Written by Thomas Hughes and Jefferson Sandoval
The first thing you notice when talking to Tiffanie Cummings, 38, is just how warm she is. Despite describing herself as shy, Cummings was anything but. She spoke freely about her experiences that led to her using a foodbank and how the help of others has led her to where she is today.
Leaving home at 16 to live in a hostel, Cummings admits that she “tried to do everything on my own through an adopted mindset, passed down through the generations because you’re ‘black’ because you’re ‘other’, there’s no help for you”.
This mindset, installed by her grandparent (first generation Windrush), meant that asking for help was seen as “scrounging”, and that those who died were “stigmatised” within her community.
No support network
Without a strong support network to help her out, Cummings wondered where she could go. Facing barriers along the way, she now knows and receives the help that she deserves. She champions the support available to those within her community, trying to break down the stigmas attached to it.
Once in an abusive relationship, Cummings found the courage to leave and become an independent person. This transition period, between her benefits stopping and her first paycheck coming through, led her to need the food bank, using it several times throughout four months.
Throughout the adversity that she has lived through, she recognises that no person is an island. “It took kind individuals within even those impoverished communities, that have the heart to say ‘I can sort for you a meal’, or maybe ‘I can give you some money’, ‘I might have some old clothes that are helpful for you to go to an interview’”.
It is this recollection of help that brings Cummings to the brink of tears. When asked what she would say to those that she’s grateful to; “Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you” with a special mention to her primary school teacher, Mr Gordon.
Strong and resilient
Cummings comes across as a resilient person and loving mother. Her commitment to her children is clear; teaching them the value in asking for help whilst being an example of someone who has overcome such adversity.
To the London Metropolitan University audience, Cummings came across as superwoman. She’s currently studying social sciences full time at degree level, works as a carer in a care home and home schools throughout the pandemic. With all the work she does, she is enraged that the government sees working parents as people who cannot be trusted, which is why struggling parents received paltry food parcels instead of much-needed cash.
“There is a misconception that we spend money on alcohol and cigarettes… The bag I got… was not enough to make lunches for a full week,” she said.
It’s no surprise that struggling parents often have poor mental health, she says. “You go on an emotional roller-coaster and mentally you go through a range of emotions, ranging from suicidal thoughts to questioning why you were born.”
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