RETIRED construction worker Gary Rigely says the Surviving Winter grant he received was ‘a godsend’ after he found himself unable to work and struggling to make ends meet because of a serious hip condition.
The 62-year-old, who has worked on projects all over the world, said he was becoming depressed at having to limit having his heating on at his flat in Wimborne.
He says: “I started receiving Universal Credit after I was trying to get work but the hospital told me I couldn’t because I can’t stand or sit still for long periods. Things have been up and down with the payments, they seem to be different all the time so it is hard to budget.
“I love to cook but I had to cut back on that to save money for the meter. I was minimising the time I had the heating on, as well as the lighting and the electricity. I had to put myself into a regime really, to not waste energy.
“It is no fun living like that, you shouldn’t have to live like it when you’ve worked all your life. It does get you down being cold, and being indoors all the time doesn’t help.”
In desperation he went to Citizens Advice because it had helped him before. “I wanted to see if I was missing out on something and they were so good and so helpful,” he recalls. “A lovely lady helped me with the Surviving Winter grant and I was really gobsmacked that it was out there.
“It was absolutely fantastic to have the grant, it was a godsend, because it was right at the beginning of November when it was getting cold.”
Now, thanks to the £200 grant, he can afford to enjoy cooking again. “I batch cook so that I’ve always got something in,” he says. “I worked in situations where I’ve been shown how to cook by people from the Phillipines, Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka so I can make a pretty good curry!
“I’d like to thank Dorset Community Foundation and Citizens Advice for helping me.”
Donate to our Surviving Winter appeal here.