Homeless charity sees surge in people needing help

inHope saw demand surge during the pandemic

The cost of living crisis has not gone away, a Bristol homelessness charity is warning, as demand for its services continues to grow.

The Christian charity called inHope, which tackles homelessness, hunger and addiction, says it has seen a surge in people "from all sorts of backgrounds" needing to use food banks.

It is calling for volunteers and donations over the winter months so it can meet the increase in demand it has seen over the past few years.

"The cost of living crisis has faded out of the news a little, but it is still really affecting those that find it least easy to cope," a spokesman said.

There are more that 8,600 households facing severe food insecurity in Bristol, according to city council data, meaning they have no food at all left.

In addition there are about 1,500 homeless families or single people living in temporary accommodation - a figure that has jumped 87% since the start of the pandemic.

Steve Baker, inHope's development and relationships manager, told BBC Bristol: "During the pandemic we just saw a huge increase in the number of people needing help and that has not come down since.

"We see not just those who are out of work or living with a disability, but people from all sorts of backgrounds needing to use food banks and that is still quite shocking."

inHope is always seeking volunteers

inHope provides hot meals at its Wild Goose Day Centre, a well as a laundry facilities, showers and practical advice and support to help people rebuild their lives.

It also has its Spring of Hope women's shelter, a food bank and runs life skills courses for people in addiction recovery.

Mr Baker said the sustained high level of demand combined with "a relatively difficult environment for fundraising" was a problem hitting charities all over Bristol.

But he said inHope had been "blown away by how generous people were" during its Big Give appeal which ran between 3 and 10 December.

inHope runs a women's night shelter

It raised £62,000 in donations from the public, which was then boosted by philanthropists and foundations, taking its total to £112,000.

In the new year, the charity will be focusing on "joining up" its different services around homelessness, hunger and addiction.

"It is so someone can walk through any of our different doors and be able to access all of that support together - that's what we are trying to work towards," Mr Baker said.

The charity always needs volunteers.

"If people want to volunteer, if they want to use their time meaningfully maybe as a new year's resolution, then get in touch," he said.