Case Study - Residents in poverty turning to public bathing

As the financial crisis bites harder, people are going to the gym to shower because they can’t afford heating and hot water at home.

It’s a familiar story at Hackney Foodbank with elderly residents and even people in full time employment relying on council-run gyms for personal hygiene.

Tanya Whitfield, Head of Services at Hackney Foodbank, added: “It’s like we’re back in the Victorian times where people used public baths to keep clean.  It is appalling that here in London for so many people wages haven’t kept pace with the rising cost of living and benefits fail to meet people’s most basic needs.

“Everybody is entitled to a warm home with hot water – to hear of elderly residents walking up to a mile for a shower is beyond upsetting.   We need the government to act now to ensure benefits actually cover the essentials.”

Precious, 73, is among the Hackney residents heading to the gym to shower. She said: “My bills have gone up such a lot – I have a pay-as-you-go metre so that’s even more expensive. The cost of food has gone up loads too.  I daren’t put the heating on. I keep my pyjamas and dressing gown on and stay in bed for as long as I can.

“Twice a week I go to Britannia Leisure Centre for a shower – it’s cheaper than using the shower at home and it’s a place I can go and be warm.”

Precious, who worked as a health care assistant for most of her life, cooks bulk batches of food and freezes them to keep her meal costs down.  She added: “Some weeks I get my pension and, by the time I pay gas and electricity, insurance, council tax, telephone and service charges – it’s gone.  Last week I had just £13 left for food. I make sugar water to give me energy.”

According to the Energy Saving Trust, around 17 per cent of the average energy bill goes on heating hot water. And, with a typical household, currently paying around £2,500 a year for their energy, that equates to more than £400 for hot water. Council gym memberships starting at just £22 for residents referred by their doctor.

In the 1830s public wash houses became particularly popular during a cholera pandemic, offering a place for people living in the slums to wash and clean their clothes.  But their use became increasingly recreational as private bathrooms became commonplace.

Hackney Foodbank are in need of donations as more people in the community face food poverty and turning to the food bank for support. Donate here.