The Printing Charity has been around for almost 200 years, having been founded in 1827 as The Printers’ Pension Society. Today it provides practical and emotional support for those in need in the printing, paper, publishing, packaging and graphics sectors. Given the current economic climate, I spoke with its CEO Neil Lovell to find out how its services are being called upon.
In our 2023 annual Widthwise survey print chiefs said their biggest concerns for their businesses going forward were energy bills and the state of the UK economy - and we know the cost of living crisis in general is hitting many households. Given this state of affairs, is the charity noticing an increase in calls for support?
We are certainly living in uncertain times. The pandemic created conditions none of us were really prepared for and as you say, we face the realities of a cost of living crisis. With the Joseph Rowntree Foundation finding that one-in-five people in the UK are living in poverty, and 7.9m of those are working age adults, it’s a challenging picture right now, compounded by the most recent interest rate hike.
Against this background, it’s no surprise that we are seeing a steady rise in calls to our free, confidential employee helpline, particularly from people seeking in-the-moment telephone counselling. Of these, by far the greatest number of calls are to do with overall emotional health. We have also seen a rise in the number of people accessing the helpline to speak to our information specialists, most frequently to discuss benefits, finances, housing and a range of legal issues.
Overall, however, the increase in calls hasn’t perhaps been as steep as you might expect, and I think there are two reasons for this.
Firstly, people assume that their problem or worry isn’t significant enough to warrant a call to the helpline. What I would say to those people is the helpline is there for everyone and every problem, no matter what that might be.
Secondly, because the industry we support is so broad, diverse and fragmented, we know that there are people working in print who simply don’t know that our helpline is there for them, or don’t realise that they are eligible. We’re working hard to build our network and, through a range of channels, reach those who don’t yet know that our help is out there, for them.
I’d expect the charity to be hearing from those having lost their jobs and needing financial assistance, but in-work poverty is something we hear more about nowadays. This sector provides good salaries all told, but is the charity hearing from more employed people struggling?
Our overall feeling here is that we are still not hearing enough from those who are in work and struggling. Despite increasingly challenging circumstances, we don’t feel this has changed.
If we do hear from somebody who’s employed, one of the first things they tend to say to us is that they’re never reached out for any kind of help in this way before. They find it a very uncomfortable position to be in. Many people may not even realise that they can apply to us for support if they’re in work - those people that will pick up the phone and talk to us about how we may be able to help when they’re working are few and far between.
But simply looking at the practicalities, many families are likely to be struggling, and may well be eligible for help from us, particularly in cases where there is only one income, but we are simply not seeing people in this group enquiring.
I would encourage anyone who thinks that they need support, whether practical, emotional or financial, whatever their personal circumstances, to get in touch with our team and talk it through. As well as the support we ourselves can provide, our team are also able to signpost to other organisations who can provide specialist help, whether that’s expert advice for particular problems, or other avenues for potential financial support.
Can you provide some kind of overview as to what kind of financial support packages the charity can provide?
The financial support we offer falls under two broad areas - help with something specific which is simply unaffordable, and also help for people struggling to afford essential living costs.
Joseph Rowntree Foundation data shows that around 60% of low-income households are not able to afford an unexpected expense, while around a quarter are using credit to pay essential bills, too.
Against this backdrop, the trigger we often see for someone contacting us to discuss financial support is the shock of an unexpected expense. Then, in conversation, our team learn more about other areas of need which the person may not have made contact with us about, because they didn’t feel it was sufficient to warrant making that contact. What we want to encourage people to do is to talk to us whenever they feel they are struggling, not just when they can attribute these problems to something specific.
You offer a wide-range of services in-house, and act as a conduit to other professional bodies. Where are you currently seeing most demand, and is there any discernible pattern?
What we see at the charity is reflected across the UK as a whole at the moment. People are being squeezed from every side. Since Covid, we’ve seen a rise in people contacting us to discuss debt, and this situation continues. We have certainly seen an increase in people using credit cards for day-to-day spending.
We’ve also seen a rise in financial problems caused by gambling. This isn’t the reason people initially contact us, but something we identify during our financial assessment process.
As well as providing support ourselves, we signpost to the spectrum of excellent specialist support resources out there. There is a page on our website dedicated to this signposting, and when people contact us our team will take the time to find out exactly what is needed, and signpost to these organisations accordingly.
The charity recently flagged-up vacancies within its almshouses for those retired from a career in print and the allied trades. I would have thought they would be snapped up, but perhaps those on the cusp of retiring need to be reminded of the applications criteria...
During Covid we paused promotion of our retirement schemes, so awareness inevitably dropped. We’re now rebuilding our pipeline of eligible people considering moving into our apartments, either at the present time or in the near future. To be eligible, people must be of retirement age; retired from the print, packaging, paper, publishing or graphics sectors; of reduced financial means; and able to live independently.
The friendly, community-focused almshouse developments are located in Basildon and Bletchley, and we have vacancies at both. The one-bedroom apartments are on either the ground or first floor, with a terrace or a Juliet balcony respectively. They’re in great locations for public transport and local amenities, and while they are for independent living, support is on hand when needed through our small, friendly onsite team and an out-of-hours community alarm service. Our on-site teams run plenty of activities for residents to join in with if and when they choose, and the community focus helps anyone moving in to make new friends.
We know there is a need for our homes, not least because the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found that 15% of pensioners are living in poverty, and because in 2017 the Local Government Association predicted that the scale of elderly homelessness is set to double by 2025.
Recent research shows that almshouse housing can help to resolve this crisis, as it is specifically available for people who are of retirement age and reduced financial means. Not only do almshouses provide secure, quality accommodation, they also help boost residents’ life expectancy due to their unique spirit of friendship and community. Researchers at Bayes Business School found that living in an almshouse can boost residents’ longevity by as much as two and a half years compared to that of their counterparts in the general population.
Affordable rental properties in both our homes’ locations are few and far between, and we are keen for anyone who could be eligible to know about the opportunity to move into one of our developments.
What would you say to someone struggling to manage but reticent about calling the charity for help?
We know it can be really hard at times to talk about issues, whether practical, emotional or financial, but it does help to share what’s on your mind with someone who is there to listen. That’s where our helpline, and the charity’s own welfare team, come into their own. Taking that first step to make a call or look online at how you can get help, is such a positive move, and there can be a real sense of relief that comes as a result of that decision.
Our helpline is available to everyone working in the print, paper, packaging, publishing or graphics sectors. It provides in-the-moment practical, emotional and financial support from BACP-accredited counsellors 24 hours a day, seven days a week; and Citizens Advice-trained information and advice specialists Monday-Friday, 8am- 8pm.
Our strategy for rolling out the helpline is to work with businesses to help them share information about it directly with their employees. We provide all the required information for launch, and on an ongoing basis.
Our goal is to build close, long-term partnerships with businesses using the helpline, so we can make sure the helpline is having the impact that each particular business needs it to.
By working in this way, we can be there when people need support, and we can also share details of the charity’s other initiatives with them so that more people working in our sectors can more easily benefit from everything we have to offer.
We say that we may not always know when people need our help, but we want to be there when they do, and by proactively sharing information about our helpline and other services, we can do our best to achieve this.