Anna Price, community leader at St Mary Magdalene, says its work to build community resilience and break isolation is vital.
“Many people get into crisis partly because they are on their own and don’t have anyone around them to understand things and help them move forward in life,” she says.
“The cycle I see in families, generational dependence on benefits, means that some people no longer have the skills or upbringing to know how to keep a job.”
St Mary Magdalene is located in an estate where there are high levels of unemployment and “economically inactive” people who are neither in work nor looking for it.
Mental health problems, neurodivergent conditions, physical poor health and disabilities are also prevalent.
“When you hear their stories and what their lives are like, you realize that the idea of employment is very, very, very challenging,” Price says.
“It’s really heartbreaking, because it’s a cycle that you feel like we’re stuck in and there doesn’t seem to be any way out of it easily.”
But there is hope. Introducing someone in crisis to a tenant is “like picking someone up off the floor,” she says.
“I’ve always found it very emotional; that they see that there’s a possibility of getting rid of the debt and getting the right benefits.
“It’s unbelievable.”
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said its Connect to Work program is expected to support 4,000 people in Norfolk by 2029.
He said, “We are committed to moving from a welfare state to a working state, giving people in Norfolk the support they need to get out of poverty and into work.”
“We will always work with anyone with outstanding debt to find an affordable way to pay, which may include pointing individuals towards free debt advice and support services.”
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