I’ve been spending time at the foodbanks in Norwood and Brixton since 2015, getting to know clients, staff and volunteers. Earlier this year, I worked with my friends at Hilow Films to produce a short documentary, focusing on the people they help and the reasons that bring them there. We filmed at West Norwood and recorded … Continue reading The Foodbank: A short film and a photo story
Why people use Foodbanks: An interview with Jon Taylor
Jon Taylor has run the Brixton branch of the Norwood and Brixton Foodbank on Ferndale Road since 2011, and now manages a debt centre for Christians Against Poverty as well. In that time he’s seen demand grow fivefold – from providing food for 1,287 people in 2011-12 to 6,536 in 2015-16. He talked me through … Continue reading Why people use Foodbanks: An interview with Jon Taylor
How Government cuts are pushing people into food poverty, debt and mental illness
Sue Noel has been helping struggling Lambeth residents at Brixton Advice Centre (BAC) since 2009. Unlike some of BAC’s specialists, she advises on all the issues the centre covers – from benefits and debt to housing, disrepair and homelessness. It means she has a unique overview of why people come to BAC – and how … Continue reading How Government cuts are pushing people into food poverty, debt and mental illness
Homelessness and the housing crisis in Lambeth
People in Lambeth, and in boroughs across the capital, are being made homeless through a combination of changes to the benefits system, delays caused by staff shortages and a housing loophole which means that people judged to have made themselves “intentionally homeless” are no longer the responsibility of the overstretched local authority…. There are currently … Continue reading Homelessness and the housing crisis in Lambeth
Rue’s story: Jobseeker’s Allowance and a bureaucratic black hole
Jobseeker’s Allowance is supposed to help people on low incomes survive gaps in their employment as they seek new work. One construction worker explains how a glitch in the benefits system left him unable to work, unable to claim JSA and unable to attend his own mother’s funeral… Rue was born on the Portuguese island … Continue reading Rue’s story: Jobseeker’s Allowance and a bureaucratic black hole
P’s story: Battling the Department for Work and Pensions
A cancer survivor shares his experience of the benefits system and reveals how the Department for Work and Pensions’ medical assessors have repeatedly judged him fit for work – contradicting evidence from his GP and hospital doctors, and contravening a ruling by an independent tribunal… I was introduced to “P” by Nathan at Brixton Advice … Continue reading P’s story: Battling the Department for Work and Pensions
Debt – guilty until proven innocent
Benefits “overpayments” and why you should keep paperwork for the rest of your life… Pete Woan is Brixton Advice Centre’s Specialist Money Adviser. He helps people with a whole range of debt problems, from credit cards and loans to utilities, council tax and benefits overpayments. He’s been at BAC for 10 years. Two of the … Continue reading Debt – guilty until proven innocent
The emergence of foodbanks in Lambeth: Elizabeth Maytom interview
Elizabeth Maytom opened the foodbank in South Lambeth in 2011. An active member of the congregation at St Luke’s, she’d started researching child poverty in South London earlier that year, hoping to set up a project with the church to help. Initially she was sceptical of foodbanks. “I just didn’t believe they were really needed,” … Continue reading The emergence of foodbanks in Lambeth: Elizabeth Maytom interview
Lambeth: Living with the cuts 