Share a little warmth this winter

Fuel Poverty levels are high in Devon, and whilst projects like Healthy Homes for Wellbeing, run by Exeter Community Energy (ECOE) have been tackling this issue head on with their dedicated service, there is still a high level of demand for support .

The Winter Warmth campaign from ECOE, now in its second year, highlights the issues of fuel poverty and hard to heat homes faced by local residents each and every winter. Having recently launched this year’s campaign, ECOE is seeking donations for their Healthy Homes Hardship Fund, which they hope will make a world of difference.

“Last year our supporters were very generous,” comments Tara Bowers, ECOE Directors and Project Manager of Healthy Homes. “We received donations of over £4000. This enabled us to help local residents facing harsh winter situations. We anticipate the need will be even greater this year. The Covid situation has prevented us from running our usual drop in advice clinics, and we are concerned that not enough people are able to access help by telephone or online. With many redundancies, and drops in income this is a very serious situation for many. A lot of the time people have to make the choice between eating or being warm. Many have no choice but to be cold and living in poverty.”

The Healthy Homes Hardship Fund provides small grants for households struggling to make ends meet. These grants will help provide things like an oil-filled electric heater or blankets, paying for boiler repairs, vouchers for topping up prepayment meters or replacing a broken fridge or cooker.

Residents who receive the Government’s Winter Fuel Payment but don’t need it, are being asked to donate it to the Hardship Fund to help others keep warm.

The national Fuel Poverty Awareness Day takes place on 27th November this year. ECOE, as well as other organisations trying to combat this issue, will be highlighting stark statistics. 10.7% of households in Devon are living in Fuel Poverty, more than the national average. Often they are living in hard to heat homes and many also have health issues such as respiratory and cardiovascular problems and depression. Shockingly, in Devon, more than 500 people may die from cold weather deaths this winter.

“As the weather gets colder it’s much harder for people in fuel poverty and those living in hard to heat homes,” Tara continues. “It’s keeping us busy - the demand for support is high. Donations to our Winter Warmth Campaign will really help others keep warm this winter. The downward spiral created by fuel poverty, hard to heat homes and health conditions are intensified by winter. That’s the sad reality. And we’d like to be able to use our Hardship Fund to help keep people warm this winter.”

Donating unneeded winter fuel payments to the Winter Warmth campaign helps local people play an active and significant role in reducing fuel poverty and hardship this winter. Donations can be made via Campaign’s Just Giving page at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/HH- WinterWarmth-20 or by calling 0800 772 3617. ENDS