With thanks to Oxford Diocese for the material on this page.
Run an initiative
Community Money Advice (CMA) is a national charity supporting churches to help people overcome their financial problems by providing resources and training.
Become a CAP Debt Centre. Christians Against Poverty provide churches with training and support to offer a professional debt counselling tool. CAP do all the debt counselling centrally, including insolvency options, allowing the churches to focus on supporting clients spiritually and practically.
Run a CAP Job Club, the CAP Money Course, or a CAP Life Skills Group.
Get training and support from the Illegal Money Lending Team (Stop Loan Sharks) on how to identify victims of loan sharks and receive resources to raise awareness in your church or community.
Start a local food pantry or community fridge in your neighbourhood.
Start a Baby Basics in your area.
Partner with Hey Girls… to provide free period products to those experiencing period poverty.
Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries provide the Sanctuary Course for small groups to raise awareness and start conversations about mental health.
Buy Restored’s Guide for Churches to address domestic abuse, and join the network of churches stepping up and speaking out against domestic violence.
Open your church as a warm space
Consider opening your church as a ‘warm bank’ (like a food bank, but offering warmth). This might be particularly relevant if your church building or hall is on a fixed rate contract or will be heated anyway.
We've collated a list of things to consider if your church is interested in becoming a warm bank - have a look at the dedicated page.
Not all churches could or should become warm banks, and we acknowledge the concern of many regarding their church’s energy bills in the current context. It's just one example of how churches can help, and another solution may fit your church better. You may also be able to link up with a local organisation to help support their own warm bank.
Have a church drop-in session
Utilise your church members and communities’ skills to support others. This could be helping people write a formal email, putting together a CV, booking a Citizens Advice appointment, looking for the cheapest tariff online, etc. This support could be combined with food, the opportunity for socialising, homework support, or any manner of other things.
Start a computer club
Provide free internet access and laptops.
Talk about poverty effectively
We want to reduce poverty, and communicating well about poverty will help us achieve this aim. Joseph Rowntree Foundation have put together an excellent poverty framing toolkit to help tell the story of poverty in a way that interacts well with our attitudes.
God and the Money Lenders is a report from The Contextual Theology Centre on faith and the battle against exploitative lending.
Growing Good is a free six-session course helping churches explore the connection between social action, discipleship, and growth.
The lies we tell ourselves: ending comfortable myths about poverty is a report from the Joint Public Issues Team.
Campaigning
As well as essential work to meet people’s immediate needs, those in the church will be calling for long-term solutions and systemic change in the face of this huge challenge.
The Living Wage is an hourly rate, independently calculated each year as the amount a worker should earn to give their family a basic but acceptable standard of living.
Find out about Citizens UK’s Settle Our Status campaign for those who call UK home but can’t engage fully due to their immigration status.
Address period poverty. Three years ago, the UK government promised £250,000 to tackle period poverty, but this money still hasn’t been used despite period poverty getting worse. Use Bloody Good Period’s MP letter template to ask the government to act now.
Join the Trussell Trust in asking your MP to call for a stronger social security system.
Enough is Enough is a campaign to fight the cost-of-living crisis, founded by trade unions and community organisations.
Join with Restored to campaign that the Domestic Abuse Bill covers more areas and therefore better support and protection for survivors.
Write to your MPs and councillors to make your voice heard on the issues you and your community are encountering.