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| Damage done by cuts and sanctions brings Oxfam to Wales | Damage done by cuts and sanctions brings Oxfam to Wales |
| (5 months later) | |
| When Iain Duncan Smith resigned on Friday, claiming in his resignation letter “the latest changes to benefits to the disabled and the context in which they’ve been made are a compromise too far”, many people working at the coalface in deprived communities around the country took his words with a considerable pinch of salt. | When Iain Duncan Smith resigned on Friday, claiming in his resignation letter “the latest changes to benefits to the disabled and the context in which they’ve been made are a compromise too far”, many people working at the coalface in deprived communities around the country took his words with a considerable pinch of salt. |
| In Wales, Oxfam workers, who have been developing a scheme to help people gain confidence and control of their lives, regularly find their work undone by cuts and sanctions. | In Wales, Oxfam workers, who have been developing a scheme to help people gain confidence and control of their lives, regularly find their work undone by cuts and sanctions. |
| Oxfam tackles poverty wherever we find it, including in the UK, one of the richest countries in the world | Oxfam tackles poverty wherever we find it, including in the UK, one of the richest countries in the world |
| There’s an assumption, for many, that Oxfam’s work focuses on developing countries, famine and drought but the scale and severity of austerity cuts in the UK has expanded their work closer to home. | There’s an assumption, for many, that Oxfam’s work focuses on developing countries, famine and drought but the scale and severity of austerity cuts in the UK has expanded their work closer to home. |
| “One in five people in the UK today are struggling to put food on the table and heat their homes, with at least half a million people relying on food banks to feed themselves and their families in the past year,” says Carys Mair Thomas, head of Oxfam Cymru. “Oxfam tackles poverty wherever we find it, including in the UK, one of the richest countries in the world. In Wales, the figures are starker, with nearly one in four families living in relative poverty and struggling with the basics.” | “One in five people in the UK today are struggling to put food on the table and heat their homes, with at least half a million people relying on food banks to feed themselves and their families in the past year,” says Carys Mair Thomas, head of Oxfam Cymru. “Oxfam tackles poverty wherever we find it, including in the UK, one of the richest countries in the world. In Wales, the figures are starker, with nearly one in four families living in relative poverty and struggling with the basics.” |
| In Banwen, in south Wales, the Dove Workshop, based in the same area as the film Pride and set up by miners’ wives after the strike, is at such a great altitude that your ears pop on the drive up to it. Its cafe, which has become a focal point for the community, is one of the venues for the Oxfam Livelihoods Project. | In Banwen, in south Wales, the Dove Workshop, based in the same area as the film Pride and set up by miners’ wives after the strike, is at such a great altitude that your ears pop on the drive up to it. Its cafe, which has become a focal point for the community, is one of the venues for the Oxfam Livelihoods Project. |
| This three-year £1.2m programme, which began in February 2013 and included funding from the Big Lottery and Unilever, was developed as a means of tackling poverty head-on in nine of Wales’s poorest communities, both to improve the lives of people experiencing poverty in these areas and to collect evidence of it, says Thomas. So far, the charity has supported more than 1,100 people across Wales. | This three-year £1.2m programme, which began in February 2013 and included funding from the Big Lottery and Unilever, was developed as a means of tackling poverty head-on in nine of Wales’s poorest communities, both to improve the lives of people experiencing poverty in these areas and to collect evidence of it, says Thomas. So far, the charity has supported more than 1,100 people across Wales. |
| Tim Ashill, 42, was suffering from anxiety and depression before finding out about the Oxfam scheme. He came to the project three years ago after he was sanctioned for missing an appointment due to agoraphobia, and his benefits were stopped. A project worker referred Ashill to a food bank and helped him to get NHS dental treatment – Ashill was afraid to apply for jobs while he had severe and visible dental problems. Then, Livelihoods workers used a “toolkit” that enabled Ashill to map his “life’s timeline”, together with structured interviews, in order to form a broader understanding of Ashill’s life and the challenges he faced. | Tim Ashill, 42, was suffering from anxiety and depression before finding out about the Oxfam scheme. He came to the project three years ago after he was sanctioned for missing an appointment due to agoraphobia, and his benefits were stopped. A project worker referred Ashill to a food bank and helped him to get NHS dental treatment – Ashill was afraid to apply for jobs while he had severe and visible dental problems. Then, Livelihoods workers used a “toolkit” that enabled Ashill to map his “life’s timeline”, together with structured interviews, in order to form a broader understanding of Ashill’s life and the challenges he faced. |
| Initially, the process involves drawing a timeline to show when in a participant’s life he or she felt ok, or not ok and the circumstances that evoked those feelings, such as the arrival of a baby, a redundancy, house move or the break-up of a relationship. This gives participants a clearer idea of what has caused their problems, and how other services can help them. It is an approach Oxfam developed in the early 1990s and has used extensively in its overseas work. In the UK, the charity has applied the approach in London, the north-east, the Peak District and Glasgow, as well as in Wales. | Initially, the process involves drawing a timeline to show when in a participant’s life he or she felt ok, or not ok and the circumstances that evoked those feelings, such as the arrival of a baby, a redundancy, house move or the break-up of a relationship. This gives participants a clearer idea of what has caused their problems, and how other services can help them. It is an approach Oxfam developed in the early 1990s and has used extensively in its overseas work. In the UK, the charity has applied the approach in London, the north-east, the Peak District and Glasgow, as well as in Wales. |
