Destitution - it’s a Dickensian word. But it now applies to 3.8 million people, a million of them children, who are struggling to meet their most basic physical needs to stay warm, dry, clean and fed.
And it’s an increasing reality for many in Manchester - a city with the second highest levels of destitution in the country, according to a new report.
Living in destitution doesn’t just mean going hungry. We are now living in a country where people sit by candlelight at night, too afraid to turn on the lights.
Where mums face a choice between babies nappies and sanitary products. And where children take toothbrushes to bed - clinging to the precious necessity like a teddy bear or doll. READ MORE: A new emergency has been declared in Greater Manchester READ MORE: 'I supposedly missed a benefits appointment 10 years ago.