National Energy Action (NEA) the leading national fuel poverty charity supports the End Child Poverty campaign and its objective of challenging the Government to meet their target of halving child poverty by 2010.
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Cold, damp homes affect children’s health increasing the risk of common ailments like colds and flu, respiratory infections such as bronchitis as well as making them more vulnerable to allergies. Living with fuel poverty causes excessive stress for both children and adults and can lead to long-term depression and anxiety.
NEA is also concerned that children’s educational attainment can suffer, with children finding it difficult to complete homework in homes where only one room may be adequately heated and more liable to school absence due to cold-related illnesses. Children also experience a degree of social exclusion, often too embarrassed to invite friends back to a cold home.
Cold, damp homes are also linked to asthma, a rapidly growing problem among children in particular, with 1.1m children in the UK, currently receiving treatment for asthma*.
Nine-year-old Luke put down his feelings on how his home was affecting his wellbeing.
I feel cold and sad
I haven’t got any heating
My home is cold and damp
Water runs down the wall
And it makes my bed wet
My fingers draw on the window
It’s like fog
I try to pull the cover over me
But it does not work
*Figures courtesy of Asthma UK.