SHOCKING research has revealed that one in five adults under 30 in the North-East say they will have to rely on charity this Christmas.

The survey, conducted by The Salvation Army, shows that despite 56 per cent of respondents being in full-time jobs, many live hand-to-mouth.

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One in six are behind with their rent or mortgage, and the church and charity is warning that with the rise in the cost of living, many young adults are on the cliff edge of homelessness.

Graham Wharton, who runs The Salvation Army’s Southwick Community Project in Sunderland, said: “We are seeing a lot of young adults with families coming to us in the run up to Christmas.

"The loss of the £20 Universal Credit uplift has had a big impact and we are bracing ourselves for it to get busier with requests for food parcels and fuel vouchers.

He added: "When people are struggling to put food on the table or heat their homes, Christmas becomes a time of great stress.

"We want local communities to know we are here, and we can help.”

The research also shows that since the start of the pandemic a quarter of respondents had delayed paying other bills, one in three had to borrow money and ten per cent had visited a food bank.

The Salvation Army runs food banks across the region and offers free debt and employment advice.

Last Christmas, the church and charity distributed gifts to thousands of children from vulnerable families across the North East.

Unite the union is also taking action to highlight the desperate choice that some Universal Credit claimants in the region face between ‘heating or eating’ this winter.

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Unite community members are launching a campaign this week, starting in Blyth Valley and North West Durham on Tuesday where one in five families have been hit by the cut.

They will be holding street stalls and a foodbank collection to reinforce the message that increasing poverty is stalking the North East.

The campaign will then move onto Darlington and Redcar on Wednesday where one in four families are affected by the cut to Universal Credit.

Unite regional secretary for the North East Karen Reay said: “The £20-a-week cut in Universal Credit is leading to increased poverty across the North East."“

She added: "The UK is the world’s sixth largest economy.

"It can do so much better to combat insecure and low paid work and the scourge of poverty.

"That’s the message that Unite Community members will be hammering home during the North East tour.”

Unite has been campaigning to protect the £20 pandemic payment for Universal Credit claimants and for it to be extended it to those on legacy benefits too.

 

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