Ask for help to beat a bleak winter
IT HAS been a good summer for most, but as the August Bank Holiday effectively brings that season to a close and encourages us to look forward to the return to school and the advent of autumn and winter, there are most certainly clouds on the horizon.
Gas prices went up earlier this year, petrol prices are now on the way down – very slowly – having hit a near-£2 a litre peak, and electricity tariffs increased considerably a few weeks ago.
But a beautiful summer has cushioned islanders from feeling most of these increases. Nobody has been thinking of putting the heating on while the sun has beaten down, almost unbroken, for weeks.
Citizens Advice Guernsey knows that cannot last and so has issued a warning for islanders to think carefully what their bills might look like once the heating and lighting go back on.
‘We haven’t seen the increase in islanders requiring our help so far that we were expecting, but that is why we’re worried, because the effects haven’t hit yet,’ said CEO Kerry Ciotti. ‘It’s scary how many people this could affect. It could see people struggling with debt who may not have ever been in debt before.’
It’s a very real threat for many islanders. The message has to be that those in need of help should be prepared to reach out and ask for it – it could help them through what may be a miserable winter.