A disabled mum has turned to using a cooking technique from the war in order to cope with the soaring cost of living. Jennifer Jones, 41, has spoken of her struggles amid the rising cost of gas and electricity.
She has seen her gas bills rise by £600, similar to others across the country, and predicts her electricity bills will treble but she is yet to receive a letter about this. She fears other families could be plunged into poverty due to the rising cost of living.
In February, Ofgem announced the 54 per cent energy price cap rise which came into force on April 1. The increase saw bills rise for UK customer's on default tariffs paying by direct debit.
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Jennifer has now started to wear more layers in a bid to keep warm and has even turned to haybox cooking, a technique used during the Blitz, to make stews and soups to avoid using the cooker for a long period of time, Yorkshire Live reports.
The mum-of-two from Sheffield is part of Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC), and has organised a protest which took place on April 1. She says around 10,000 people were in attendance.
Jennifer, who was already feeling the financial squeeze before the rise, said: "I could see [in the media] people protesting in the streets through towns across the country. I’m stuck in my house but I wanted to be a part of that. I want my voice to be heard.
"I saw Martin Lewis on the TV one morning and he said I’ve run out of things to help, that devastated me. It was like a punch to the gut, that's when I knew we were totally lost and we needed to come up with a solution quickly.
"It’s not just about heating or eating, it’s about life or death for families like mine. If it was just me affected by this, I would be ashamed I wouldn’t leave the house but it’s everyone."
Jennifer, a victim of domestic violence, was diagnosed with long-term chronic fatigue syndrome also known as ME and Fibromyalgia, a long-term condition that causes pain all over the body, as a result of the trauma. She is also a carer for her son, 10, who is autistic and attends a special school.
She said her "heart sinks" when she thinks about buying her son, who is going through a growth spurt, new clothes and the other essentials she may have to sacrifice to do so.
She continued: "I don’t feel like I’m in one of the richest countries in the world, I don’t know where I am. It’s so hard for everyone. My son is going through a growth spurt. My heart sinks because I’m going to have to find new clothes for him because he’s growing."
A second Big Power Switch Off was held yesterday (Sunday), joined by hundreds of thousands of families across the country.
People were asked to switch off all household appliances for only 10 minutes or reduce the amount of power they consume in the day. Jennifer acknowledged some people, especially those who are disabled, might not be able to take part in a protest like this if they have life-saving equipment in their homes such as dialysis machines.
