A DEESIDE man has helped establish a social media group with the main aim of supporting Flintshire residents through the cost of living crisis.

The Flintshire Community Forum was set up on August 27 and already has over 1,300 people signed up to it.

Mike Lewis was one of those who helped set the group up in an attempt to get locals talking about the cost of living crisis, as well as sharing solutions and ideas as to how best to tackle the issues many will face in months to come.

Mike is 52 years old and from the Connah's Quay area.

He works for the Ministry of Justice's digital team and, like many others, he says he is 'worried' about how people will cope financially throughout the winter months.

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Talking to the Leader about why he set up the Flintshire Community Forum, Mike said: "I spoke to a few people locally and asked to set up a meeting to discuss ideas. I therefore met with Debbie Owen (local councillor) and Alexier Mayes (local Vicar).

"We discussed ideas and that was where I floated the idea of a FB page. I am in the process of setting up a local management team/committee to push ideas and lead on ways to help the community throughout Flintshire.

"We already have over 1,300 members in the group and I'm hoping it can be a place where the people of Flintshire can get advice and ideas on how to make the best of the cost of living crisis, as well as share their own advice and ideas.

"It will also be a resource to share events and vital information on where to go for help and be a place where the Flintshire community can organise local events - where we can ask for volunteers and so on.

"It's early days yet but we have some great announcements coming soon, especially in the run up to Christmas."

The Leader:

PIC: Mike Lewis, from Connah's Quay, has helped establish the Flintshire Community Forum group.

Talking about the success of the group to date, Mike added: "The response so far has been brilliant, in fact over-whelming. The page has been extremely interactive with many posts, lots of discussions, lots of ideas and generally a very positive vibe from everyone.

"I am extremely pleased with how this has started. I must admit though it is quite sobering. I did a poll at the start, asking about peoples views on how they will use heating this winter. From 331 votes so far a very worrying 4% said they will not be turning their heating on at all this winter. That makes me feel sad and we as a community need to do something about that."

Mike said: "I don't want to take the credit for any of this as there are so many fabulous things happening across the county with lots of brilliant people taking their time to help others.

I just wanted to bring my own ideas to the table, bring everyone together as a community and highlight the brilliant work which I know a lot of people are doing."

The Leader is also running a 'Your Money Matters' campaign to help you save money.

The Leader:

Your Money Matters is our campaign to help you overcome the surge in the cost of living.

This year has seen a whole host of household price increases - from the energy price cap rise to surging inflation and food prices - costing your family hundreds or even thousands of pounds extra per year.

At the Leader, we’re making it our mission to look out for your cash, offering money-saving deals, competitions, giveaways and insightful stories from your community on the impact this cost of living crisis is having on our readers like you.

You can read more on our campaign here.