The Footprint Trust is continuing to help Islanders during the coronavirus crisis with its helpline open and manned.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the Island towards the end of March, local charity The Footprint Trust has had to radically change their working practices. Normally, home visits to fuel poor clients would be carried out with tailored guidance given. However, with the lockdown restrictions in place, all home visits have ceased over the past 3 weeks.
Staff are now contacting Islanders in need by phone. Each person called is given guidance on how to join the Priority Service Register and, where appropriate, given details on the Isle of Wight Council COVID helpline (01983 823600). Staff are also suggesting that vulnerable people on pre-payment meters should contact their energy supplier if they are having difficulty in getting a neighbour, friend or relative to top-up their card or key.
During the crisis, the Trust is keeping its helpline open (01983 822282), answered by a member of staff working on their own. Other members of staff are working from home and are contacting people on the waiting list, as well as those helped in the past.
The lockdown started just as the Trust was coming to the end of the traditional winter busy period. Most of their fuel poverty related enquiries happen during the colder months. This has meant that as a temporary measure they have furloughed certain members of staff.
Don Roe, Trustee of The Footprint Trust, says:
“We are now planning for the next winter. The government has predicted that the general downturn in the economy will continue for sometime after Covid has passed, and that unemployment will rise, and by implication poverty will also rise.
“Many Islanders rely on seasonal tourism employment and that has all been lost. The Island economy will have lost millions during the lockdown. Many local people will not get paid or will be on reduced income. They will make the choice of eating or heating for the first time in their lives. The Trust believes that fuel, water and other debt will dramatically increase.
Article continues below this advertisement “For those on the Isle of Wight, already an area of higher than average poverty, this will see a demand for their services and those of other local charities.
“The Footprint Trust is ready for a rush of desperate enquiries in the forthcoming winter. We will help local people manage their fuel and water debt, use utilities wisely and stay in budget.”
