Welcome to Britain’s Victorian Christmas……..

nanna8

Phones have to be paid for and charged so I can understand why, when you are very poor and don’t have enough food to eat, you might get questioned for being able to pay for one- particularly if it is a very up to date one. After the war when we were poor we didn’t have phones - not until the late 1960s when things eased up a bit. All our money went on food and the house. We certainly didn’t own a tv.

After the war TVs were a huge luxury, and weren't in most homes until the 50s. The same applied to phones - there would have been few people to call if you had one. But there were functioning call boxes on the end of every street, and nobody expected people to be contactable round the clock.

Yes, phones have to be charged, and there will be no charging points in a tent, but that should be taken up with the DWP, who insist that claimants are contactable. And as MissA says, being poor does not necessarily equate to living in a tent.

Serious question - as fashions in phones fluctuate (eg large screens, small screens, flip screens, colours etc come and go) how many posters would know 'the latest' phone from a distance if someone were using it in a queue? Or even whether someone else's phone is 'up to date'?

Sarnia

Food banks were unheard of until fairly recently. Our veterans sleeping rough, no comfy hotels for them. The list goes on and on with the skewed priorities our past and present Governments have.

There really is a ton of help, charity and gov, for veterans. I worked on specific work plans for veterans getting work and I personally know some very well housed.

Yes, there will be some on the streets, but I think you’ll find, sadly, many in the streets from all walks of life.

Fourteen years of Tories.

In terms of phones, many many people no longer have a landline (we don’t!)

If you’re unemployed the job centre insist on you having access to a smart phone which can both access the internet and make and receive calls and texts.

I really don’t understand how anyone can tell which phones are “latest” or on a contract or second hand or a gift.

Back in the day fridges and freezers and TVs were all considered “luxuries” this is not so now.

Missiseff

Fourteen years of Tories.

👏👏

M0nica

Poverty was far worse in the past. It is just that we know about ti in the past. Food banks exist because modern technology enables them to be fully publicised.

None of the above makes modern poverty acceptable, but more help is available now than ever in the past.

I completely agree, whilst it is a disgrace food banks are needed, thank god we have them and homeless shelters.

Allira

How does someone who seems to be homeless and living in a tent recharge their mobile phone and post on the internet?
Serious question.
Thank you

Local libraries, some cafes, some warm spaces and some jobcentres all help with phone charging

Sorry, but as a former food bank volunteer I feel a need to clarify some things.

Food donated to food banks is weighed on delivery. Parcels handed to food bank users are weighed before being handed over. The food allocations are set by the trust to ensure a consistent approach. All those using food banks are offered additional support to help them resolve the issues that led them to need the service.
Nobody wants food banks to exist, but they have become an essential service.

I take great exception to the sweeping statement made by 'keepinquiet ' about charity shops.
(the volunteers take things home and sell them on e.bay)
I have worked in several charity shops and in most the rules are pretty strict. I and everyone else I have known have paid the same price as a customer if we wanted an item .
Yes, I don't doubt it happens sometimes but it is the rarity and not the rule.
Don't put a tag on volunteers 'keeping quiet'.

Even prosperous Norway has had food banks, since 2013.

The largest recipient group has a Ukrainian background, and there are many recipients with a Syrian background. One in four recipients is of Norwegian background.
(sciencenorway.no)

Ilovecheese

People perpetuate these myths about food banks and charity shops to make themselves feel better. Or make little dogs about "cosy hotels" to try and blame other people who have little.

I quite agree ilovecheese. It was Osbourne & Cameron who stopped access to short term loans by the benefit dept which bought about the rise in food banks, I know as I was a social worker at the time.
I think its disgusting that the Exeecutives of supermarkets are paid so well with the lowest of the workers so poorly paid.
I hope the new gov't will change things round a bit now, so far I'm pleased with what they've done, no more dr's etc strike, money for hospices etc.

Cossy

Allira

How does someone who seems to be homeless and living in a tent recharge their mobile phone and post on the internet?
Serious question.
Thank you

Local libraries, some cafes, some warm spaces and some jobcentres all help with phone charging

Yes, which is good.
This doesn't seem to be the case here.

Cossy

Sarnia

Food banks were unheard of until fairly recently. Our veterans sleeping rough, no comfy hotels for them. The list goes on and on with the skewed priorities our past and present Governments have.

There really is a ton of help, charity and gov, for veterans. I worked on specific work plans for veterans getting work and I personally know some very well housed.

