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The government may be focused on jobs, banks and mortgages in its bid to halt the downward economic spiral, but charities dealing with the frontline fallout are bracing themselves for a tough Christmas - with many anticipating soaring demand for services such as homelessness support.
Research earlier in the year by the Charity Commission and the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (Acevo) showed that up to three-quarters of voluntary organisations had seen demand for services rise, and provided an early portent of difficult times ahead. However, charities covering areas that traditionally see a spike in demand during the holiday season - such as drugs and alcohol addiction groups, domestic violence organisations and homelessness support - are feeling a renewed squeeze, and many believe that worse is to come.
Homelessness charities, accustomed to handling peaks in seasonal demand, are likely to face much worse problems, according to Leslie Morphy, chief executive of the charity Crisis. "We are seeing increased demand for some services already, but I really think going in to 2009 things will get particularly grim," she says.
Repossessions double
According to Morphy, the wider housing market crisis is hitting private tenants hard, forcing large numbers of single people in particular out of their homes. "We have seen a doubling of repossessions among buy-to-let landlords and a 49% rise in the number of buy-to-let mortgages in arrears in the three months to September," Morphy says. "In the event of their landlord being repossessed, private tenants can be thrown on to the streets without warning and literally left with nowhere to go."
The charity Homeless Link has surveyed its member organisations, which work with homeless people around the country, and a number of strains on services are emerging, according to its report published this week. One-third (34%) of the groups it canvassed have been affected "significantly or very significantly" by the fallout from the credit crisis, it concludes, while 31% report direct increases in demand for services. The survey found that day centres for the homeless are particularly strained.
There is also evidence, according to both Homeless Link and Crisis, of threats to fundraising as donors tighten their belts. Crisis reports that while individual donors have been "particularly loyal", despite the wider financial crisis, there is evidence of corporate donors holding back. "At the moment, individual giving is holding up," a Crisis spokesman says. "Corporate giving, though, has been reduced." The charity's annual Christmas Card Challenge is a prime example, with donations down from £1m in 2007 to £645,000 this year.
Financial concerns are a key trigger for family breakdown in the run-up to Christmas every year, but organisations such as Relate, which supports families under stress, and Women's Aid, which helps victims of domestic violence, are concerned that the severity of the current crisis will place unprecedented strain on already stretched services. A spokeswoman for Relate says demand for its support line, Relate Response, has seen a rise in demand of 20% year-on-year. "There is no doubt that financial difficulties and job losses impact on families and relationships," she says. Further demands on the service, she adds, could come from "higher earners who may have lost jobs with the meltdown in the City".
At the extreme end of relationship breakdown, Christmas is a notoriously difficult time, but widespread increases in financial hardship this year are likely to cause additional problems, suggests Teresa Parker, of Women's Aid. Financial concerns can directly exacerbate domestic violence, she says, and concludes that "there may therefore be increased pressures on support services as more victims seek help".
Another area predicted to see increasingly tough times is addiction services. The drugs and alcohol charity Addaction says government cuts in budgets for drug treatment will have a long-term impact, with the tougher spending round this year already slashing budgets by 10%. Extra demand on charitable trusts for funding is likely to mean overstretched services competing for a depleting pot of money.
A spokesman for the charity says the recession may lead to a rise in white-collar workers with addiction problems coming forward, which could mean increased workloads for case workers. He says: "We also expect to see a rise in crimes such as burglary, so we may see more people coming through the criminal justice system."
Connecting care
Large organisations such as the social care charity Turning Point anticipate "new groups" of people asking for assistance, according to its chief executive, Lord Adebowale. He says that when it comes to organisations being able to deliver effective services in a climate of growing demand, government commitment to preventive services and ongoing support will be key. "Compared to other recessions in the past, we already have a political will to make connecting people's care work," he says. Government plans to tackle depression and anxiety, which he says is bound to increase in a recession, will be central to "stop people falling into crisis".
Charities say they are doing their best to manage any increase in demand for services, particularly if coupled with declining revenues. Citizens Advice, which saw a 52% rise in inquiries relating to redundancy between April and September this year, was given extra cash by the Treasury last month to keep offices open for longer in the run-up to Christmas, but other groups cannot expect similar help.
If, as predicted, the recession turns out to be deep and prolonged, what happens as this year ends may just be the beginning of a more enduring crisis for the sector.
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