Local charity Via Wings reports 40 per cent increase on those seeking help compared to just five weeks ago as cost crisis continues

With increasing numbers of those most affected and seeking help, Dr John Kirkpatrick heard the persona accounts behind the statistics.

Throughout a busy week which will take in 20 engagements altogether, Dr Kirkpatrick has acknowledged and encouraged the work of congregations as they make a difference in their local communities. He also visited a number of organisations supported by local churches, which includes Via Wings in Dromore and Christians Against Poverty in Lisburn.

Founded in 2009 by Gail Redmond in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash, Via Wings began supporting single mums.

It has now grown into an organisation of 18 staff and over 80 volunteers, whose sole aim is to break the cycle of poverty for the next generation, meeting needs and changing lives in the town and the surrounding area.

“The number of people seeking our help has risen dramatically and we are seeing that week, by week, especially amongst those who are working, but struggling to keep their heads above water,” Mrs Redmond said.

“The support that we are able to provide is what we call a ‘wrap around service’ with the provision of food at its heart.

"This enables us to gently reach into the home to provide additional support where needed.

"We now have nearly 220 families on our books, but have seen a staggering 40 per cent increase in those looking for help since the end of August, just five weeks ago.

"For the first time in 13 years, we are also getting calls from the elderly in need of help with their energy bills.”

During his visit to the cross-denominational Christian charity, Dr Kirkpatrick was briefed on the services that Via Wings provides, especially services targeting food poverty, social isolation and mental health issues.

Mrs Redmond explained: “Poverty isn’t just about having little or no money, or food. Poverty is also about loneliness, isolation, deprivation, brokenness and so much more.

"Our aim is to show God’s love in a caring, practical and non-judgemental way through the work we do. To do that end we work with the support of our partners, including Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, along with local churches, schools, social workers and healthcare workers, but that need has increased dramatically in recent months.”

Each week Via Wings cooks and delivers 120 meals for its elderly clients and distributes surplus food from its partners Tesco, Lidl and Marks and Spencer.

Last year that support weighed in at 58 tonnes of excess food. At the same time it has a number of social enterprises, makes calls as part of its ‘Good Morning Dromore’ project and runs its ‘Recycled Teenagers’ initiative for the over 65s, which also lessens the effects of isolation.

Dr Kirkpatrick also heard about a number of other projects, including a children’s afterschool scheme and the new Wellbeing Centre, which launches in November.

Speaking after his visit Dr Kirkpatrick said, “Dromore and the surrounding area has really been blessed by the compassionate grace-filled carers I met, people who are on the front line of this economic crisis.

"What really struck me is that Via Wings is doing something that no church could do on its own, yet through co-operation and co-ordination, many are supported and helped as a result.

“It was not lost on me that their name ‘Via Wings’ is taken from Isaiah 40. To paraphrase, it says that our God gives strength to the weary so they will renew their strength and soar on wings like eagles.

"It is my prayer that those it supports, and those called to help those in need will not only be blessed in their work, but will also ‘soar on wings like eagles,’” he said.

Taking in and the towns of Dromara, Drumbo, Moira, and Royal Hillsborough, the Presbytery also includes Lisburn, where Dr Kirkpatrick also visited staff and volunteers at Christians Against Poverty (CAP) that provides free debt help.

Locally CAP in Lisburn is supported by 15 churches who provide financial and prayer support, along with ‘befrienders’ who come alongside those being supported.

Since 2014 the Lisburn Debt Centre has helped are a mixture of households, from single people to large families in the greater Lisburn area.

CAP also have centres which run Job Clubs and provide Life Skills courses to help people to budget, prepare nourishing meals, amongst other things, while CAP Money courses are held frequently to show people how to budget and get the best value for everything they need.

“A recent CAP / YouGov survey, found that 19 per cent of adults in the UK are already struggling because of the cost of living, with a further 35 per cent just about coping, but at risk if costs rise further. As CAP said at the time, the crisis that we are in now is not new, but is reaching new heights,” Dr Kirkpatrick explained.

“Numbers are ramping up and in the first half of this year, in the UK as a whole, those seeking CAP’s help increased by over 30 per cent. Another thing that struck me was that those seeking help to manage their finances, and their debt in particular, are people who are working and not necessarily on benefits.

"It was great to see the holistic approach of this well-grounded ministry that does amazing work with people who are in debt.”

Dr Kirkpatrick concluded by saying: “The work of CAP and Via Wings is impressive.

"While the work of these Christian charities is a huge blessing to those in need, it is incumbent on those in government to find ways to mitigate this developing crisis, but also prioritise the development of anti-poverty strategies to tackle the root causes of the poverty that we see.”