NGOs working to provide food aid and financial counselling say they are concerned about what will happen if the coronavirus crisis continues into next autumn. They report that they have already seen an increase in the number of people struggling to feed their families and to pay bills.
Although the coronavirus crisis has meant that people can no longer queue for food aid, NGOs say that they have been seeing a broader range of people making appointments to pick up food parcels: young adults, middle-aged people and pensioners.
Construction worker Said Al-Zubeidi was one of the customers at the Manna-Apu food bank in Espoo’s Tuomarila district.
"Because of coronavirus, work has become more irregular as many construction projects have been cancelled. If my pay is not enough to feed my family, I come to the food bank," he said.
Financial problems caused by temporary layoffs and bankruptcies have affected many people in Finland, but it has been especially hard on low-income households. Up to 73 percent of social workers said in a recent social and health care survey that they had seen an increased need for food aid.
NGOs seeing many new faces
Families with children where parents have been furloughed in particular have struggled during the epidemic. Children have been spending more time at home, putting pressure on parents to spend more on food.
A few kilometres away, another NGO, Hyvä Arki, has been providing food assistance in central Espoo for more than 15 years. Founder Hannu Hätönen said he has been receiving many calls for help during recent weeks.
"The need for assistance has exploded. The growth is due to the coronavirus situation, the temporary layoffs and retrenchments. People are in dire need when the only thing in the refrigerator is the light," he said.
Hyvä Arki volunteers distribute food parcels on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. They said they have been seeing many new faces in recent months.
"Normally the majority of customers are young people or pensioners. Now we are seeing engineers as well as plumbers," Hätönen noted.
So far the NGO said that it has had enough food to hand out, but Hätönen said he is already concerned about the situation come autumn if the epidemic continues.
Furloughs also aggravate debt problems
The state of emergency that began in mid-March had also plunged many families into financial distress. More than 40 percent of social workers said that financial problems such as rent defaults had become more widespread, according to the Social barometer survey.
The Guarantee Foundation, which works to help people dig their way out of debt, said it had seen an increase in the number of people falling behind on payments.
"Although furloughs mean there might be enough money for daily expenses, you might still have problems paying bills if you have consumer credit," foundation counsellor Henri Hölttä said.
He said he hoped that working people would check their financial situations in good time. The foundation’s customers have especially defaulted on consumer credit payments, but also on necessary living expenses such as rent as well as electricity and phone bills.
Hölttä said he was also worried about what would happen if the epidemic is prolonged.
"A large group of people have long held out in their cycle of debt. Even the smallest drop in income could lead to payment defaults. I hope that people seek help as early as possible," he added.
