THE Colin Neighbourhood Partnership have met to discuss the current cost of living crisis and what action can be taken.
The Partnership has said that it has become clear that both service users of community organisations and the organisations themselves are facing a crisis driven by the massive increases in the cost of fuel and food.
Dave Wall, Chairperson, Colin Neighbourhood Partnership, said it was agreed that “we should write to our colleagues in the 35 other Neighbourhood Renewal Areas, to request that the 36 Neighbourhood Renewal Partnerships urgently come together to share our experiences and discuss what action we can take to support our people and our neighbourhoods".
“It is through working together, both within Colin Neighbourhood Partnership and with other organisations, that we can really make progress in the present cost of living crisis," said Dave.
“We will need that ability to come together, to generate support and success, as a potentially very difficult winter approaches. Conversations across the neighbourhood are now about the rising cost of gas, oil, electricity, and food that will cause difficulties of a kind we have not seen for many years.
“Public service organisations like libraries and schools, businesses, and community development organisations are already worrying about how they will meet their bills and their obligations to the community.
“Priorities must be ensuring those who are the most vulnerable are kept warm and properly fed – older people, young children, and those with a disability must be cared for.”
Danny Baker MLA who met with Colin community stakeholders about the cost-of-living crisis said: “Not for the first time as a community we always have to come together when we face crisis, we did it over Covid-19, we all came together as community activists, as community groups, CNP, Sally Gardens, Mount Eagles and we worked together to support the community the best way that we could.
“That being said there was funding that was coming from the Executive at the time and it really is important that we have an Executive up and running right now because we need to get the money to help put money in people’s pockets. One way of doing that there is to support community groups who support the most vulnerable in our communities
“This was the initial meeting, it was nice coming together, we look back on some of the very successful stuff we have done over the past couple of years together. It might be different this time, if the DUP don’t go back into the Executive here in the Autumn and there’s no money coming into the groups it will make it harder, we will have to be thinking outside the box but one thing I know about the Colin community is it always delivers.
“We will be there to support people and we’ve done it not just with Covid-19 but in the last couple of years we’ve also had the Christmas appeal and the Colin response and that helped more than 400 families last Christmas so there will be all of that there to be discussed and try and help as much people as possible. It’s a great community that always comes together and it will again.”
