Dear John,

This has been a challenging year for every single one of us. We have been angry
and devastated to hear about children missing school meals and families turning
to food banks for help. How can this be happening in a wealthy country with a
benefit system designed to prevent this?

No child should have to worry about mum or dad making ends meet. Please donate
today.
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Thanks to your support, we have successfully pressed for improvements to the
social security system that have helped hundreds of thousands of families in
poverty. Yet for 39 weeks, my colleagues and I have collected evidence from the
frontline of families falling through the cracks.



We've heard about parents such as Bill, a self-employed single dad. His job as a
building manager stopped when lockdown started, and he followed government
advice to claim Universal Credit. His tax credits stopped and he became worse
off immediately. He has been relying on his local food bank and has had to sell
some of his tools to stay afloat. He is extremely distressed and battling to
keep his fragile emotional state from his daughter.

With over five million people claiming Universal Credit since the national
lockdown in March, it should be keeping everyone afloat, but it isn’t.
[[link removed]] Will you donate to support our work today?
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Many families are facing the choppiest waters this country has navigated for
decades and are still not getting the help they need. Things need to change. I’m asking you to join us, so together we can fix this and achieve a secure
future for children and families. Please donate today.
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Over the coming weeks, we’re holding citizens’ juries - virtually and safely -
with people the length and breadth of the country to ask about what social
security means for them. We are also bringing together experts to help us
navigate the unchartered waters we are all facing. In the New Year, we will pull
together all the evidence we have, the findings from our citizens’ juries and
roundtables, and with some of the best thinkers in the country, we’ll come up
with a series of proposals for a new lifeline - a social security system that works for everyone and can be treasured just like
our NHS. One that is inclusive and compassionate.


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Your donation can help us fight for a system that works for us all. Please
donate today.
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With best wishes for this festive season and wishing you a happy new year,

Sophie Howes

Senior Policy Officer


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