Inverness Cathedral’s inSpire outreach project hands out blankets and hot water bottles as families are hit by cost of living crisis: Cathedral Provost Rev Sarah Murray highlights increasing pressure to choose between eating or heating
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Blankets and hot water bottles have been handed out to families facing increasing pressure to choose between heating or eating.
Inverness Cathedral’s inSpire outreach project, which offers help to families in need, has set up a blanket and hot water bottle bank as “a small way” to help with the issue.
The project’s work was highlighted as church leaders in Scotland joined forces to raise their deep concerns about the plight facing low-income families amid the cost of living crisis.
Inverness Cathedral Provost Sarah Murray said inSpire also offers a winter jacket bank, emergency food bank, school uniform bank and school holiday lunches.
“This past winter we were aware of the increasing pressure on the choice of ‘heating or eating’, and so we offered fleecy blankets and hot water bottles as a small way to help with this issue,” she said.
“We have so far handed out over 100 blankets and hot water bottles.
“Over the last two years we have seen an increase in the factors affecting families in our area, from the pressure of Universal Credit to the furlough scheme and the end of the scheme, to the increase in the cost of living.
“We pray that in due course the need of these banks will reduce as an increase in line with the cost of living on wages and benefits may begin to ease the burden and pressures on families.
“Until that happens we will continue to support our community in as many ways as we can to alleviate some of this pressure and to respond to the gospel imperative to, ‘love our neighbour’.”
So far, inSpire has enabled more than 5000 people to access help for their children thanks to donations from the community and congregation and grants.
The project and its banks are available for people to go and collect items weekly.
“We receive requests from various organisations, such as Home Start and many local schools as well as self-referrals,” the Very Reverend Murray said. “There are no questions asked or great forms to fill in for accessing this help.
“We felt it was important to keep the forms and questions to an absolute minimum, in the knowledge that many have lots of forms to fill in to access help.”
Church leaders in Scotland this week raised their concerns about the impact of rising energy bills on low income families.
The Most Rev Mark Strange of Moray, Ross and Caithness, who is the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, signed a joint statement with Lord Wallace, Moderator of the General Assembly, and Rt Rev Hugh Gilbert, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Scotland urging the UK and Scottish governments to set aside their political differences and tackle the cost of living crisis together.
