Gloucestershire poverty charities in £100,000 appeal

Heidi said she turned to a charity for help after receiving unexpected high electricity bills

"It's a really good feeling to be able to come here and speak to someone, it takes quite a lot of pressure off you."

Heidi is one of many who use GL11, a Cam-based charity, one of many the Gloucestershire Community Foundation (GCF) is trying to save.

It wants to raise £100,000 by Christmas for charities in the county that support people living in poverty.

According to GCF's new Poverty Hurts campaign, half of local charities are unsure if they'll survive into 2024.

Some are now turning people away and closing their doors as a result of rising demand and a lack of funding, GCF added.

GL11 helped Michael Taylor understand technology better

'41,000 kids in poverty'

GL11 provides support with subsidised food and financial advice, and is a place to come for help.

Heidi told the BBC that she had received unexpectedly high gas bills and turned to the charity for help.

She said: "I've come here and we've been able to speak to someone from energy or from electric people, and they've given us the number for us to be able to call to get someone to come out and check the meters.

"It's a really good feeling to be able to come here and speak to someone, it takes quite a lot of pressure off you."

Michael Taylor told the BBC the charity had opened up the digital world for him.

He said: "If the hub didn't exist I don't know what I would have done. Basically I've been able to get into computers and IT which I would have had a lot of trouble [with] otherwise."

Talitha Nelson said 'vital funding is needed' for charities to keep going

GCF also said more than 41,000 children in Gloucestershire are living in poverty - double the number since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

The charity said it's seeing a rising number of these children even in households where adults are employed.

'Vital funding needed'

GCF CEO Talitha Nelson said: "They [the charities] are struggling to keep lights on themselves but actually the queues of people are increasing, sometimes three or fourfold.

"So they need money. They need funding, absolute vital funding to keep going.

"We cannot lose our community hubs and our charities that are often the only place that people can turn to."

One of the aims of the Poverty Hurts campaign is to ask people who don't need their heating allowance from the Government to donate it to the fund.

Ms Nelson: "We've called it 'donate the rebate'. If you are fortunate enough not to need this £500 - it's not means tested, if you're over 65 you'll receive it.

"If you want that money to get to people that really desperately need it, please pass it on to our Poverty Hurts appeal."

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