Opinion and insight Archives - Page 7 of 18

Holding the church to account

As Church Action on Poverty Sunday apoproaches, a member of the United Reformed Church's Northern Synod shares his reflections on Church Action on Poverty's vision and strategy.

Later this month, Sunday 27 February to be precise, is Church Action on Poverty Sunday. On that afternoon the new national strategy for Church Action on Poverty will be launched at an event in Waddington St URC in Durham.

Those present at that event are going to be asked to discuss two questions:

What should churches do to eradicate poverty?
What will they actually do?

Until recently I knew very little about Church Action on Poverty and so I looked at their website to find out more about their aims, and this is an extract:

“Church Action on Poverty aims to build a movement that can loosen the grip of poverty in the UK. Our projects are hugely diverse and cover a wide area but have one thing in common: they all tackle the root causes of poverty. Tackling unjust Government policies… Amplifying the voices of people who have been marginalised… Challenging harmful business practices… Holding the church to account…”

As I read it, I thought, “tackling unjust Government policies….”, good; “Amplifying the voices of the marginalised…”, about time too; “Challenging harmful business practices…”, quite right; and then I came to the last phrase “Holding the church to account…” That caught my eye. What’s going on here, wait a minute. “Holding the church to account.”

Every Sunday we are invited as individuals to confess our sins and receive forgiveness. We hold ourselves accountable to God. But what about being held to account for what we do as a church, local, synod and national?

How do you feel at the thought of the Church being held accountable here on earth by another group, let alone society as a whole?

We know that the Church is seen by many as irrelevant and disengaged on key issues. If the many are right, that surely is one form of accountability.

Who speaks for the Church? Well, in a very real sense we all do, as individuals and members. Perhaps we need the prod of being held accountable to ensure that we can attempt to answer questions like those being posed by Church Action on Poverty on 27 February.

In this century the Church cannot claim to be unaware of the sufferings in the world, always too numerous to list and often overwhelming. And as a result, do we take refuge in looking after ourselves and our tomorrows when for lots of people the grim reality of today is all there is?

The pandemic has brought untold distress emotionally and financially to many. It has become painfully obvious that some of the support services we thought were resilient have been proven to be threadbare and unavailable to those who need them, when they need them most. There are no quick fixes but what is our response now as Christians, and in this instance as the Church to the significant issues faced by many in our society?

If we take our Christian calling seriously, it is surely not unreasonable to be asked what we are doing about all of this, i.e. to be held accountable.

Take food banks, a relatively recent phenomenon in the UK. Remember the outcry when they were started – and yet why do we now appear to accept them as a necessary part of our social fabric? They do not have to exist, but it will take structural economic reform to sort that one. In the meantime, we quite rightly host food banks, provide a friendly face and a welcome, and in reality, dealing well…… but with only half of the story!

I then got thinking about climate change and the helpful processes available under the A Rocha Eco Church (www.arocha.org.uk) These processes are in effect an audit of a local church’s green credentials.

What if processes like these were available to audit all levels of the church’s activities on tackling poverty, social justice, helping the marginalised and so on? Would they help us to focus our wider mission…?

And if we were seen to be tackling these broader issues, unjust Government policies, amplifying the voices of the marginalised, challenging harmful business practises, etc… would the Church be recognised as more relevant and engaged; and recognised or not, would we then welcome the Church being held accountable…. Just wondering!!

Sandy Ogilvie is a member of the United Reformed Church’s Northern Synod. This article first appeared in the Synod’s e-newsletter and is reproduced by permission.

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God never intended for one group of people to live in superfluous inordinate wealth, while others live in abject deadening poverty. ———— Revd Dr Martin Luther King ———— …

Long read: How do we build dignity, agency & power together?

Niall Cooper, director of Church Action on Poverty, asks: How do we build dignity, agency and power together as a society?

Introduction

Church Action on Poverty’s vision is that the UK can and must be transformed into a country where everyone can live a full life, free from poverty. Poverty robs people of dignity, agency, of power over their own lives. We believe our vision – an end to poverty in the UK – can become a reality.

Our goal through this decade is to contribute to building a social movement based on organising with people and communities struggling against poverty, to create the social and political space to reclaim dignity, agency and power.

I have been director of Church Action on Poverty for 25 years, and will reflect here on our experiences of trying to develop a variety of practical organising, empowerment and advocacy programmes, and look ahead to new paths.

