Community spirit helps town in rising costs crisis

More than 12,000 people live in Lye, a small town in the borough of Dudley. BBC News went to see how the cost of living crisis is impacting the community and met some of the people trying to make a difference.

Alexandra Stan is more than 1,700 miles (2,700km) from home, having swapped Romania's capital Bucharest for the Black Country seven years ago.

Now she helps dozens of her compatriots as they build new lives in Lye, near Stourbridge.

The community development worker for Dudley Council supports people in the town's Roma community, one that has grown to several hundred in recent years.

With the cost of living increasing at its fastest rate in 40 years, largely as a result of rising food and energy prices, a lot of support is needed.

"For me, this job is very important because it is a daily challenge," Ms Stan said.

"And it is challenging me to make things better in our community.

"The main issue is the language barrier. We offer support with things like translating with GPs and hospitals."

She helps people access education, health services and housing support, as form-filling and making telephone appointments are often very difficult.

Pointing people towards services that will help ease the cost of living crisis has become a daily task.

"When I see people's eyes, when they receive support, I am very happy," Ms Stan said.

"Every problem can be solved. I can bring kindness in the community.

"Seeing how things have changed over the last three years, that makes me optimistic for the future."

Like the neighbouring towns in the Black Country, Lye has a rich industrial past and was famous for the manufacture of nails, anvils, vices, chain, crucibles and firebricks.

But gradual heavy industrial decline, perhaps symbolised by the closure of the massive Round Oak Steelworks in 1982, hit Lye and its residents hard.

That site, less than two miles from Lye, went on become home to the giant Merry Hill Shopping Centre.

According to the 2021 census, nearly 38% of households in Lye and Wynall are classed as deprived and 18% of residents are aged 65+.

The Roma community accounts for 0.1% of people living there.

George Stanescu has lived in Lye for 10 years now, and has seen the impact of Alexandra's community work at close hand.

"It's very good to live in Lye if you have work, but it's hard for those that don't have work," said the father-of-seven.

"The bills have increased for gas and electricity, but I have a new job and I will pay the bills."

The mechanic said the support given to people in the area had been invaluable over the last three years.

"It was so good in the pandemic when Alexandra offered us support with food and other things," he said.

"We will follow Alexandra in whatever she thinks for us."

Rev Simon Falshaw has been the vicar at Christ Church in Lye for 22 years.

His church has started a warm space event on a Friday with free soup and cheese.

"We're aware of the financial difficulties that many people have and it's just our attempt to do something to help people," Rev Falshaw said.

"We hope to be warm physically, but also give people a warm welcome as well."

He said he hoped the service would create "a bit more of a sense of community in the area as well".

"Lye is an area that people move through, so keeping a community is hard," added Rev Falshaw, who has learnt Romanian to make communication easier.

He said the warm space was a "short-term, immediate response" that would run until Easter.

"I think we can do this together. In the community, there are resources to make sure no-one goes cold and no-one goes hungry.

"It's a question of are we prepared to pull together and be a community together?"

Tony Lewis, who will be 60 next year, is a member of the Christ Church congregation and attended the first warm space event.

"The cost of living, as everyone knows, has gone sky high," he said.

"Even though we've got new radiators, they cost a bomb to run.

"To be honest, I went three years without using them, just putting extra clothing on and trying to get about a bit more."

Mr Lewis added: "Everyone's welcome here. I didn't think there would be anyone worse off than me, but I've met people who are and I feel really sorry for them and hope they get some help."

Elsewhere in Lye, Maureen Gribbin attended a similar warm space event at United Church.

"I've cut down on a lot of things that I used to take for granted," she said.

"I don't have as much meat and I've stopped having fish.

She added: "When I see things that are lower in price, like tins of beans or something, I bulk buy while I've got the money."

She's a big fan of the warm spaces scheme. "I think it's brilliant, particularly for those people who are on their own. It's wonderful," she said.

Local Labour councillor Mohammed Hanif has seen Lye change and develop over the last 50 years.

"The cost of living crisis has hit a lot of people in Lye," he said.

"Pockets of Lye are deprived and people need a lot of help in various ways."

He said the character of the town's people was what would get them through some difficult months.

"The spirit in Lye is absolutely fantastic. We've got some great people, great groups, communities trying to help each other out.

"What I would like to see is a lot more funding arriving into Lye to make it an even better place.

"It has had its struggles along the years, but there are many groups and they do as much as they possibly can."

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