Time is money

Deborah and her teenage daughter were rendered homeless by floods. Their home was devastated, and it looked as if they would have to resign themselves to months in temporary accommodation.

Deborah’s distress was compounded when her doctor told her that, as she had no home to return to, the surgery that her daughter urgently needed would have to be postponed.

But there could be a silver lining in all this. Deborah was a member of Fair Shares, a ‘timebank’ network of people with the local knowledge, connections, skills, freedom and goodwill to cope with such emergencies. Within days, time bank members helped find an affordable house for her to rent. They decorated it and found furniture. Deborah’s daughter’s operation went ahead successfully