Our context: the denial of dignity, agency and power

The task of organising is indeed difficult in the current context. There is little immediate prospect of significant policy action to tackle poverty at UK level, with a Government with an 80-seat majority in Parliament.

More widely though, the Covid-19 pandemic and the recent steep rise in living costs have brought into much sharper focus pre-existing inequalities in society, and also led to dramatic increases in poverty, debt and levels of unemployment (especially for people under 25), which are significantly worse than that following not just the 2007 global economic crash, but the deep recessions of the 1970s and 1980s.

For all the talk of ‘building back better’, this leaves many families and communities with the prospect of reduced life chances (and indeed, life expectancy) for years to come.

Beyond this, there are strong and deep seated public attitudes in the UK which stigmatise and blame individuals for their own poverty.

Professor Ruth Lister describes this in terms of the ‘othering’ of people living in poverty. Over many decades, these attitudes have not only been embedded in the welfare system, but have also been internalised by many people living in poverty themselves.

In the words of Wayne Green, who spoke at the first National Poverty Hearing we held back in 1996:

“What is poverty? Poverty is a battle of invisibility, a lack of resources, exclusion, powerlessness… being blamed for society’s problems”

To be clear also, the Churches have not been immune from these attitudes, from treating poverty as a problem to be addressed through individual behaviour change, or in more theological language ‘saving’ people from their self-inflicted poverty.

This is the context in which poverty – and even many attempts to tackle it – rob people of their dignity, agency or power over their lives.

In spite of this, Church Action on Poverty affirms the belief in the transformational possibilities of people coming together to reclaim their dignity, agency and power.

Dignity

For Christians, the centrality of human dignity is based on the foundational theological principle that all human beings are created in the image and likeness of God.

Maria Power states that Pope Francis’ recent encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, “offers a new vision of society in which human dignity and the human rights of all are respected…He has always wanted to make it clear that his papacy is one of action – placing the needs of the poor, marginalised and disenfranchised at the centre of his ministry.”

According to the United Nations, poverty is not only deprivation of economic or material resources but a violation of human dignity too.

The concept of human dignity is based on a particular pattern of perception: of perceiving humans as beings rather than things. The thing about dignity, and the reason it is a transformational concept, is that it knows no social, economic, gender or ethnic barriers.

Dignity is not something that can be given, but it is very definitely something that can be taken away. This is not just a question for the way the state interacts with its citizens, for employers, the media or society at large, but it is also a question we have to address to ourselves.

Agency

To be truly human means being invested not only with dignity, but also with agency. Agency is about people’s ability to act individually or collectively to further their own interests. Agency is tricky.

People on the right seek to blame people for their own poverty, without understanding the wider forces which come into play on peoples lives to restrict their agency to act. People on the left can focus so much on structural forces that create poverty and inequality they risk denying people any agency to change anything.

In Church Action on Poverty’s experience, people who struggle against poverty on a daily basis have far greater insight not just into the challenges they face, but a really deep understanding of what needs to change, and some of the best ideas for doing so.

In my experience, there is nothing more transformative than enabling a group of people to bond together, through sharing their own experiences and ‘truths’ about poverty, and to discover that these are not ‘personal’ problems, but shared experiences – and then to generate ideas and take action to address them together.

This process of empowering people to ‘create their own space’ for reflection and action, is the heart of enabling people to reclaim a sense of agency, not just over their own lives, but to start to challenge and change the wider decisions, institutions and attitudes which so often constrain or negatively impact on them.

Power

I frequently find that people both in the churches and the voluntary sector have a problem with the idea of power. It makes us uneasy. But I’m reliably told that there are more references to power in the Bible than to prayer.

What is power, other than, in Martin Luther King’s words “The ability to achieve a purpose… It is the strength required to bring about social, political, and economic change.”

We like to focus more on loving our neighbours, than on wanting to claim or challenge power. But again, Martin Luther King challenges us to think differently: “Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anaemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.”

Transforming unjust structures is core to the mission of the church, but if we are serious about transforming the unjust structures then we have to be willing not just to speak truth to power, but to enable people to do so for themselves.

We need to talk more about race, class and poverty

One of the key insights of the past few years is that we are not all in the same boat – and that poverty intersects with other social inequalities. If we didn’t already know this, the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement have brought this home with greater sharpness.

Black people are disproportionately affected by poverty, by low pay, by poor housing, by health inequalities. These are aspects of structural racism which impinge directly on peoples lives.

We have not done enough in the anti-poverty movement, in the churches – and within Church Action on Poverty ourselves, to acknowledge this fact, and to ensure that the views, voices and experiences of black and brown people are visible, or heard in and through our work.

