Supporting Cornwall through the Cold – Surviving Winter 2024

Last winter, one in five adults said they struggled to keep comfortably warm in their home.

This came from a survey covering 18 October 2023 – 1 January 2024 conducted by the Office for National Statistics. They also found four in ten energy bill payers were struggling to afford payments.

In Cornwall fuel poverty impacts 15.4% of all households (40,355 homes), according to Cornwall Council. We know from our work with groups supporting communities across Cornwall that this forces people into making heartbreaking choices. Sometimes choosing between feeding their families or heating their homes.

People living in cold and damp homes don’t work as well and often struggle to go about their day-to-day lives. Children can struggle to concentrate on homework and people can become isolated. Cornwall Council have also shared that there is the worry of carbon monoxide poisoning from badly maintained boilers or chimneys.

What are we doing to help?

As we head into winter, many people in our communities face a bleak and challenging few months. To help individuals through this time, hundreds of community groups across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly work with us to distribute ‘Surviving Winter’.

Through the Surviving Winter Fund, we give out grants that ensure the most vulnerable are supported and that no one is having to go without basic needs. Groups apply for funding that allows them to respond to the needs of people in their community.

“Our families are some of the most vulnerable across the county and this money helped them access essential food items or pay for warm clothes or gas/electric. It was definitely seen as a lifeline to them during the coldest, darkest time of year.” – Wild Young Parents

“For our project users without access to money for food and warmth, it is the difference between being cold and hungry, and going to bed with a meal inside you. There is no more basic need than this grant fulfills.” – Travellerspace

Help us support organisations making a real difference in your communities, donate to Surviving Winter 2024 now.

If you are working with an organisation that would benefit from this funding, learn more about the Surviving Winter Fund online.