Cost Of Inequality Story 2

Hi, Jamal. Jamal here from Birmingham City. You can call me JJ from Birmingham City. Now I've been asked to answer three simple questions

No, I say that they are simple questions, but to me they're probably most important and difficult questions to answer at the same time. So the first question is, what does money mean to you? So for me, with money, you can buy security and safety for you and for your loved ones. As human beings, we need money to pay for all things that makes our life possible, such as shelter, food, health care, bills and a good education

So therefore, money allows us to meet our basic needs in order to buy those essential things in life. And meeting these essential needs is, if we don't have enough money to do so, then our personal well being and well being of others of the community as a whole suffers greatly. Also, um, with money

Sometimes they say money makes the world go around. But for me, that's not the most important thing for me. It's about meeting the essential basic needs

That's why we need why money is important. So the second question is and the cost of living crisis. What stress and strain that is causing

So due to the cost of living crisis, some of the strained and stress that is causing is including is having a sharp impact on people's mental health and well being. I myself have suffered from mental health from the cost of living crisis due to the stress and the worries and rise of inflation fuel energy bills. Um, and still there is a rise further

Um, especially now we're in winter because the bills the anxiety of every monthly, every quarterly, every time a bill has to be taken out of the bank, it causes anxiety and stress because at the end of the month is those who worry how much money is going to be left over. So it has a financial impact as well as our physical, mental and well being impact. And these are some of the strains that the cost of living crisis is having upon us

So the third and final question is how is the cost of living crisis affecting you? So I've already shared some of those, um, so rising energy prices, um, and the cost of living crisis are forcing for me and my families to make daily decisions that are impossible. Impossible. So this is including, um, so as a parent to meet even the basic needs of my Children

The cost of living crisis is causing for my families to cut budgets, many of which were already already and have begun with, um, this making decision, what is important, making sacrifices within our budget cuts, also making sacrifices, what we can buy and what we can't buy as families. We've never needed the financial support before and are desperate for it now. And one small change can leave a family completely vulnerable

So here are some more examples. My partner has recently become sick as a result of our two take time off work to look after her. And at times I've been forced to go to food banks, um, to get by and eat smaller portions to make to make what we have to last longer

When my Children go into the kitchen to look for food, all I see is disappointment faces as they find the cupboards empty. Or sometimes we have to do having our main meals as as buying a pot noodle that's worth a P. So offering each child an a P meal as a main meal, Uh, on an evening

And we have to get by that as a way of survival and suffice. So these are my three answers. Thank you for listening

.