Bristol SU publishes new initiatives to tackle student poverty amid cost of living crisis

The University of Bristol Student’s Union has released new initiatives to help the cost of living crisis that is impacting both Bristol students and residents.

On October 10th, the SU detailed the provisions designed to aid the student crisis, establishing affordable meals and accessible STI testing with free condoms. Alongside this, a swap shop and gender expression fund has been enacted.

The average annual cost of student housing in Bristol is £9,200, or £766.67 a month, according to the intergenerational foundation. Bristol is the second most expensive Russell Group city to rent in, coming behind only London, whose students benefit from a higher student loan.

This academic year’s current office team have built upon the progress of the previous team, who secured £540k in additional funding from Bristol University. You can read the full SU cost of living support page here.

By liaising with the university’s catering team, they secured the provision of hot warm soup and a roll in all campus cafes except Senate for as low as 80p with your own cup or £1 without.

Further affordable options can be found within the Hawthorns and Balloon Bar in the Richmond Building, with a hot meal being served for £2.50. Also, look out for the free curry or chilli provided in the Balloon and Hiatt Bars on the first of each month.

Furthermore, the SU’s ties with the Terrence Higgins Trust have resulted in several free STI testing events being held in the Senate House Loft.

These texts take two to three weeks for results and can easily be done at home. The next event will be held at 11:00am on 6th December, in the SU loft (situated on the UG floor in Senate House).

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The C card program within Bristol has encouraged free condoms for all young people under the age of 24. A variety of free condoms, lube and anti-spiking caps are available at the SU desks on the 5th Floor of Senate House.

Additionally, the swap shop in the SU living room on Senate’s fourth floor has provided free canned and non-perishable goods for struggling students alongside a selection of clothes, brand new and without stains.

The SU has further crafted the gender expression fund to help trans, non-binary, intersex and otherwise gender-diverse students with a chance of £100 to help pay for gender-affirming items as well as transportation to appointments.

The initiatives have helped provide ease to students day to day lives with these principles, but the strife of the cost of living crisis hasn’t been alleviated with these ideals.

A Department for Education report from 2023 declared that the number of full-time students who are working alongside their studies has risen from 52 per cent to a drastic 58 per cent. This shows how the student lifestyle with average renting being almost £10,000 is unfeasible.

More and more students are having to pick up extra hours alongside a packed uni schedule, which can be a cause of major stress and anxiety.

Postgraduate student Rosie Scholes is one of many living in campervans around the Downs. The 29-year-old studying a PhD at the University of Reading while living in Bristol has lived here for nine years, but due to the sharp rise in rent prices has been unable to find suitable housing.

In May, the Bristol SU released a research report that revealed the ‘hellish experience‘ of renting in Bristol, which found that 32 per cent of students pay between £601 and £700 per month (excluding bills).

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