BBCA woman whose home was destroyed in a fire said she and her four children “would have been on the street” without help from a community group.
Calara Joseph said her family was “left with nothing” after the blaze at her home in Bedford earlier this year.
She has been supported by Queen’s Park Community Organisation in the town.
“They’ve helped me financially, materially and they’ve given me a shoulder to cry on when I needed somebody,” she said.
“We lost everything – the plates, the bedding, the children’s school uniform, shoes. We were left with nothing.
“Thank God no-one was injured.”
Ms Joseph said the organisation had been “a great help”.
“I believe we would have been on the street without them,” she said.
The organisation receives grants from the Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation (BLCF) to allocate to those most in need.
Last year BLCF supported 1,300 people over a three month period with their Winter Hardship Fund.
The fund helps people to heat their homes, cook food and pay electricity bills.
Joyce Njenga was one of those who received help from the Winter Hardship Fund.
The 69-year-old lives in a high-rise building and said she struggled during winter.
“In this weather the electricity is going very fast,” she said.
“Sometimes it’s very cold and I have to put on the heating.”
Karen Perkins, chief executive of the BLCF, said the pandemic had “layered on more pressure” and more people were in need of support.
“Within Bedfordshire lots of people have lost employment in the hospitality and retail industry,” she said.
“That has burdened people even more with greater financial pressures.”
