Some 80,000 Welsh families, including 50,000 children, make up the 170,000 Welsh people who today are on the edge of destitution, according to new research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
And because the Budget from Westminster will do nothing for those in need in the here and now, a new multibank project to tackle shocking levels of deprivation is being launched in Wales by Mark Drakeford as one of his final acts as First Minister - which evidences his consistent determination to address poverty for which he deserves our thanks.
A multibank is a novel innovation born out of our experience in Scotland of rapidly rising poverty and deprivation: they are food banks, clothes banks, toiletries banks, bedding banks, baby banks, and furnishing banks, all rolled into one.
Read More: Launch of the Cwtch Mawr multibank
The Welsh multibank will be called Cwtch Mawr meaning both big hug and big cubbyhole and will be operated by the Swansea area Faith in Families charity, led by Cherrie Bija and we estimate we can support 40,000 families across South Wales this year.
Our Cwtch Mawr kicks off with the donation of 65,000 nappies, 150,000 toilet rolls, hundreds of duvets from Textile Services Association, and a supply of 300,000 surplus essential goods from Amazon whose major Welsh fulfilment centre is in Swansea Bay.
The launch of the Cwtch Mawr ,multibank adds up to a distribution revolution providing an “emergency service” of goods which can be transferred from companies to families in need free of charge.
The Swansea Bay warehouse provided by Swansea Council allows us to take a holistic view of the needs of children, and not only provide immediate poverty relief but help families rebuild their lives.
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And Faith in Families, chosen because of the excellence of its work in the community, not only becomes the first multi-bank in Wales but the third of a pioneering group of multi-banks serving Scotland the North West, as well as now Wales from its Swansea base.
Its inauguration is to meet an urgent need in a Wales suffering not only deep-rooted poverty but rising destitution. For too many makings us, life in 2024 is being lived in a world of homes without heating, kitchens without kitchen utensils, bedrooms without beds, floors without floor covering, toilets without toilet rolls, families with toothbrushes but no toothpaste, sinks but no soap, cleaning needs but no cleaning materials.
Destitution, according to the Joseph Rowntree Trust (JRF) , means not having two of the six vital essentials for subsistence: food, shelter, clothing, heating, lighting, and toiletries. And our estimate, based on 海角视频 wide assessments made by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, is that in Wales today 115,000 people subsist with fewer than two meals for two or more days, and 100,000 without home-heating for five or more days in a month.
Some 25,000 are homeless or in temporary accommodation, 100,000 went without much needed basic clothing, 86,500 go without basic toiletries—soap or toothpaste or shampoo and are using newspaper for toilet rolls, and soiled disposable nappies are being reworn as parents don’t have the means to buy fresh ones.
Amazon, who helped us pioneer the Multibank in Fife Scotland then the North West of England and now here in Wales is the first company to offer supplies and has promised 300,000 goods over the next year that can be distributed through schools, health visitors, social work teams, food banks, and local charities in direct touch with families in need.
But our multi-bank network now includes contacts with nearly 100 companies, 20 of whom are key donors, and who support our project as an anti-pollution project focused on environmental sustainability and driving the circular economy as well as an anti-poverty project focused on survivability and subsistence. Companies have surpluses goods people need and charities and children and family support workers like teachers, midwives and doctors know the people who need them and so we can repurpose goods that would otherwise be wasted, destroyed, or landfilled.
Companies have the foods people need and charities know the people who need them and we can meet unmet needs by using unused resources. Sponsors include the Textile Services Association who provide near-to-new cotton duvets, pillows, sheets that allow people to keep warm in winter as well as towels.
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And joining the project is Premier Inn and Whitbread who are providing a range of nearly new goods from kettles and hairdryers to chairs and beds as well as soap and shampoo, as they are over a four-year period renovating their 80,000 hotel rooms across the 海角视频.
The multibank also has have a laser-like focus on six basic goods needed in Wales to meet the public hygiene emergency many families face: toilet rolls, nappies, toothpaste, and toothbrushes, soap and shampoo, and cleaning materials which almost 100,000 Welsh people including around 30,000 children cannot afford but need. Parent charity, multibank 海角视频 currently shares the cost of this between companies who manufacture the goods and foundations who can contribute to their production cost.
To start off Cwtch Mawr Multibank, we are making today a donation of basic goods: 65,000 nappies and 150,000 toilet rolls soon we hope to be able to provide toothpaste and toothbrushes and cleaning materials with soap and shampoo over the next few weeks.
Cwtch I’m told translated as both hug and cubby hole in English. Mawr is of course Welsh for big. New words to me, but the describe what I’d call old fashioned solidarity. Thanks to all involved in Wales for showing us how to make our multibank movement all about giving a big a Welsh Cwtch.