Cost of Living

The cost of living crisis means people across the UK are struggling to make ends meet – but help IS available. You can be part of the solution by spreading the word.

Here are downloadable resources & links for you to use with anyone you meet, accurate as of November 2023.

If you want to help people, a great place to start is this presentation from the Central England Law Centre & Feeding Coventry: How to spot & assist someone who may need help.

Food and warmth

• Where to get warm meals & food parcels in Coventry
• Social supermarkets in Coventry. These are membership supermarkets in community centres & churches. Members pay around £5 and receive about £20-£25 of food.
• Warm spaces in Coventry & beyond.
• Clothing Coventry offers free parcels of clothes.
• Feeding Coventry’s leaflet for food & help.

Financial help

There are lots of benefits & grants available for individuals. However, many people don’t know how to claim them – or even that they exist.

• How to help when someone you meet is worried about money: a straightforward guide from the Central England Law Centre.
• You can help people apply for direct donations via Acts 435.
• Small trusts offer grants for people in need. Examples include Fund for Human Need (for anyone), Smallwood Trust (for women), Soothern & Craner (for girls / young women in Coventry), The Samuel Smith’s & Spencer’s charity (for older people in Coventry / Bedworth).
• Pensioners can apply for Pension Credit – £1.7 billion is unclaimed each year. Pension Credit unlocks various other support for pensioners in need.

Mental health support

Mental health support is vital in difficult times.

• How to set up a mental health support group. This guide draws from from what we at HOPE Coventry have learned through setting up and running mental health support groups.
• Secular telephone counselling is available from letskeeptalking.co.uk; Christian telephone support is available via Premier Lifeline. In-person or Zoom counselling is offered in Coventry by The Light House.
• Offer a Kintsugi Hope course in your church.

More help within Coventry and beyond

• 1 page printable fact sheet for financial help that’s available
• Other charities in Coventry & Warwickshire who can help
• Coventry Council’s Cost of Living page details lots of support available through them.
• Diocese of Coventry advice group for churches helps churches that are struggling to navigate the pressures from rising costs.
• Cut energy use in your church or community building – advice from the Diocese of Coventry.

Donate to help others

There are many ways you can invest or donate to help people who are struggling currently. Here’s two suggestions:

• Hope into Action: Coventry house the homeless in Coventry & Warwickshire. They support churches & individuals to invest their funds in property. The properties are rented out to homeless people or people at risk of homelessness. You retain ownership of your investment.
• Christians Against Poverty Coventry offer budgeting skills, emotional support & freedom from debt to families in need.