Eliza’s Story

Find out how The Drinks Trust assisted Eliza and her daughter 

To safeguard the anonymity and safety of our beneficiary, all names and any identifiable information about the beneficiary have been changed

This is the story of our beneficiary, Eliza.

Eliza is 23 years old, a single mother of a young daughter aged 5, and works as a bartender in one of the UK's most well-known national pub chains.

Eliza, unfortunately, had a relationship with an abusive ex, and to protect herself and her daughter, had to get a restraining order in place so that he couldn’t have a relationship nor access to his daughter.

As a result, this led to Eliza having to drastically cut down her work hours so that she could take care of her daughter as a new single parent. With the increasing cost of living expenses and the rise in energy costs, Eliza struggled monthly to make ends meet, specifically finding it difficult to manage the cost of living bills and grocery/clothing for her and her family

20% of adults of working age will be experience poverty this year.  To put that into context for an industry that employs 3.5 million people, that means that potentially 700,000 of drinks hospitality people will suffer severe financial hardship in 2025.

Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Eliza reached out to The Drinks Trust, and when approached, they stepped in immediately, providing her with a monthly grant for the duration of 6 months, assisting in covering their household bills. In addition, Eliza and her daughter were still sleeping in the same bed due to the monetary constraints of buying a new one. Because of this, we also purchased a bed for Eliza’s daughter. We also bought Eliza’s daughter some new clothing.

After a few months, as our Welfare Team carried out further assessment of her situation, it was clear further support was much needed to go through the Christmas period. The Drinks Trust supported them with extra monetary financial assistance, offering some relief to Eliza and allowing her to buy Christmas gifts for her daughter.

"The support received from The Drinks Trust has been invaluable in my times of need. Through the generous grants, I have been able to settle in our new accommodation, pay off my rental debts, purchase a bed for my daughter who could finally sleep in her own room, and your support also allowed me to buy her gifts, making what seemed a very difficult Christmas, a very special one after all. I am really touched by the generous support, I couldn’t be more grateful to The Drinks Trust for the incredible help, you have been a real life saver!" Eliza

The drinks hospitality industry plays a vital role in bringing people together. BUT cost pressures on our industry continue to rise and this year, businesses will be forced to take further measures to reduce outgoings.

This will have a devasting impact on the people who work in our industry, whose financial situations have already been made worse by the difficult economic times in recent years.

1 in 5 of our colleagues will struggle with financial hardship in 2025. Together we can make the difference.

But the drinks hospitality industry is more than a sector - we are a family. Together, we stand united through thick and thin. When one of us is down, the rest rally to help, forging a brighter future for all.

Now more than ever, we need your help to support our colleagues in crisis.

The Drinks Trust is calling on businesses, partners and drinks hospitality people to rally behind our campaign, to support our colleagues in need, to contribute to our goal of raising £1million and pave the way for a stronger, sustainable industry future.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT FACE IT TOGETHER CAMPAIGN HERE