A young woman whose depression was exacerbated by the effects of the pandemic has been supported by LeicestershireLive’s There With You fund.
She was taking care of her three young children after splitting from her partner and becoming homeless.
This contributed to her mental health problem, but there was further strain when the woman was furloughed from her job due to coronavirus.
She was awaiting a Universal Credit payment, while the father of the children was also without income and therefore unable to provide support.
With what little money she had left, the young mother was able to find a flat - but could not afford a washing machine or cooker.
Under financial pressure, her depression worsened.
After being referred to Charity Link by a welfare advice agency, There With You funds were used to provide the family with these household essentials.
How YOU can support our There With You Fund
We are raising £250,000 to help Leicestershire's most vulnerable people through the coronavirus crisis.
There are two ways that you can help us support communities with small crisis grants (which are usually in the form of food vouchers, appliances,mobility aids or beds):
- If you are an individual donor, go to the Just Giving page and donate via our Leicester-based fund administrator Charity Link
- If you are a business donor, call Charity Link’s director of marketing and fundraising, Susan McEniff, on 0116 222 2212, e-mail info@charity-link.org or visit the website.
As lockdown continues, professionals and the public have expressed concern about the effects on people’s mental health.
A Leicester University professor previously told LeicestershireLive that she was concerned that the second phase of lockdown would have a negative effect.
It's why LeicestershireLive’s There With You fund is providing people in need with crisis grants that could, in turn, relieve people of mental strains.
A different young woman, under the care of a mental health unit, was referred to Charity Link when her fridge-freezer broke. She was unable to afford a new unit.
Due to severe anxiety, the woman rarely left home before Covid-19.
But without anywhere to store food, the woman's support worker was concerned that she would rely solely on instant noodles or soup packets.
A fridge-freezer was urgently needed to enable her to do large, infrequent shopping trips and store food sufficiently.
Before There With You funding was provided, the young woman was relying on food banks. Now she has a working fridge-freezer.
LeicestershireLive continues to work towards reaching the £250,000, There With You fund target - donate to the fund here.
You can also find tips on how to take care of your mental health during the lockdown here.
