'Crisis point' at Darlington Debt Centre amid cost of living

Darlington Debt Centre has warned that the levels of insolvencies, borrowing money and people using foodbanks will go "sky-high" as the cost of living crisis intensifies this Autumn and Winter.

The 'lifeline' agency also highlights that recent YouGov data has revealed that a third (700,000) of adults in the North East skip meals at least once a month, and two in five (912,000) adults lose sleep over the thought of finances. 

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To combat the cost of living crisis in Darlington, St. Andrew's Church in Haughton-le-Skerne has been running a Christians Against Poverty Debt Centre to help people through the cost of living crisis, regardless of faith. 

Darlington Debt Centre Manager, Cyndi Hughes, said: "Thousands of households in the North East are facing a devastating debt crisis as we head into autumn and winter.

“At Christians Against Poverty, we are already helping increasing numbers of people who have had to borrow money just to pay for essentials, like food, bills and energy.

St. Andrew's Church is running a food bank and other services (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

"The most recent Official Statistics (2022) show the Individual Insolvency Rate was 25.1 per 10,000 in England and Wales, 32.4 per 10,000 in the North East and a whopping 40 per 10,000 in Darlington.  We are facing a crisis."

St. Andrew's Church is now urging people to donate to the charity Christians Against Poverty to support those in need through the colder months.

According to the Darlington Debt Centre Manager, many churches have stepped up to run food banks, clothes banks, lunch clubs, warm hubs, cooking on a budget courses, and job clubs.

With energy bills continuing to rise, the debt centre has said its in 'crisis' (Image: PA MEDIA)

She added: "St. Andrew's in Haughton is working with volunteers from churches of different denominations across Darlington to support local people by running a CAP Debt Centre offering free, expert debt help.

"Alongside what's happening in Darlington, hundreds of other churches across the North East and the rest of the UK are also running CAP services as part of a massive joint effort to help people through the cost of living crisis.”

This desperate situation in Darlington comes four months after benefits officers in the North-East warned of a “shocking” rise in people having suicidal thoughts amid a steep rise in calls for financial help.

This situation is alongside other research from the North East that shows a major increase in the number of people wanting to take their own lives (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

The stark warning was sounded by North Star Housing, which supports some of the region’s most vulnerable people through a range of services in May 2023.

North Star noted that it had a 56 per cent increase in referrals to its welfare benefits team over the past year, with the Covid-19 pandemic, followed by the cost-of-living crisis, creating “the perfect storm” for tenants.

Cyndi added: “With so many people struggling financially, CAP’s life-changing services are needed now more than ever before, but the cost of living crisis has also negatively impacted our charity’s own finances.

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“Christians Against Poverty relies heavily on generous givers who donate each month to make our work possible and we urgently need more funds as we fully expect demand for our help this autumn and winter to be extremely high.

“Despite all the rising costs we are continuing to see thousands of people becoming debt-free, learning to manage their finances and getting back into employment after working with CAP and local churches like those in Darlington.

“As we head into the colder months we are determined to support as many people as we can but we need extra funds to meet the need. Please support our work if you can.”