Good morning. Welcome back to Survival Guide. Isabella here.

This week, we meet Abbie: a social care worker who faced homelessness because of low pay. She had just enough money to survive but nothing to fall back on in emergencies.

The social care sector is demanding change. They want better pay and conditions for care workers like Abbie, who are doing vital work in supporting some of the most vulnerable people in the UK.

We also head to North Yorkshire to find out about the remarkable children's charity fighting rural poverty and deprivation. And read to the end for all the places kids eat free this Easter…

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

Abbie's story: 'I worried I was going to be homeless'

Abbie Bowler faced homelessness when her landlord went bankrupt during the pandemic. Her pay as a social care worker was only enough to keep herself alive and cover essentials like food and bills.

“I literally had nothing and I don’t have many people to fall back on,” Abbie says. “It was an awful situation. My mental health was bad and I worried I was going to be homeless. I had only been in my job a few months but I felt like I’d found my calling. I was terrified of what was going to happen.”

Social care workers are paid £7,617 less annually than their NHS equivalents, according to research from social care charity Community Integrated Care. Low wages are at the heart of a high workforce turnover, with 28% of staff leaving roles in a year. There are currently around 152,000 vacancies.

Read Abbie’s story here and more about the social care crisis.

In case you missed it

Social care is on its knees. It's no wonder public dissatisfaction is at a record high. Evan John, policy and public affairs advisor at national disability charity Sense, writes about the state of the social care system. Here are his thoughts.

Tube and train strikes: Everything you need to know about drivers' walk-out in April and May 2024. Much of the UK’s rail network will grind to a standstill during April and May, as train drivers strike for better pay and conditions. Read more.

Rolling driver walkouts and crippling shut downs: Will the train and Tube strikes ever end? For two years, Britain’s trains have been stalled by seemingly endless rounds of industrial action. And the end is not, apparently, in sight. Here's the latest.

'Time for a new deal': UK's new minimum wage still not enough to cover 'a decent standard of life'. Campaigners warn it's more than £1,000 short of the money people need to afford the cost of living. Get the story.

'People should not be arrested if they smell': Sunak facing revolt over plan to criminalise homelessness. Even a member of his own cabinet has criticised the plans as “excessive”. Read about it.

I'm a single mum living in poverty. Worrying about how it affects my children keeps me up at night. Lauren, a single mum, shares her family's experience of living in poverty and calls for the government to act to protect children. Read her story.

Gig ticket prices are extortionate now – but there's still hope for live music. Young people have been steadily priced out of gig tickets in recent times, but some acts are fighting back. Read more.

DWP recruiting 'covert surveillance officers' to snoop on benefit claimants: 'I fear for the future'. The job postings are a part of the DWP's response to tackling fraud in the welfare system. Get the story.

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The remarkable ways a Yorkshire children's charity is fighting hidden poverty and rural destitution

Nestled against the Yorkshire Dales, Skipton is a beautiful market town. In 2014, The Sunday Times named it the best place to live in the UK, and this year, it came second in a Rightmove survey of Britain’s happiest towns.

But behind these accolades is a shadow of deep poverty that leaves generations of young people with difficult childhoods and limited prospects for the rest of their lives. It was in response to this crisis that Emma Pears founded a children’s charity: SELFA.

Pears loves Skipton and is proud of the recognition it has received. 

“But that doesn’t always tell the real story about those hidden pockets of deprivation – particularly the rural poverty that we see here,” she says. “It is a great place to live and a lovely place to grow up, but it’s not so great if you don’t have access to services.”

Read all about the children’s charity and its important work here.

Saving those coins: Where kids eat free this Easter

The school holidays come with extra costs. Childcare can often be expensive, and the government does not directly fund free school meals out of term time.

That’s why we always like to highlight all the places where kids can eat free over the break.

Beyond the cost of it, keeping your kids entertained over the half term can be a challenge. Taking your little ones out for an exciting meal (or even two) could be just the thing you need to get them out the house. 

Here are all the places kids can eat free or for just £1 over the Easter holidays.