On the Breadline: £1m in grants given out as part of our £4m campaign

Today we have given out more than £1m to charities supporting disadvantaged people across London, bringing the total we have distributed in grants from our On the Breadline campaign to almost £4m.

The focus of this second and final phase of funding has been to provide help to those disproportionately impacted by the cost of living crisis. This includes care-affected youth, disabled people, survivors of domestic violence, women from Black and minority communities and homeless people.

It follows our disbursement of £2.8m to 208 charities nationwide announced last month and wraps up our Christmas appeal with sister title the Evening Standard, which raised £4m in partnership with Comic Relief and The Childhood Trust.

The latest grants of £132,943 each have been distributed to eight charities whose heads hailed the “incredible generosity” of the public, corporates and philanthropists who donated the funds and said it would have “a significant impact” on those who need it most.

It comes as a poll by Survation showed that 44 per cent of people in the capital say their mental health has suffered due to the cost of living crisis, with more than a quarter unable to pay their rent at least once in the last six months. In addition, new data from The Food Foundation out this week reveals that 25 per cent of essential workers countrywide – including NHS nurses and social care workers – live in households that faced food insecurity in January 2023.

Charity bosses said our grants come at a critical time. Agnes Baziwe, chief executive of Africa Advocacy Foundation, said: “The donation will enable us to provide relief for African migrant women and girls in London living in poverty and experiencing domestic abuse. This grant enables us to provide essential casework support, referral pathways, group counselling, culturally appropriate mental health support and a hardship fund to ensure the most vulnerable have access to vouchers for food and utility bills.”

Ruth Brock, CEO of The Hygiene Bank, another grantee, said: “The incredible generosity of this grant will have a significant impact on our ability to reach more people in London living in hygiene poverty. This funding means that families who are unable to afford everyday essentials that most of us take for granted – toothpaste, deodorant and period products – will have that chance. Thanks to your grant, more children can go to school with clean uniforms, more families can have a toothbrush each and more people can have the soap and shower gel they need.”

Tanya Mitchell, for The Felix Project, said: “We are grateful for this generous donation that will help us support more organisations who feed hungry Londoners. Every week new schools are asking for help. Grants like this ensure we can be there, delivering nutritious surplus food, which they give to families struggling during these challenging times.”