters who  died in the most tragic of circumstances.   We cannot share the details, but the stress involved has left him unable to work , cope independently and navigate the system to apply for appropriate support.  Thankfully now he does have a support worker to help him to apply for benefits (although the wait is still a long one) and he is receiving weekly provision from the local food bank.  He has outstanding bills to pay and his situation has become really overwhelming for him and so he can never catch up or get in front.   He would love to be able to spend more time with his other three children who normally reside with their mother, to do this

Recent events mean we are looking further afield with donation 74 and sending our support and solidarity to the people in Ukraine via a donation to the Disasters Emergency Committee.    We hope you will agree that this unprecedented situation merits a slight change to our normal policy and that 500 together should add our contribution to the massive efforts taking place to aid those facing such unimaginable terror and hardship. The DEC brings together 15 leading UK aid charities working on the ground to provide food and water, warm clothes and blankets, medicine and medical equipment for the sick and injured.  https://www.dec.org.uk/appeal/ukraine-humanitarian-appeal It is hard to watch and listen to news reports just now, seeing the brutal attacks on the people of Ukraine.    The need is unimaginable and whilst we appreciate our £500 is a drop in the ocean, it will help people in this humanitarian disaster. We stand ready to support families who might be nominated in the coming weeks

Donation 73 Our member told us about a family she works with who needed our help: 'This lovely lady is originally from the Czech Republic and has been living in Darnall for over 10 years. She has a partner and 4 children and another baby on the way.   All  EU citizens settled in the UK before the year 2020 were required to apply for settled status before June 2021. This family has applied before the deadline, however their passports and birth certificates got lost in the post on the way to the Home Office and were never found. For this reason they have their Settlement application still pending.   Because of this situation and with the new rules following Brexit, they have now had their Universal Credit stopped and the whole family only have the child benefit to live on. They are behind on paying rent and can’t afford to buy food or a formula for their child. On some days the children cannot even attend school as the family has no money for bus fare.   Not having valid identity doc