Park ward Labour councillor, Aasiyah Joseph, is delighted that fellow Labour councillors, Shaz Nawaz and Ikra Yasin have joined her in support of an initiative called  “Coats 4 Kids.” The scheme collects both new and second-hand coats to be distributed to local children.

In the city which now has the highest rates of child poverty in the East of England,  community-led schemes such as this have multiplied to fill the void left by years of Conservative failure at both local and national level.

Peterborough’s Labour councillors continue to support many such schemes with direct donations, and by volunteering their own time, as the lack of support from the government or Conservative-led city council means that these families would otherwise have nowhere else to turn for help.

Councillor Joseph takes up the story:

“After hearing about a similar scheme in Nottingham, Jane Hale from Peterborough thought that is was something she would like to be involved in. Having noticed children walking to a nearby school without the benefit of winter coats, Jane knew there was clearly a need locally. Jane and friends set up the initiative just before Christmas last year, and in its first few months arranged coats for over 150 children in Peterborough.

 

My daughter and I heard about the project and donated coats, hats, and gloves. This year I asked my fellow Park Ward Labour Councillors, Shaz Nawaz & Ikra Yasin if they would like to support this very worthy cause. They were delighted to do so and we purchased 33 coats for the project.”

Councillor Joseph continues, explaining why the need for initiatives such as this is so great in Peterborough:

“Many families face difficult financial decisions every day. Here in Peterborough we have a low wage economy, many families working for minimum wage and with zero hours contracts. For many the switch from Working Tax & Family Credit has meant a reduction in the assistance they get leaving them with an even harder struggle to make ends meet.

 

A lack of investment in social and affordable housing means that they are forced to pay higher private rents leaving little money left for food and clothes. Many working families are reliant upon food banks & projects like this just to provide the very bare necessities for their families.”

Supporting this wonderful and timely initiave is easy. There are drop off points all over the city and details can be found on their Facebook page “Coats 4 Kids” here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2694016974001179