Kerry, who has multiple health conditions, explains how the high cost of living is affecting her and her family this Christmas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My house is colder inside than outside. It\u2019s an end of terrace house with concrete floors and old windows. I\u2019ve had to put plastic up in the windows to try and keep warm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (a long-term lung condition) and chronic pain disorder. I am in pain 24\/7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My chest is always tight and feels like someone is sitting on my chest. I have flu-like symptoms a lot of the time and ache which means I am taking very strong pain killers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The cold really affects me. If I don\u2019t keep warm, it makes the pain worse and I just ache all over. I used to use heated blankets or sit in a warm bath to ease the pain but I can\u2019t do that now with the costs. Often people don\u2019t see my disability or understand because it\u2019s an invisible illness, but a lot of the time I am fighting through the pain and just trying to get on with things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My daughter lives with me with her 19-month-old baby and she\u2019s also pregnant, so we go without a lot to make sure the baby has everything it needs and is well looked after. It comes down to: \u2018do you put food on the baby\u2019s plate or heat the house?\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes I lie and tell my daughter I\u2019ve eaten already so she eats. When the new baby arrives, I think we\u2019ll just have to keep the baby\u2019s room warm and use extra bedding for me and my daughter. That way we\u2019re not heating the whole house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I no longer have breakfast or lunch. We don\u2019t use the food bank locally because I can\u2019t get there and they are short on volunteers to deliver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve tried to report my cold house to the council, but I feel like they haven\u2019t helped me as much as they could. Now they\u2019ve changed the warm homes discount, I no longer qualify for this because it\u2019s a council house and doesn\u2019t have an energy certificate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prices are going up all over. We get help through benefits, but it only goes so far. The disability payments were helpful, but it went straight on my overdraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though the government put benefits up last year, it\u2019s still not enough. My gas and electricity bill has gone from \u00a3100 to \u00a3250 a month. I’m \u00a3600 behind on energy direct debit. It\u2019s just crazy how much the price as rocketed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My scooter only costs about a fiver a week to keep charged but that\u2019s \u00a320 a month we could put towards energy bills. As a result, I don\u2019t go out anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s crazy that we are one of the richest countries. But people on benefits and lower wages are having to use food banks. People should be better off now than back in the 1950s, not like this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Normally I’ve done all my Christmas shopping but not this year. Christmas is usually a big celebration in our house, but now I\u2019ve got two grandchildren on the way, we can\u2019t afford to celebrate. It\u2019s horrible. For us, it\u2019ll be just another day. We can\u2019t even afford a Sunday roast and we\u2019re not eating proper food because junk food is cheaper. And it\u2019ll be the same on Christmas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s sad, it\u2019s meant to be the biggest celebration of the year for a lot of people but I just can\u2019t do it. My grandchildren might get a selection box. And maybe some pyjamas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m just grateful that the children are younger, and they won\u2019t know any different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
68% of people with complex disabilities fear they may have to skip meals to cope this winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Will you add your name to demand more support for disabled people, like Kerry, in the cost of living crisis?<\/p>\n\n\n\n