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tv   Poverty and the Pandemic  BBC News  December 6, 2020 6:45pm-7:01pm GMT

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some of the greatest sporting moments that we've ever witnessed. it should be remembered that you know, in his heyday, and golf‘s a day if you like, he was notjust a sports commentator. he was one of the biggest celebrities out there, and he will be remembered, i think i'm in honestly fondly by millions of people, as i say. ian, thanks so much for sharing your memories, sharing the glittering golfing career and of course a commentary career and of course a commentary career of peter bbc‘s off commentator who died this weekend at the age of 89. fondly remembered by millions across the world. that's all the sport for now — don't forget you can follow all the action from the sakhir grand prix in bahrain on our website. now here in bbc news, special programme, poverty and the pandemic. burnley‘s front line. thanks for watching.
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i'm a broken, recovering drug addict... ..that got a second chance and, ah, i love the poor... ..because i know i am the poor. and as long as i breathe, i'll serve the poor. no need to push, there's plenty! you see all these people? they have children, hungry children. we need social distancing or we're gonna get in trouble! it's hard to keep your distance when you're cold and hungry. politicians say that it was a leveller, this coronavirus, it's a lie because if you're poor, you've got no chance. there's tuna pasta bake and all sorts here. people are coming down here for hot food that they could eat now. i'm unable to get a job because caring for a disabled person's like a full—time job. it's really hard to get food for myself because haven't got much
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money only and i can't go out anywhere. couple of days' food would mean everything to us. we've got nurses over there because these guys can't access healthcare. that's what's happening, the needs massive, absolutely colossal. i suffer from depression and this coronavirus has made it ten times worse. if it hadn't been for all these, basically i'd be dead. i've seen people who are working that can't make ends meet. every time you get any money, it disappears as fast as you've got it, the bills swallow it up. with the coronavirus as well with the reduction in wages, it's not to cope. so this means you can eat. yes, yeah, can eat, and it helps out wherever you're stuck. are you worried about coronavirus? yes, yeah, i don't want it. why don't you stay at home, work from home, protect your family, keep them safe? i'd love to but i can't, the job i do doesn't allow me to stay at home, it's physically demanding inside a very hectic, busy weaving shed.
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and all this is laid on by pastor mick. tonight, some of these guys are sleeping on the concrete. this is the church i represent. the level of need here in burnley at the moment is, i think, unprecedented and it's upsetting. we've got some bread as well, yeah? right, so which one's which? you decide. visiting a family who had no carpet, had no settee, or had no gas, had no electric, they had no food. that broke my heart because nobody cared for them. they fell through the crack. pot noodles, that kind of stuff, all right? at st matthews, father alex supports pastor mick. many are desperately looking for help. i think the people are being forgotten about, it's about money and numbers and statistics. we can't rely on a food bank, it doesn't seem right, it doesn't seem modern day britain,
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but it is, it is. the biggest part of coronavirus has been the loneliness. you look like you're on the mend, viv honestly, you do, thank god. i hope so. i keep trying to force myself to eat. most days, pastor mick helps people like viv. she's 55. ijust ended up collapsing on my bathroom floor and i were there for, i think i were there a full day, so hypothermia had kicked in and everything when they... living alone in isolation brought back painful memories. it'sjust, like, brought it all back. i lost my husband, i buried two of my babies. i gave birth to 'em — all i wanted 'em to do were cry and they didn't cry. yeah. no mother has to go through that. and coronavirus brought all this... yes, brought every
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moment back to me. when you collapsed, what went through your mind? just let me go, let me, you know, my number must be up, i thought my time were up. she was trapped, she was trapped inside her house. imagine being trapped inside your own mind. and you can't go out and a lot of people... so what did she do? she stopped living, shejust stopped. what have these past six months been like for you? they've been really difficult because you're doing the dayjob, the prayers, the pastoral calls, funeral services, trying to be a dad, parent, and you've got this massive cloud that's just sat up there. coronavirus? coronavirus, yeah.
