‘Cost of living’ crisis group to hold latest online meeting

AS the price of our everyday essentials continue to rise, those involved with the ‘Omagh Cost of Living Crisis Campaign’ have scheduled another meeting to coordinate a local action plan to help mitigate what has been called a ‘life or death situation’ for many in our community.

Tonight (Friday) at 7pm, the group, which is comprised of politicians, activists, campaigners and concerned members of the public, will meet for the fourth time since its inception.

With no sign of the cost of living crisis slowing down, drives akin to ‘Omagh’s Cost of Living Crisis Campaign’ have sprung up all across the North as people band together in an effort to help those households being forced to choose whether to ‘heat or eat’.

Their last meeting, which took place over Zoom last Wednesday, provided a platform for local people to discuss the challenges which face particular sections of our community, and opened up a discussion on what could be done at the local level to alleviate their suffering.

Dermot Devlin, a disability rights campaigner from Omagh, made one of the more illuminating contributions to the meeting, during which he highlighted the ‘life or death’ situation that some disabled people are facing as a result of the current financial crisis.

Chair of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, Barry McElduff, promised to – working in closely with the relevant section of our local community – convey to the Department for Communities what local disabled people need most at the moment.

A commitment was made to help raise awareness regarding the location of local food banks, and the service being provided by Omagh Uniform Exchange was unanimously commended.

The group are calling for all the support they can get to enable them to put the maximum amount of pressure they can on those responsible for our absent executive.

It is the bleak truth that many local people are suffering and struggling. ‘Omagh Cost of Living Crisis Campaign’ are calling for all of them – whether employed or unemployed – to come together and join them in their fight to improve the quality of local lives as we stare down this cost of living crisis.

Join the ‘Omagh Cost of Living Crisis Campaign’ on Facebook to become part of those leading local cost of living crisis action. The next meeting will be at 7pm tonight (Friday).