Good morning. It’s the last Survival Guide of the year and we’re so very close to Christmas.

Thank you so much to all of you for supporting us this year – whether it be sharing your stories, working to support your community or simply reading our articles and engaging with The Big Issue.

Even though it might be nearly Christmas, and most of us are winding down from work, our Big Issue vendors are still out on the street selling our legendary Christmas special this week and next. 

It’s a brilliant issue, packed with hope and uplifting stories (and maybe even a Christmas quiz). If you’re out doing some last-minute Christmas shopping and you fancy buying a magazine or just stopping for a chat, you can find your local vendor here.

In this week’s newsletter, we meet some incredible people doing their bit in their community. There’s Ali, who has founded a grassroots group feeding people with Caribbean food and hosting games of Bingo. We also head to West Yorkshire, where a warm space is getting people out of the cold this winter.

And lastly, because we know so many people will be spending Christmas Day alone and unable to afford a meal, we’ve got a round-up of places you can go to get a free meal and some company this Christmas.

It’s been a tough year and lots of you have faced some really challenging times. But there is a huge amount of hope to be found in the people who are doing everything they can to help. 

There won't be a newsletter next week but we'll be back in the New Year. Thank you and merry Christmas from me, Isabella, and all of us at The Big Issue!

If you have a story to share, we want to listen. Get in touch at isabella.mcrae@bigissue.com or share your story here.

Ali's story: 'I welcomed the chance to help people'

Ali Kakande has spent many years working in the community – in prisons, local government, social services and tackling child exploitation. But she never imagined she would be launching her own grassroots organisation, feeding people in the community Caribbean food and building connections.

Carib Eats was started in the pandemic following one request for help. Lockdown had shut down the world and Ali remembers being in her kitchen blasting music when she got a WhatsApp message in a local mutual aid group chat, which helps distribute support to people who need it most. A resident was worried about her brother going hungry that night. 

Ali “welcomed the chance to help people” and Carib Eats grew from there – first as deliveries through the pandemic and now as a meal (and a little bit of Bingo) every Friday lunchtime.

It’s run at Northwold Community Centre in Hackney. “I’ll tell you, we have some characters,” Ali says. “They like sitting in the same place. We’ve seen a lot of warm spaces. I always say Carib Eats is a warm space by no design. We’re designed for connection. A lot of people who come in need that.”

Read more about Carib Eats and the community they have built.

In case you missed it

A person is reported missing every 90 seconds in UK – and cost of living crisis is making it worse. Christine Durand’s son went missing five years ago. Read her story.

DWP is ‘penalising’ terminally ill people for ‘not dying fast enough’, campaigner warns. A campaigner is calling on the government to fast-track benefits claims for people who are terminally ill, so that they do not die in poverty. Here’s the story.

Martin Lewis calls for urgent action on debt collectors as millions feel ‘harassed’ and ‘suicidal’. As stark research reveals that half of people in debt have considered suicide in the cost of living crisis, the Money Saving Expert calls for change. Read about it.

‘Ministers aren’t interested in evidence’: DWP sanctions are driving people to disability benefits. Since the height of the Covid pandemic, disability benefit claims have risen sharply, sparking alarm among ministers. Get the story.

UK’s doomed Rwanda plan is costing taxpayers £290m. Here’s how that money could be better spent. From 814 trips into space to sacking Suella Braverman 17,276 times. Here’s more of that.

How tiny music venue The Pit at Newstead revived a former mining community: ‘It’s a lifeline’. The Big Issue’s Venue Watch campaign supports and champions grassroots music venues across the UK. Read about it.

Like what you're reading? Let people know by going to our sign-up article and sharing it on your social networks!

Inside a warm space – where Brits struggling with bills are finding shelter

Wakefield Library sits on the first floor of the council building, just above a local history museum. But if the entrance is imposing, that’s immediately undercut by the table of free tea and coffee that greets people as they enter. A coffee machine nearby offers slightly more elaborate beverages for £1. 

The library is open to all – staff do not ask for ID or proof of address to register for membership, and there are no late fees or penalties for returning books in a less pristine condition than they were taken out in. 

It is also a ‘warm bank’ – a free space in which people who cannot afford to keep their heating on at home, or do not have a home at all, can come to warm up. 

It is one of more than 7,000 Warm Welcome Spaces established in the last year to respond to the rising cost of living and provide for the 14.4 million people living in poverty and seven million people experiencing chronic loneliness in the UK. 

Read about the warm space and meet the people it is helping here.

Where to find a free Christmas dinner – and free food for kids over the holidays

If you are going to be on your own this Christmas, or you can’t afford a Christmas dinner in the cost of living crisis, there are amazing people who will be working hard to make sure no one goes without. 

Restaurants, grassroots groups and charities are opening up their doors to offer free food to those who need it. We’ve got a round-up here of where you might find a free Christmas dinner near you. This is by no means an exhaustive list, so if you do know of anywhere we might be able to find one, do let me know on isabella.mcrae@bigissue.com

And just a reminder that we’ve worked with chefs this year to round up some Christmas dinner recipes and tips which won’t break the bank this year. Find all of that here.

There are also lots of restaurants offering free food for kids over the Christmas holidays – you’ll often have to buy an adult-sized meal alongside it, but it might just be a cheaper option to keep your kids entertained over the festive season. 

Some of the cheapest options are at Asda Cafe, where kids can get a meal for £1 without an adult having to buy anything else; Tesco, where kids eat free when an adult buys anything else from the cafe; and Ikea, where the cheapest item on the menu is the pasta with tomato sauce and a soft drink for 95p. 

These spots are probably among the cheapest bets for feeding the whole family. We’ve also rounded it all up in an Instagram post which you can save for later: