When children sink into poverty, the damage is immediate, but it doesn't have to be lifelong. You can help...
Yes I want to make a lifelong difference this winter
Millions of people face an impossible struggle to meet the costs of fuel, food and transport this winter. While the cost of living is still so impossibly high children, young people, working age adults and older people risk having to chose between going to bed cold or hungry. Everyone deserves to have somewhere to turn, especially during the festive season.
How will your donation transform lives? Karen tells her story...
When my daughters and I found ourselves plunged into financial crisis, Turn2us were there to offer some relief. This winter, I want more families like mine to have the support they urgently need.
I'm 62 now and my daughters are adults, but we remember how hard life was when my marriage broke down and we had to move away for our safety. We found somewhere we could just about afford in a small village. We were safe at last, but there was no public transport and I had no money to pay for running a car, which I needed to get the girls to their school.
Fortunately, I saw an advert for Turn2us. I felt ashamed to ask for help - the stigma around asking is a huge hurdle for anyone when financial shocks happen - but I made the call and was awarded a grant. That helped pay for the upkeep of my car and meant the girls could have their education and make lifelong friends.
When Christmas came, Turn2us were there to offer support again.
I couldn't afford presents, food, a tree, and I was dreading my children having miserable Christmas holidays while it felt like all their school friends would be enjoying themselves. I'd previously sold some treasured books to buy one daughter a dolly she wanted, and thanks to Turn2us I could now buy a cheap little pushchair for her to wheel her dolly around in. She still has that toy pushchair, and today it's her children who play with it.
Now, so many years on, I'm appalled at how it's increasingly impossible for families like ours to afford the basics, especially while the cost of living is still so impossibly high. This winter, parents all over the UK will try to juggle the costs of heating, travel, shoes for their children and putting a nutritious meal on the table.
The UK's broken safety net is leaving families struggling to make ends meet. If you can donate today, you can help more families find the grants they need.
£20 could help more people find grants through our Grants Search tool, to help with transport costs for getting to work and to see family and loved ones
£25 could help someone find support, set aside worries, treat their children and make lifelong memories this festive season
£45 could help a family pay rising utility costs for an entire week so together we can help more families keep the heating on this winter
£100 could help pay for groceries to feed a family for an entire week
Who are Turn2us and what do they do?
Turn2us is a national charity providing practical information and support to end financial insecurity.
In 2022:
- over 98,000 people called the Turn2us Helpline needing support
- 1.3 million people used the Turn2us Grants Search
- 2.7 million people completed a Turn2us benefits calculation
- Turn2us made grants worth a total of £3.4million for 3,454 people in financial need
We collaborate with other organisations, people with lived experience, and hard-hit communities to understand the impact of financial insecurity and poverty. Together we challenge the systems and perceptions that cause it, and prevent more people being swept into poverty.