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the overall death rates between april and june this year, in the most deprived areas of england, was nearly double that of the least deprived. anybody that's poor and has been suffering, covid's tenfolded it. i had to get loans out so we could eat and pay the bills. which got got us into debt. free parcel, pete. oh, thank you. you all right, how's it going? for pete, an issue with his family's benefits meant payday loans and financial crisis. how much were you in debt for? well over £1000. got it down now to {zoo—£300. what stress did that do to you? there's some stuff which we did that i shouldn't be proud of and so did my wife. you're feeling like you don't count. you're just a number. the governmentjust doesn't care. i'm going to houses and i sometimes
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have children ripping the bags open to get into the food as i'm carrying them to the door... and it's not all right, that. that's not all right. and it wasn't as bad as that before the virus. and pastor mick says he is hearing more and more of these stories. we're trying to patch a big hole to people's lives. the unfairness of health deprivation. i feel angry because people aren't listening. what has coronavirus meant for your care? it stopped it. i'm supposed to have a blood test done once a month, and my cancer count. nobody's been and done it, six months. fifth of may was the last time i had mine done. i've just been found after six
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months, being left without care, what i thought was two hernias, it's not, it's one huge hernia. and i can't operated on because my lungs won't survive it. so sheila relies on family, especially her granddaughter. because i don't wanna be a drain on the system that's already dying because i'm already dying. people need the nhs. we can't do nothing to help, we've just got to sit back and watch it. yeah, but you don't sit back, do you? no, we can't do...we canjust be here, there's nothing we can do. i've never really seen anything like this on this scale. poverty seems to be hidden. so we know about the poor
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but this is another level, it's underneath the surface, this, that people don't see, they think they do but they don't. there's not many people lose a child and there's even less that lose two. the first lady of our food bank on saturday came and she broke down. her daughter had killed herself. we pray, injesus' name. crying. you have to try and find words. we'll get there. you will, you'll get there. without their support, what would have happened to you? me? i'd probably be where my daughter is now, up there. i probably would've took my own life if it weren't for him. together, they're the hope for thousands through this crisis. breaks down. i'm sorry talking about it, i'm sorry
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about getting upset because, do you know, you carry people's burdens. you try to tell them that it's...it's all right... it's just so upsetting. we pray mercy and love into the lives of the families and we pray this prayer in jesus' name, amen. these people of faith that are stepping onto the arena are making a massive difference. how have you been doing anyway? well, they've turned me in a sleeping bag, we're going all right. good sleeping bag! people are coming in from a community of despair... a couple of days' food would mean everything to us. ..to a community of love and care... anybody not got all?
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..and that's what's different in burnley. is this testing your faith? no. no, my faith is being strengthened by this crisis. because it's giving me an opportunity to live out the gospel to serve the poor and to help the needy, all those people that you may have seen weeping that i do believe that god weeps as well and wants this to go away, and for people to celebrate a sense of community and care for one another that is much needed in this time. the government says it's committed to reducing deprivation. and it's spent over £100 billion on welfare support this year. you need to form a queue! please! the fear is that the challenges now facing our poorest communities will remain long after this pandemic is over.
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hello, there. part two of the weekend has been cold. we've some dense fog patches affecting parts of northern ireland and east anglia and where the fog has lingered it really has felt very cold. now, for this upcoming week it's going to stay cold for most of the week and it's going to start mainly dry, further grey and foggy weather for a time, and then from about tuesday onwards will start to see low pressure moving in so it'll turn unsettled for some of us. now, we've got a very slack airflow across the uk for sunday, which is why the air‘s very stagnant, so a lot of fog and misty murkiness tending to hang around where it forms. it's also cold — you can see the blue colours indicating that cold air mass pretty much stuck right on top of the uk. now, as we close the day out it's going to be a cold one with a little bit of sunshine around but further cloud too, and overnight one or two showers will pepper coastal areas
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of north—east scotland, western wales, down towards the south—west as well, but for much of the country it's going to be dry with clear spells, some frost and some fog and even some ice will form by the end of the night. now, we're between weather systems for monday with barely any wind so it's going to be another slack airflow for much of the country so where we get the fog through the morning, particularly the midlands into the southeast, perhaps the central belt of scotland, northern ireland, it could hang around all day but even then there could be some low cloud around, limited spells of brightness. by the end of the day, low pressure will start to move in off the north sea to eastern scotland, north—east england, so here the winds will pick up, but it's going to be cold day for all and even colder than those values suggest where the fog lingers. through monday night, though, that area of low pressure starts to move westwards into much of scotland, start to see some snow on the hills as it bumps into that cold air and the winds will pick—up as well, you can see more isobars on the chart, but it looks like it's going to affect the northern half
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of the country on tuesday. so here, cloudier skies, windy conditions, outbreaks of rain, some heavy across scotland, some snow to the hills, maybe some sleetiness down to lower levels. it does look like it's southern england into the south—east which could escape and stay dry, perhaps with a little bit of sunshine, but again it's going to feel cold, 4—7 degrees for mostof us. it turns a little bit drier again through wednesday and thursday for much of the country, but it stays cold, rather grey, and then signs of it turning a little less cold by the end of the week as atlantic weather systems try to make inroads, which could bring outbreaks of rain too.
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this is bbc news. the headlines at seven: the uk's chief negotiator is back in brussels to resume brexit talks, with time running out to do a deal. we're going to see what happens in negotiations today and we will be looking forward to meeting our european colleagues later on this afternoon. croydon university hospital becomes one of the first to take delivery of the coronavirus vaccine in the uk, with the firstjabs set to be given on tuesday. obviously, i can't hold them in my hands, because they are —70 celsius, but i know they are here and we are among the first in the country to actually receive the vaccine and therefore the first in the world is just amazing. i'm so proud. overcrowding on it's opening day forces nottingham's christmas
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market to close early..

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