This week, while Parliament’s in recess and the Tories are scrapping amongst themselves in the race to succeed Theresa May, I’ve loved being able to spend more time getting out and about across Swansea East meeting with constituents and lots of different community organisations.
Throughout the week, I’ve been busy delivering sanitary products which have kindly been donated by the fantastic Beauty Banks charity. With period poverty rising in our communities thanks to continued Tory austerity, it’s so important that these products get to those people who can least afford them. We’ve been distributing them to several different organisations, including the Salvation Army and to Faith in Families. Many thanks to Sali Hughes, Jo Jones and the Beauty Banks team for their continued support to our communities. I hope that we can get to a position soon where people won’t have to rely on this provision.
Yesterday, as part of this work, I was delighted to visit the Ty Olwen Hospice where I delivered donations from Beauty Banks and the cosmetics company, Lush. It’s great to see businesses doing their bit to give back to the community and I know the hospice were really grateful for the support. Many thanks to the team at Ty Olwen for such a warm welcome – looking forward to seeing you all again soon!
This week, I’ve also had various meetings in preparation for our annual summer lunch clubs. Sadly, holiday hunger remains a big issue across Swansea East and I’m committed to ensuring our youngsters don’t go without. This year, we’re going to be working with lots of different organisations, including the YMCA, to help ensure we can support as many kids as possible this summer.
Today, I’ve been meeting with many constituents to discuss new and ongoing issues that they’ve approached me about. I also met with Care for the Family, a national charity which aims to promote strong family life and helps those who are facing problems. As part of this meeting, it was really positive to have been able to discuss the issue of pauper funerals. The charity provide befriending support for bereaved parents or to those who have been widowed at a young age. Alongside my successful campaign to establish a Children’s Funeral Fund across all parts of the UK, this work is really important to me as far too many people don’t receive the support they need when they are grieving after such a tragic loss.
I hope all residents across Swansea East have a fantastic weekend and enjoy the sunshine. As always, please do get in touch with me if you have any issues or concerns to raise by calling 01792 462054 or by emailing carolyn.harris.mp@parliament.uk.
