Hygiene Poverty Event 7th October 2022
Despite the weather letting us down and meaning we couldn't stand in our gazebo in Glass Works Square as originally planned we had a fabulous day talking to residents and finding out about how the cost of living crisis is beginning to take it's toil.
Hygiene poverty is not really talked about as people do not generally understand how much it impacts on some ones life if they are unable to keep themselves or their homes clean. Simple things like being able to brush your teeth twice a day are soon put to the bottom of the list when you are struggling to put food on the table.
Joseph Rowntree Foundation published The Essential Guide to Understanding Hygiene Poverty in the UK which gives us some shocking statistics
- 1 in 3 people in the UK go without basic hygiene essentials
- 8 out of 10 primary school children go to school unwashed
- 56% of people in poverty are from working families
- Pensioners and children are most at risk from hygiene poverty
You can download a copy of the full report here
We spoke to over 100 people at our event and gave away 85 goody bags filled with hygiene products for personal use and for use around the home. We would like to thank
- Stop Smoking Service
- Spectrum
- Community Dentist
- More Money in your pocket team
- NHS Health Checks
for joining us on the day and special thanks to
- Tesco
- Morrisions
- Asda
- Public Health Barnsley
- Euro Car Parts
- Hilder House
- Pallative Care Team
For their fantastic donations which enabled us to hand out the hygiene packs which were very much appreciated.
We are currently looking at the data we recieved from our survey and pulling together some of the comments and stories we heard on the day and these will be put together in a report to be shared on our website in the near future.
