'I work endlessly and I feel like I get nowhere - sometimes I can't afford to shower'
Chloe talks to ITV News' Eli-Louise Wringe about the challenges of owning her own business during a cost of living crisis
A young business owner has been left feeling depressed and suicidal as she struggles to make ends meet.
Chloe says she feels “forever stuck” in a world where money is “always an issue”.
The 26-year-old from Bristol grew up in foster care and says this has made her journey to becoming a business owner more difficult than most.
When she became an adult and left care, Chloe only had herself to rely on and lacked the family support that many of her peers relied on.
Despite these challenges, Chloe has kickstarted her own business - The Dragonfruit Fairies - which sells handcrafted products, runs workshops and provides safe-spaces for people.
It is something she feels she could and would have done sooner, if more support had been available.
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“I can’t even begin to express how hard it’s been,” she told ITV News. “I wish there were more financial opportunities for people in my situation.”
But even with her own business, the cost of living crisis is putting an immense strain on Chloe.
She said: “I work endlessly and I feel like I get nowhere. Money is always an issue - I feel like I’m forever stuck in this place.
"I feel like it's impossible to save money because bills are constantly going up due to inflation.”
Rising bills mean Chloe often has to go without essentials - including food.
“As soon as my money comes in, I buy all of my food, my shower essentials and stuff like that. Then I focus on my bills. I don't have much left at the end of it because it all adds up.
"I sacrifice essentials like meals and sometimes I don't have enough money to have a shower. I feel like I'm getting to a point now where it's make or break.”
She said it has left her feeling suicidal, adding: "It feels like a downward spiral and I'm struggling to get myself out of it because of my support network, which seems to be non-existent. I need someone to put their hand in and pull me out. But that's not available to me so it just makes me very depressed."
She said she wishes there was more financial support for care leavers, adding: “Something that I recognise, being a person that’s experienced foster care since I was very young, is that we get pushed into this stereotypical category of being incapable or a trouble-maker or something like that. When actually, we don’t have support.
“That’s why it’s important to prioritise people in this situation.”
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