No Time To Lose

Ahead of Loneliness Awareness Week (9th -15th June), on Wednesday Christians Against Poverty released the 2025 Client Report, revealing the devastating impact debt and poverty is having on people.

A crisis of isolation and fear is gripping people struggling with debt and poverty across the UK, according to the new report, No Time to Lose. It looks at the experiences of CAP’s clients, and reveals a stark picture where debt is forcing people into hiding, with a staggering 85% feeling isolated, and more than half (52%) admitting they were afraid to leave their homes.

The report also highlights that many local households are facing a debt crisis. New CAP clients in the East of England on average owed over £13,300. They had organisations chasing them for payments on 13 different debts, with 47% of their arrears for priority debts, often essential bills like Council Tax, rent, gas and electricity.

This comes alongside CAP’s latest polling with Opinium, which reveals that over 11.2 million UK adults are suffering with loneliness (21%), with 11.1 million (20%) living alone. Importantly, over 4.6 million (8%) report not having a support network. In line with the national picture, Ely and District CAP has often seen that isolation and fear are preventing people from seeking help, leading to their debts spiralling out of control. The financial pressures people face often go unseen, and as many are afraid to ask for help, they can isolate themselves from family and friends.

CAP’s latest report highlights that low income and struggles with mental health are the two biggest reasons our clients are finding themselves in a debt crisis. Many people live on ridiculously low incomes, and when faced with increasing costs and other financial challenges they can become trapped in a vicious cycle of uncontrollable debt, leaving them to feel ashamed and alone – only worsening their fear and anxieties.

Findings from No Time to Lose highlight the extent of the constant state of anxiety that many of the people coming to CAP for help report feeling:

78% fear answering the phone

82% are worried about opening the post

62% are frightened about a knock at the door

58% suffered from poor mental health

CAP client and mum of three, Jolene, faced the raw isolation of a financial collapse when her working hours were slashed at the same time as she became liable for additional debts: “I’d worked hard to get where I was, and I’d put myself through qualifications so I’d be in a good financial position.

“But my ex-partner left, which meant not only was I now responsible for paying back all the bills, but I was stuck paying off his debts as well. I didn’t sleep properly because my head was permanently calculating, worrying about where the next meal’s going to come from. It was a really depressing time.”Jolene finally reached out to Christians Against Poverty: “That community has literally saved me, it’s given me and my family hope for the future. What churches working with CAP do is provide a life-changing experience, but it’s not just the initial support and getting people out of debt: it’s that life-long support and guidance that they give you.”

Many people struggling with debt like Jolene are forced into isolation because of fear and worry about their situation. Thankfully, the in-depth bespoke support that CAP can offer enables the team from Ely and District CAP to meet clients face-to-face and provide personal support, to show clients that they don't need to suffer alone.

You can read the whole report here:

Client Report May 2025 No Time to Lose

Prayer

Please pray for all our Ely and District CAP Clients, especially those like Jolene who fear for the future for their families and struggle to get by day-to-day.

Please give thanks for two more clients debt free this week, a total of 12 so far this year! Pray that we will soon be able to celebrate the 100th client debt free for Ely and District CAP (95 so far since 2017).

Please pray for our debt coaches, John and Pat, and for the befrienders, for the hope, care and support that they bring to all our clients and for the empowering strength of the Spirit to face the different situations they meet.

Please pray for all those facing isolation due to poverty and debt that they would come to know about the help that CAP can bring and for all the work CAP does beyond the journey out of debt to raise awareness and help combat poverty in the UK and our local community.