Caseworkers deliver life-changing help for young family

Deyra fled her home in Somalia 22 years ago after her father and several members of her family were killed in the civil conflict.

Now a mother-of-two, she lives in Hoxton and struggles to make ends meet. She can’t read or write and suffers from a health condition that causes continual pain.

Until three months ago, she lived in temporary accommodation that was so damp, her mattresses, bedding and clothes were covered in black mould.  She and her boys, aged eight and five, have since moved into permanent accommodation but they only have two beds, and they didn’t have a sofa.

They’re among the families being helped by Hackney Foodbank.  In addition to providing emergency food, their caseworkers are helping Deyra on to brighter times.  Before the food bank intervened, Deyra was incorrectly being charged a bedroom tax for one of her sons and had accrued large debts.

Those debts have since been cleared and Deyra no longer has to pay the extra bedroom tax. The food bank has also negotiated a Council Tax reduction of £1,386 and helped set up an affordable repayment plan for the tax she owes.

She said: “The food bank’s caseworker Lara is so kind, she explains everything clearly and goes with me to my appointments. I can’t read or write and rely heavily on friends to help me, but with Lara everything is becoming better.

“My older son is autistic, and he doesn’t eat any of the same things as we do.  It is hard to afford food, particularly during the school holidays. My son has to sleep in my bed because we can’t afford one.

“Living in Somalia was so difficult. I was alone and I felt bad all the time. But now I have my children, I play with my them and they help me to forget my problems.”

Hackney Foodbank got Deyra a grant for a sofa, a cooker, a TV and to cover the cost of moving.

Each year Hackney Foodbank’s caseworkers help around 500 families on to better situations; supporting with applications for benefits and grants for furniture and referring on to an expert debt advisor. More than half of them never need to return for emergency food because their situations improve so much.