A child’s charity in the UK has found that those struggling with poverty in the country are left sleeping on the floor because they can’t afford beds, are struggling to heat and power their homes, and that some family structures are feeling strained by the cost of living crisis.
Buttle UK, a charity organization that has been assisting children and young people in need since 1953, surveyed 1,567 of the families it supports. They found that most of their respondents had skipped a meal, while half said they did not have beds for everyone in their household to sleep in, The Guardian reported citing the survey.
“My kids are sleeping on the floor; I have 2 teenagers, one who is just in remission from leukemia and still unwell. My other boy has bad feet and back pain, so it’s hard to walk,” said one survey respondent.
Parents told the charity organization that they would often go hungry to ensure their children could still eat; “They themselves often went completely without, reporting the dire effects on their health and wellbeing.”
Many families also told the survey that black mold has become endemic in their home and that it has been difficult to shift due to cold and damp conditions. The mold has become such an issue for these families that it affects their furnishings, clothing, and the health of their children.
The charity organization has called on the UK government to make several changes that would help alleviate poverty amongst children and their families in the UK, including: increasing universal credit payments, introducing new health strategies, and a complete “overhaul” of NHS children’s mental health services.
They are also asking that the government lift the two-child benefit limit which was introduced by a Conservative government seven years ago and has since become one of the UK’s single greatest drivers of childhood poverty, experts say. The benefit does not allow parents on universal credit claiming benefits to request support for a third child born after April 2017.