• WE will be gathering again on August 30 at 6pm at “Barry’s Bench” in St Martin’s Gardens to mark the passing of Camden Town Neighbourhood Advice Centre’s main adviser Barry Sullivan, 1948-2008.

When I wrote last year at this time I was delighted that the doors of the old CTNAC premises at Greenland Road were once again open to people needing advice.

I am sure the services of the Camden Community Law Centre have been in non-stop demand during this ongoing so-called “cost of living” crisis.

I referenced the “cost of living” crisis in my letter sent a year ago. This is not a temporary situation and we have been told that the prices of energy and food will not exactly be reducing when the “crisis” ends but will increase more slowly.

A trip to the supermarket has become to many a kind of pot luck where you look for those items on your list that are on a special offer or at least at the same price as they were last week.

It is not now a question of there being empty shelves but that so many items have increased so outrageously that you simply cannot put all of those items with inflated prices into your basket.

Many parents have recounted going without a meal in order to feed their children prior to this crisis. Many more are now going without, especially those on benefits and people with disabilities; or any family on benefits that had the audacity to have more than two children.

There is no “poor house” to provide a grim roof over your head in the 2020s.

It would be a comfort to think that things can only get better but recent years have taught us that things can get worse, a lot worse.

CATHY POUND
Former Member CTNAC
Board of Trustees