Struggling Isle of Wight residents are receiving critical advice about how to save money on their energy bills thanks to a National Lottery-funded project supporting communities bearing the brunt of the cost-of-living pressures.
Helping households in fuel poverty to stay warm, well and out of debt
The Footprint Trust works to reduce the ecological footprint of the Isle of Wight and work with households to help people in fuel poverty to stay warm, well and out of debt, by raising awareness regarding more efficient use of energy.
Among the services on offer are home visits, where Footprint experts will assess people’s individual needs and homes and give them advice on how to best insulate their house while reducing energy bulls, and an interactive workshop that educates residents on how to save hundreds of pounds on their energy bills.
Helping some of the most vulnerable people
Thanks to National Lottery players, the money has helped some of the most vulnerable people impacted by cost-of-living pressures in our communities.
And new figures released this week through The National Lottery Community Fund’s latest Community Research Index shows that over half of us (55 per cent) believe that supporting people with the rising cost-of-living is most important for the wellbeing of their local community, with almost exactly one in two (49 per cent) intending to volunteer in 2023 with young people (18 to 24) leading the way (69 per cent).
Beaney: IW has some of the worst insulated properties in the country
Lisa Beaney, Outreach Manager for the Footprint Trust, believes her organisation provides an essential service to residents on the Island, without which, people’s energy bills would be significantly higher.
Lisa said,
“On the Isle of Wight, we have some of the worst insulated properties in the country. The average income on the Island is much lower than the mainland and with the increased costs of many things to do with living on an Island, it means that people over here have far less disposable income. So the increase in energy prices has really hit home hard.
“Thanks to the Trust people can actually afford to keep their heating on and running. They can afford to eat at the same time.
“When we do home visits and leave people in a home that is warmer, know that they can operate the heating controls properly and afford to go and buy the food that their children need because they’ve cut down on their energy, that makes a real difference.”
National Lottery funding
National Lottery funding distributors – encompassing sports, arts, heritage, and community – collectively awarded over £1 billion pounds to support communities throughout the UK during the coronavirus pandemic, to help them cope and recover.
And now the £30 million raised each week by National Lottery players for good causes is at the forefront in supporting communities who need it the most facing cost-of-living pressures.
New priorities to help communities
Organisations throughout the UK facing increased demands, challenges, and hardships as a direct result of the pressures are being supported in various ways, as National Lottery funders throughout the UK have responded with new priorities to help communities with an approach that centres around flexibility and support.
Many existing funding programmes have been adapted or tailored by National Lottery funders to prioritise cost of living support. The National Lottery Community Fund alone is making an initial £75 million available UK wide to help those most in need – providing community groups with greater certainty at this critical time.
We’re Here for You
All funding will be kept open and available, and ready to adapt, as part of its We’re Here for You commitment.
Whether it’s funding to improve the thermal efficiency of heritage sites, providing energy efficient floodlights for community sports clubs faced with the burden of increased costs, providing thousands of free hot meals and food parcels, warm places for the community to come together during the winter months, or supporting with money management and mental health initiatives.
Making life that little bit easier
The National Lottery is making life that little bit easier by providing a wide array of support across sports, arts, community and charity, heritage, education and environment sectors during these challenging times.
And Beaney believes that if it were not for the Footprint Trust, people across the Isle of Wight would be feeling the effects of the economic climate to an even greater extent.
She said,
“I think you would see people’s health deteriorate rapidly if our support wasn’t available.
“There would be more people going hungry. I know it sounds dramatic, but we are getting to a point now where we’ve got more and more people relying on food banks.
“Without the additional health and support that we provide, that number would increase.
“We talk to people that are becoming suicidal because they can’t see any way out of the situation they’re in. It’s quite frightening.
“The National Lottery has helped enormously. Without their funding, our support wouldn’t be there.
“For projects like ours, the funding is absolutely vital and to carry on receiving it is amazing.”
Find out more
National Lottery players raise more than £30 million a week for arts, education, environment, health, heritage, sport, and voluntary projects across the UK; see the difference it’s making near you by visiting the Website.
News shared by Ben on behalf of National Lottery. Ed
