02 Apr We must rally around charities and groups during the ongoing age of austerity

When will it all end? It seems that the age of austerity has been with us forever, and the outlook looks bleak.

The lucky ones among us can remember when times were good, employment was full, and there was money to spend.

But for the last few decades, there have been endless cutbacks in the public sector, in the NHS, and, of course, among the many charities and community groups that are so often the best placed to fill the gaps.

Charities large and small are getting busier, which means more work for less money; it stretches resources and exhausts the staff. Those are the lucky ones; they are the ones who are still trading.

Too many have been forced out of business, and the recent closure of Yes!Brixham sent shockwaves around the Bay.

Yes! had been trading for just short of 30 years, providing support and advice for tens of thousands of people in Brixham, many of whom were vulnerable, isolated and in need of a break. Yes! provided that by the bucketload.

So many people remember fondly their introduction to music and musical instruments at Yes! or attending workshops, getting sound advice on a range of subjects from housing to benefits and then, of course, generations of children remember fondly their visit to Santa at The Edge.

And yet, even a charity as big and important as Yes! are subject to economic factors beyond their control. Money is short and ever harder to come by. Funders are under siege, and local authorities cash strapped. Grants are relatively scarce, and competition is fierce.

There are so many factors that have led us to this point, but much of it can be traced back to the global financial crisis of 2008, which led to spending cuts and reductions in public services across the board.

Community organisations and charities were left to pick up the pieces where they could, but as the cuts bit ever deeper, they became victims of the cutbacks, which is an irony because that is when they were needed the most.

Politics have no place in this column, and no amount of finger-pointing will improve the lot of those affected by cuts, the most vulnerable, elderly, disabled and low-income families – the very people that charities support.

Even the most optimistic among us can see no upturn in the charitable sector, with most predicting, yet again, that things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. Times are hard.

Charities come and go, and funding moves around. It always has and always will. A great deal of work has been done to avoid duplication, but demand outstrips supply for every pot of money. The pots are becoming fewer, and finding them is often a full-time job.

Somehow, community organisations still need to step up, and thousands of people are working across the Bay to do just that, looking for new sources of income and being ever more creative in their pursuit of them.

In a nutshell, charities across the country, including here in the Bay, are weathering an ever more ferocious storm caused by reduced donations, increased demand for services, and rising operational costs.

After years of austerity, the outlook remains bleak and key factors contributing to this crisis include an economic downturn, which reduces donors’ ability to contribute. Linked to that is donor fatigue, when people are overwhelmed by frequent appeals, leading to decreased engagement.

We have all been hit by rising costs, whether that is higher rents, soaring energy prices, increased water bills, above-inflation rises in council tax, living wage increases or the uplift in national insurance payments budgets.

All the while, the same pressures on other services and individuals are leading to increased demand – more people need help due to economic hardship. Competition for Funds – More organisations are competing for limited grants and donations.

We have heard much about further reductions in government funding in recent weeks, which will filter down to the street level and cause hardship for families and individuals.

And yet, we must keep going, we must continue with our work, and we must continue to ask for your support to deliver it, whether that is through financial donations or volunteering. We must do it for our Torbay Communities.