CAP report highlights poverty anxiety

Tens of thousands of people are missing from society, hiding away and suffering acute anxiety because of poverty. These are the findings from a new Christians Against Poverty (CAP) report launched today by the charity’s patron the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Archbishop Justin Welby said at the launch of the report that debt problems are now at “epidemic levels” causing “acute loneliness and isolation”. More than a thousand CAP clients were asked about life before they got help from the charity.

• nearly four in ten (37%) were afraid to leave the home
• six in ten (60%) were afraid to answer the door 
• nearly three quarters (73%) were too scared to answer the phone.

The figures paint a stark picture for people below the poverty line who, on average, are dealing with 11 different unpaid debts and have an average whole household income of just £15,109 per year. More than six in ten are living below the poverty line. Cut off from their communities, detached from family and friends, they spend sleepless nights in unheated homes unable to play their part in society.

The report also shows, it’s rarely just about the debt. Nearly a quarter (24%) are caring for a loved one, exactly half live in a household where at least one person has mental ill-health and nearly a quarter (24%) are struggling with bereavement.

CAP’s Chief Executive Matt Barlow said: “It’s important that we continue to highlight what life is like for most destitute living in the UK and remind all of society that it is our shared problem. “Debt isn’t just a maths problem, it touches every area of life: relationships, health, housing and children’s welfare. Thankfully, hundreds of churches are doing amazing transformative work to help families like this and today is also about celebrating them.”

The launch, supported by UK Finance, takes place in the House of Lords tonight attended by more than 50 MPs and 200 key guests from within the personal finance industry.

Eric Leenders, Managing Director, Personal Finance at UK Finance: “This report underlines the crucial role played by Christians Against Poverty in helping people navigate their way through financial hardship.  It also shows how more unstable incomes and the rising cost of living have widened the net in terms of people who may be at risk.”