Perth's PKAVS charity highlights tough times ahead for Perthshire as cost-of-living situation worsens

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A Perth charity - forced to cancel a fundraising ball over fears supporters couldn’t afford the £60 tickets - has turned its focus to helping local people through the cost-of-living crisis.

The 50th anniversary event, planned for next month, had been expected to bring in between £5000-£10,000 for PKAVS which has seen income shrink and costs increase as more demands are put on its services.In the past two years the importance of Scotland’s voluntary sector has been underlined throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, with the co-ordination of food and grocery support, alleviating mental health and wellbeing issues, such as befriending, and digital inclusion work to reduce isolation all carried out by the sector.But as rising energy costs and inflation see more local people forced to cut back, vital charities are suffering from declining donations.Despite this, PKAVS is bracing itself to support a range of people as winter approaches and the news turns negative.“For many of our beneficiaries, budgeting and managing money is an enormous worry and can be detrimental to their wellbeing, said Graham Illsley, corporate policy offer with PKAVS. “While promoting our charity ball, talking to those we support, and listening to people throughout Perthshire, it became clear that the cost-of-living crisis is the biggest challenge that they have faced in decades.” “It is a small disappointment for us that our celebration will not go ahead, but a much greater concern that so many are suffering, and that even more will struggle in the coming months.“We are a charity that strives to help those in their times of greatest need, we will be here to support everyone who needs our help in the future and will always work to improve the lives of the