| Ashill says: “It is very difficult to try new things when you have anxiety and depression, but there was no support provided. I came out in a cold sweat at even the thought of using a computer. It is like providing a document to an illiterate person and expecting them to read it. But here, there are things I can do, which before were out of reach.” | Ashill says: “It is very difficult to try new things when you have anxiety and depression, but there was no support provided. I came out in a cold sweat at even the thought of using a computer. It is like providing a document to an illiterate person and expecting them to read it. But here, there are things I can do, which before were out of reach.” |
| As well as offering advice on benefits, the Livelihoods workers encouraged Ashill to gain skills by helping out on projects at the centre, from doing woodwork to sell (there are wine racks and stools for sale in the corridor) to repairing solar panels to create a solar-powered cinema for locals. Showing Ashill what he was capable of was crucial in rebuilding his confidence: he is now retaking his maths and English GCSEs and is considering training as a community support worker. | As well as offering advice on benefits, the Livelihoods workers encouraged Ashill to gain skills by helping out on projects at the centre, from doing woodwork to sell (there are wine racks and stools for sale in the corridor) to repairing solar panels to create a solar-powered cinema for locals. Showing Ashill what he was capable of was crucial in rebuilding his confidence: he is now retaking his maths and English GCSEs and is considering training as a community support worker. |
| For Livelihoods workers in Banwen, the problem is the isolation felt by the community. For school-leavers, there are precious few jobs within a manageable distance of the village, and without a car it’s almost impossible to find work: bus services are minimal and the early, late and weekend services have been cut in recent years. It’s a story familiar to ex-mining villages in south Wales, and everyone at the Dove Workshop centre believes the problem is worsening, as youth schemes are cut, services disappear and sanctions become rife, while the disability rate is one of the highest in the country. | For Livelihoods workers in Banwen, the problem is the isolation felt by the community. For school-leavers, there are precious few jobs within a manageable distance of the village, and without a car it’s almost impossible to find work: bus services are minimal and the early, late and weekend services have been cut in recent years. It’s a story familiar to ex-mining villages in south Wales, and everyone at the Dove Workshop centre believes the problem is worsening, as youth schemes are cut, services disappear and sanctions become rife, while the disability rate is one of the highest in the country. |
| Fifty miles away from Banwen lies the Duffryn estate on the outskirts of Newport. When 40-year old Mandy Williams first visited the Oxfam Livelihoods project, based in a small community centre in the estate, her main problem was that one of her teenage daughters, 12-year-old Leanne, was at risk of being suspended from school, and refused to talk to her. Williams had recently fled her home in nearby Ringland due to physical and psychological abuse from a partner, and was hoping to make a fresh start. | Fifty miles away from Banwen lies the Duffryn estate on the outskirts of Newport. When 40-year old Mandy Williams first visited the Oxfam Livelihoods project, based in a small community centre in the estate, her main problem was that one of her teenage daughters, 12-year-old Leanne, was at risk of being suspended from school, and refused to talk to her. Williams had recently fled her home in nearby Ringland due to physical and psychological abuse from a partner, and was hoping to make a fresh start. |
| Mandy had been visited by social services, the police and teachers, but in the context of cuts to councils and services, she dropped off the radar as she wasn’t proactively engaging or meeting appointments, and as staff hours and funding had diminished. | Mandy had been visited by social services, the police and teachers, but in the context of cuts to councils and services, she dropped off the radar as she wasn’t proactively engaging or meeting appointments, and as staff hours and funding had diminished. |
| While working with the project, Williams and the support workers discovered that her two elder daughters had been sexually abused from a young age by her former partner. The scheme was able to get specialist help for the family and found Leanne a place at a specialist pupil referral unit. | While working with the project, Williams and the support workers discovered that her two elder daughters had been sexually abused from a young age by her former partner. The scheme was able to get specialist help for the family and found Leanne a place at a specialist pupil referral unit. |
| While previously Williams was shy, now she’s relatively comfortable in company. “I used to be really bad, I’d never show up for social services meetings and I would always shy away from social contact,” she says. “The distance I’ve travelled is amazing.” | While previously Williams was shy, now she’s relatively comfortable in company. “I used to be really bad, I’d never show up for social services meetings and I would always shy away from social contact,” she says. “The distance I’ve travelled is amazing.” |
| Oxfam estimates that the project is cost-efficient, too, claiming that for every £1 spent, £4.39 is saved down the line. But with the £1.2m investment having come to an end last month, Oxfam is now calling on the Welsh assembly to take over the funding. | Oxfam estimates that the project is cost-efficient, too, claiming that for every £1 spent, £4.39 is saved down the line. But with the £1.2m investment having come to an end last month, Oxfam is now calling on the Welsh assembly to take over the funding. |
| Back in Banwen, for Ashill, the approach has been invaluable. He had become disillusioned by sanctions and the lack of help in an area so badly hit by cuts: “I was accused of being lazy. Yet in a short space of time here, I have achieved much more than in the previous 20 years combined.” | Back in Banwen, for Ashill, the approach has been invaluable. He had become disillusioned by sanctions and the lack of help in an area so badly hit by cuts: “I was accused of being lazy. Yet in a short space of time here, I have achieved much more than in the previous 20 years combined.” |
| Some names have been changed | Some names have been changed |
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