Yes, there will be some on the streets, but I think you’ll find, sadly, many in the streets from all walks of life.

Yes, there is a lot of help available for veterans and the Forces themselves have schemes as well as many of charities and their volunteers, fundraising and offering practical help too.

I volunteer at a charity shop and have never seen anyone take things to sell on. Only the very occasional thing that we like but only claim after it has been priced and all go through the manager and the till. It’s very above board.
I attend a class at the food bank venue and it’s an eye opener. People grabbing all they can stuff into huge bags they can hardly carry. Most walk out to very nice cars with male partners waiting to drive them home. No men seem to come into the building but are waiting for the ladies to put the bags into the open boot. This happens every time. It’s a disgusting sight and I now don’t donate to food banks but a family I know locally who really are struggling and also appreciated. I wonder with food banks what percentage is need and how much because it’s there for the taking so some people are just greedy. This sounds awful but I can’t avoid what I see.
The same people stuff bags with the donated clothes that are available too. Volunteers sort and hang the clothes but when they are inspected and rejected they are just thrown on the floor. It’s really disheartening.

I didn't think foodbanks worked like that. I thought that care professionals issue vouchers to people in need who exchange the vouchers for a pre-packaged bag of food.

Perhaps these people you see are volunteers delivering to those who cannot get to the foodbank.

Is it perhaps a community fridge?

there for the taking
Not how I understood a foodbank works.

Pippa22

I volunteer at a charity shop and have never seen anyone take things to sell on. Only the very occasional thing that we like but only claim after it has been priced and all go through the manager and the till. It’s very above board.
I attend a class at the food bank venue and it’s an eye opener. People grabbing all they can stuff into huge bags they can hardly carry. Most walk out to very nice cars with male partners waiting to drive them home. No men seem to come into the building but are waiting for the ladies to put the bags into the open boot. This happens every time. It’s a disgusting sight and I now don’t donate to food banks but a family I know locally who really are struggling and also appreciated. I wonder with food banks what percentage is need and how much because it’s there for the taking so some people are just greedy. This sounds awful but I can’t avoid what I see.
The same people stuff bags with the donated clothes that are available too. Volunteers sort and hang the clothes but when they are inspected and rejected they are just thrown on the floor. It’s really disheartening.

This is how a foodbank works:

www.trussell.org.uk/emergency-food#faq

I think o made a thread at one point, asking how to recognise the latest iPhone.

What features give it away, and let people know its "the latest".

We have a community supermarket nearby where people can fill up to 3 bags with food. It’s all donated food which would otherwise go in landfill - fruit and veg, chilled stuff, bread etc. Anyone can go- it’s not the same as a foodbank - It’s to avoid food waste. It may look greedy to some, but I think it’s better that it goes to feed a family than end up in the bin.

The olio phone app works in the same way.

If someone has food which they havent used, they can give it away, but sometimes there are complaints from people thinking they are more "entitled".

It's for the giver to decide how they give it, and to whom.

vegansrock

We have a community supermarket nearby where people can fill up to 3 bags with food. It’s all donated food which would otherwise go in landfill - fruit and veg, chilled stuff, bread etc. Anyone can go- it’s not the same as a foodbank - It’s to avoid food waste. It may look greedy to some, but I think it’s better that it goes to feed a family than end up in the bin.

Yes, I've seen those on TV, similar to community fridges.

I think they're a great idea, we waste so much food, not just in this country.

And - some volunteers collect surplus food and then cook it, making community meals for those who might otherwise not get a hot meal.

We shouldn't jump to conclusions.

The urban myths perpetuated about food banks and charity shops are just that, in most cases, myths. They make people feel better about not donating. Many food banks (not those run by the Trussell Trust but by community organisations mainly) have the same rules about people needing to be referred but have volunteers who take the bags out, so people don’t have to come in. Perishable food often goes to community kitchens to be cooked to provide a hot meal, usually soup. As far as the latest phones, false nails, televisions are concerned how does anybody know where these things come from? It’s really none of our business but they could easily be gifts. I have no personal experience of charity shops, never having worked in one, but many here have and refute the accusations.

MissAdventure

I think o made a thread at one point, asking how to recognise the latest iPhone.

What features give it away, and let people know its "the latest".

This is what I've been asking, MissA, and funnily enough there have been no answers 🤔

Well, now we have a Labour government we should be able to expect improvements, should we not?