A mother-of-four from Amesbury has set up a donation page to fund her family as she fears for their future.

Jess, 35, and Daniel, 37, Ellston are full-time NHS employees working to provide for their family but "cannot make ends meet" amid a cost of living crisis.

Jess, an admin assistant at Basingstoke Hospital, says she can "just about afford to pay rent" but with increasing costs, the family "haven't got a spare penny" at the end of the month.

She added: "It’s not a position we’d ever thought we’d find ourselves in. We both work full-time but I don’t know how we’re going to cope in the future. 

"It’s very difficult and we don’t know how we’re going to survive when these prices go up."

A GoFundMe donation page was set up by Jess on August 9 and so far she's raised £325 in contributions. Her goal is £1,600.

Salisbury Journal: Jess Ellston's GoFundMe page.Jess Ellston's GoFundMe page.

When asked what the money will be spent on, Jess explained that she has fallen behind on council tax payments and cannot afford the £300 per month minmum repayment plan.

She added the money raised will go towards repaying her council tax debt and "getting ahead with food shopping".

"We’d love to say we’d spend some money to get a holiday for the kids but obviously that’s not feasible, there’s more important things," said Jess.

In 2020, Jess' family were made homeless as Daniel lost his job at the Duke of York pub in Aldershot because of the pandemic.

The family, including an 18-year-old son, six-year-old stepson, five-year-old son, and two-year-old daughter, moved to Amesbury but Jess said they are now paying more rent. 

Most months I'm having to ask either the foodbank or my parents for help with food.

Sacrifices have been made to try to help the family make ends meet. Jess said she's had to swap her two labradors from a healthy raw food diet to kibble, only buying second-hand clothes, and no family days out.

One of the most surprising things for Jess is the fact that her and Daniel both work full-time and they're still unable to make the money "stretch".

"It’s not about me going ‘I need some money’, it’s me saying wake up people. This is real and it’s affecting a lot more people than you expect."

In addition to help from the GoFundMe page, Jess said the couple will "probably have to work extra night shifts" to try and get them out of their situation.

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