Leading Charity Seeks to Roll Back UK Poverty: Taunton Conference Kick-Starts Campaign
October 5th 2006 - Elizabeth Finn Care - a major UK charity dedicated to alleviating poverty – comes to Taunton on October 31st with a one-day conference programme with the aim of enrolling volunteers to act as its ‘eyes and ears’ in identifying families on or below the poverty line who might benefit from help from the charity.
Clive Tilley, Elizabeth Finn Care’s Development Director, says the charity has a major fight on its hands in combating the growth of poverty in the UK and its consequences, “We know that nationally there are some 12 million people in the UK on or below the poverty line and of that over 4 million could benefit directly from Elizabeth Finn Care’s help and support programme.
“What we need is to bolster local support and local knowledge. New volunteers would then act as our ‘eyes and ears’ and can refer people to us when they come across a family or elderly people likely to slip into poverty, or actually suffering the consequences of poverty.
“Volunteers can make a real difference by helping people through the application process and then each year as their situation is reviewed.
“We know there are many people and families who need our help. Our research last year confirmed that, but many of those suffering in poverty are too proud and too independent to ask for help from a charity.
“Many don’t even receive the state benefits they are entitled to, so our ‘bottom line’ is to ensure they get what is due to them from the government or their local council, especially after all of them have worked hard all their lives, making their contribution to the economic success of the country.”
Elizabeth Finn Care hopes the conference, being held at the Holiday Inn, Taunton, will eventually result in contributing to a doubling of its current national team of some 260 volunteers.
In addition to keeping any eye out for those individuals, families and the elderly who are slipping into poverty, each volunteer also acts as a mentor for those enjoying support from the charity, each beneficiary receiving an annual visit from their nominated volunteer.
Currently, the charity has 2,400 beneficiaries across the UK and disburses nearly £3 million in direct grants and ‘special needs gifts’, and hopes to increase the number of beneficiaries by 10% over the next twelve months. On the ground it has a number of Regional Coordinators across the UK and Ireland who implement local fundraising campaigns in support of the work of the volunteers.
NOTES TO EDITORS
The charity's remit in the UK: 4m living in poverty
Research conducted by The Future Foundation for Elizabeth Finn Care shows that over 4m people in the UK from career backgrounds that require a high level of training and responsibility are pushed into poverty as a result of sudden, life-changing events such as illness, redundancy, family breakdown or poor pension provision. And it's a growing problem: by 2020 one in ten adults in the UK will have fallen into the poverty trap and would qualify for help from the Elizabeth Finn Care.
Who the charity supports:
Elizabeth Finn Care offers financial assistance and emotional support to British and Irish people of all ages and their immediate families, from over 120 different occupational groups, who can no longer manage on a low income or inadequate pension.
Among the people forced into poverty are former teachers, nurses, PAs and secretaries, journalists, artists, farmers, clergy, solicitors and accountants, civil servants and retired Service men and women, all struggling to keep their heads above water on meagre incomes, means-tested benefits or very small occupational pensions.
Getting a breathing space from poverty - how the charity helps people in need:
Thanks to donations, legacies and local fundraising, the charity can help people by giving:
· a weekly allowance, that can boost basic income support by a third.
· grants for help with disability equipment, emergency repairs such as a leaking roof or broken boiler and replacing a broken fridge, washing machine, kettle or toaster.
· Local Authority top-up fees for residents of private nursing homes.
Most importantly the charity's beneficiaries have peace of mind knowing they can contact their dedicated caseworker when facing a domestic crisis, and trained volunteers will visit to ensure beneficiaries are receiving all the help available.
· For further information or to receive an application form for help, please contact the charity on Freephone 0800 413 220 or visit
www.elizabethfinncare.org.uk Mike F Abbott
Press Officer
Elizabeth Finn Care
1 Derry Street
London W8 5HY
Telephone: 020 7396 6690
www.elizabethfinncare.org.uk
