The Cost of Living Crisis is affecting us all, but it is affecting the economically challenged and vulnerable the most.
According to recent research, up to 3 million people in the UK who are behind with at least one bill have experienced a mental health problem in the last two years.
There is an urgent and growing need for immediate financial support to be channelled to those who need it most.
Targeted financial support for those charities and voluntary organisations that are on the frontline of supporting people through this crisis is vital.
The Association of Chief Executives in Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO) has called on the government to urgently deliver meaningful financial support to those in greatest need, directly to households and through the benefits systems that already exist to provide that support. They have produced a joint statement Cost of living crisis: joint statement – ACEVO
We have posted some useful translated resources around benefit and debt advice on our website https://sussexinterpreting.org.uk/service-users/
We have provided free interpreters to people attending advice sessions organised by the Network of International Women looking at reducing utility bills, checking benefit entitlements and explaining how to access grants and food banks. We have promoted these with translated SMS messages, targeted to community groups and SIS Service Users.
Brighton & Hove Citizen Advice Bureau offers guidance and a list of Specialist Advice Services https://www.cabrightonhove.org/
Money and Mental Health offer support to vulnerable customers https://www.moneyandmentalhealth.org/supporting-vulnerable-customers/
Brighton and Hove Energy Services Cooperative offer advice on how to keep a warm home and save money on energy bills https://bhesco.co.uk/fuel-poverty-energy-bills-brighton-hove
We have also acted to support our Self Employed Sessional Linguists by increasing the sessional rate for Face to Face Community Interpreting by 20%.
We increased our travel rate from £6 an hour to £8 and hour and will increase this further to £10 per hour from 1st September 2023.
Trustees have acted decisively to retain and support our employees by increasing pay by 12.7% from April 2023.
We are determined to do all we can to support our Service Users, Interpreters and Staff.
Arran Evans – Director – Sussex Interpreting Services.
