Mould, cold and a community centre offering hope in the cost of living crisis

More than 2m households fell into fuel poverty last year and in one community in north-east England, many must make a daily choice between heating and eating.

Video producers Maeve Shearlaw and Chris Cherry visited a centre in Shiremoor, North Tyneside, that is supporting people through the cost of living crisis, and saw how mouldy properties and prepayment meters are exacerbating problems for the most vulnerable people.

00:00 Intro
02:01 COPD, damp and mould
04:39 Heating or eating?
06:08 The mould is getting worse
07:25 Men's mental health group
08:34 The Ann Summers rep
08:53 The cost of living is crazy

The Guardian on YouTube:

#CostOfLiving #Poverty #Shiremoor #Newcastle #UK #News

[cynthialangley]

It’s not a cost of living crisis, it’s a cost of corporate greed crisis.

[NeoneTPT]

My 77yr old dad was rushed to hospital last week with hypothermia. He was so worried about his gas bill that he turned all his radiators off, but didn’t tell anyone. He has been in hospital for 6 days now & slowly on the mend. It’s heartbreaking that people are in this situation.

[DejanRDWAJ]

I'm a carpet fitter and whenever I go to some upper middle class properties the heating is on and the windows are open. Even when the properties are vacant and being put up to let they still have the heating going on 24/7. And then i go to visit my mum for the weekend and i see her wearing two jumpers, sitting in a cold home and counting every pound just to get by. I myself heat the flat only when my kid comes back from nursery. What is funny to me is that the rich are telling us to save money, go on less holidays, wear jumpers at home when in fact they do none of this stuff and live their lives to the fullest. It is tragic that people who work full time can not afford rent, heating bills. London nowadays is the same like in Victorian times though the poor have iphones now to make them feel a little bit better.

[abbiebrown]

These woman who have set up this charity are Angels . Thank you for the great work you do 💕

[Charlotte]

It's utterly criminal that people are living in such circumstances.

[TheRetouchstar]

Why don't the Brits get rid of the monarchy and use the money and resources spent on them to help the people.

[dotsgrey]

The cost of heating goes up, yet energy companies make record profits... I dare anyone to explain THAT using Russia/Ukraine as an excuse!

[fern]

Black mould is caused by a lack of ventaltion and heating. To fix it you have to find a balance between opening windows and vents and heating the room

[madeleine]

I have nothing but admiration for the Brits and how they pull together in crises. Sue is lovely and terribly in need of a house without damp. To see all these people come together is life affirming. I hope the government will figure this out and provide help to those who are really struggling to eat and stay warm..basic human requirements. My heart aches for all those in need.

[Simon-qnwm]

My heart goes out to Sue & her little Dog. Hope she can get some help & get back to a better quality of life.

[kenyonbissett]

The heat situation reminds me of the book, The Match Girl. The rich in England with heating and plenty of food vs the poor literally dying of cold, mold and malnutrition from lack of food.

[leilanigreenwood]

This is ridiculous. People freezing because they can't afford the utility bill. No one with a apt or home should have to go to a shelter to keep warm.

[upendasana]

I'm so glad there are places and people like this who are supporting people in the community.I hope those of us who can support them will.
Thsi country is disgusting to have such levels of poverty in such a wealthy country.there are no excuses with wars or cost of energy and inflation, this could be amliorated with decent government intervention and protections for those most vulnerable

[SilviaVanThreepwood]

Same here in The Netherlands.. I always kept my heater on 18°C, always paid around €180 per month for gas. Now, with the new tariff, I have to pay €400 for that same use. So my thermostat will not be above 14°C now, and now I've suddenly found mold in my bedroom despite sleeping with the window opened slightly and opening it fully for an hour every morning...

[Abraham_Tsfaye]

When I was in UK. I saw empty boarded up streets under a constant grey sky, litter everywhere.
Homeless people sleeping in doorways. Opioid addicts out of their mind and women so drunk they urinated on the streets. It's a sad declined country

[pollyanna]

£120 on gas every 2wks wow I can only afford £20 a week

[lrsco]

The people who need to watch this, won’t.😢

[rangermaverick]

Unfortunately victorian houses are poorly insulated. If you stay at home for a long time you need to switch the heating on every couple of hours to maintain 21-22 degrees

[supershah]

And we are still funding Ukrainian while here in Britain we people are struggling to put the heating on. 😢

[elainewhitelock]

All landlords whether social housing or private should be responsible to manage mould/damp /condensation problems in their properties.