Melinda's story

On-screen text: The cost of living in the UK is rising and it’s changing people’s lives. So many people skipping meals. It’s sobering. A third of employers are likely to make redundancies over the next year. The average household energy bill could surge above £4,200.

Melinda: I am 62 years young. I was born in Barbados. I have a mental health issue and, when my boys were very young, I got very ill and I was laid off work. I think if you’ve got a mental health label, people don’t take it seriously. I was getting £64 a week to feed and clothe myself and my children. I had to choose between buying something as simple as a bra, I didn’t buy, because I would have to pay like the gas or the electric.

The few things that I had started to break down: my fridge, my cooker, my television, and my washing machine all broke down within a week, and I went against my own principle of saving up. So I ran up over £2,000. I was also borrowing money from family members, seesawing in between paying my bills and not having enough to live on. Sometimes I couldn’t sleep at night because I was thinking, ​‘Oh, I’ve got this to pay, I’ve got that to pay, and will the debt collectors be coming ​’round?’ You know, the anxiety as to how will this play out was very real. I have had suicidal tendencies in the past and my future never seemed set. I suddenly felt, because of my bills and because of my mental health situation, I was never going to make it, that I’m no good.

On-screen text: Before seeking help, one in two CAP clients had either considered or attempted suicide as a way out of debt. (Taking on UK poverty: CAP client report, 2023).

Melinda: I was very fortunate because the doctor I was seeing suggested Wimbledon Guild, and they recommended me to CAP (Christians Against Poverty). And when I contacted the number that they gave me, I spoke to Peter, and Peter was very, very helpful, very kind, and we went through the process to get me out of debt, have all my bills and everything taken care of. And then one day he invited me to the church, and I went along. I was in awe because people were coming up to you and talking to you as though you were not a stranger, as though you were part of the family. And it’s so uplifting. I really feel that I’ve come home and I’m very glad to say that now I’m debt free.

At first, it didn’t seem real because I had been struggling with my bills for a couple of years, more than a couple of years, to know that they had sorted it out in three months and that I didn’t have to worry. It was such a relief. Oh, I can’t tell you, I was so happy. Working with CAP has given me a desire to do better. I’ve actually started going to college and I’m learning Maths. Peter encouraged me to become a befriender. Having you there and saying, ​‘Well, actually, I’ve recently gone through this process myself,’ it’s a real comfort for other people to actually hear that, ​‘Yes, you can, you know, you can get through the process and come to a place of flourishing.’

Totally different point of view now, and I’m looking forward to see what tomorrow will bring and what the future will hold. I’m feeling comfortable in myself and in my place with God. It has to be the work of God because there was no way out. But God has made a way. 

On-screen text: Will you bring hope to people locked in debt and poverty?

Melinda: Father God, your son, Jesus Christ, looked out on crowds who were struggling with desperate need and he suffered with them. He loved them. Lord, break our hearts for those living in poverty right now by your Holy Spirit. Grow such compassion in us that we are moved to action so that we make a difference in people’s lives, just like Jesus did. Lord, use us to fight UK poverty so that your kingdom might come and your will might be done. Amen.