But equally, poverty intersects with inequalities in relation to social class, gender and disability. The way we frequently talk about these are as if they were separate categories of experience, but in reality, they are complex and interlocking injustices and inequalities that exacerbate poverty for specific groups of people.

We cannot hope to create solidarity by glossing over the differences. Rather, the challenge is to build solidarity among people by affirming their specific experiences.

What does this mean in terms of what we do?

None of these are abstract ideas.

Too often, poverty is discussed in the abstract. For Church Action on Poverty, this has never been our way. For us, making change happen must always start at street level, at local level, by working with small groups of people to enable them to reclaim their own dignity, agency and power.

Our vision for building a social movement is rooted in this approach – finding ways to enable groups of people to come together in ways which are transformative.

To paraphrase Margaret Mead, that’s the only way that true and lasting change has ever come about.

So our vision for building a social movement is still rooted in building the capacity and skills of a network of local leaders – to equip people and communities to come together.

I now want to share some examples of how we do this in different ways and at different levels, which I will describe for the purpose of this talk as community self-organising, organizing at town or city-wide level, speaking truth to power nationally, and congregational organizing – or becoming a Church on the Margins.

Community self-organising

We know change can happen when small groups come together. I want to outline two examples here.

Self-reliant groups

The most small scale level at which we promote organising is through Self Reliant groups. Taking inspiration from the ways in which some of the poorest people in India manage to survive and thrive, 10 years ago the Church of Scotland decided to see how working in groups could change communities for the better.

Following a visit to see the Self Reliant Groups movement in India, in 2011, a group of women came together as its first self-reliant group (SRG) and looked at how they could generate their own capital. Through small savings, they started a lunch club, raised money and eventually started their own laundry business.

Today there are almost 100 SRGs supported by Church Action on Poverty and four partner organisations in Scotland, England, Wales and the Netherlands each with its own achievements and stories.

Each group, typically of 6-8 women, meet and save together on a regular basis, and use their own skills of creativity, craft-making, cookery etc to produce and generate small amounts of money – effectively creating their own micro-businesses. This video explains how they work:

The social impact of SRGs for people who are very economically disadvantaged, mostly women, and from very diverse ethnic backgrounds are very powerful in terms of creating a strong social solidarity amongst their members, in which their own skills, ideas and creativity is affirmed, and through which they can become producers rather than just recipients, and collectively have control of small might seem amounts of money – maybe £200 or £300 – that they themselves have generated.

The links between SRG groups are also important, with regular local peer gatherings, and national gatherings (when possible), so that each small group feels strongly connected to other groups as part of a wider SRG movement.

Your Local Pantry

Since 2017 we have been also working on a second approach to community-level organising, by growing a network of Local food pantries – social supermarkets – across the UK.

Each Pantry is hosted by a local community organisation – some are in high street shops, but increasing numbers are hosted by local churches, community centres, schools, even public Libraries

This work has expanded rapidly as a response to the Covid 19 pandemic and soaring living costs. We will shortly be welcoming the 80th Local Pantry into the network, and have tens of thousands of member households, between all four nations of the UK.. This video, filmed at two of the Edinburgh Pantries, explains a bit more about what makes them so effective:

What sets Local Pantries apart from the foodbanks which many churches have opened in recent years are that they are

Member-run: Pantries are run along co-operative lines, by and for their members, many of the volunteers who run the Pantry are members too. Members pay a small weekly fee, so have a genuine stake in their Local Pantry
Open to all: Membership is open to anyone local neighbourhood, with no requirement to be referred by a professional or other person.
Quality: Local Pantries are deliberately created with the look and feel of a little local shop, and with a strong emphasis on good quality food, including fresh fruit and vegetables, frozen and chilled food, including meat and dairy products, alongside the usual supplies of tins and packets that you would find in a foodbank.

In 2021, we carried out a survey of the social impact of being a Pantry member and produced an impact report. We gave this the title ‘Dignity, choice hope.’ This demonstrated that the impact of being a Pantry member extends far beyond simply access to food. Every Pantry member is able to save at least £15 on their weekly food shop, which equates to an annual saving of up to £780 a year. Beyond this

In the midst of the dark times, the Your Local Pantry network, offers a beacon of hope, demonstrating that local communities can be at the forefront of developing practical and sustainable long-term responses to the current crisis.

That’s why we are now partnering with the Co-op nationally, to treble the size of the Your Local Pantry network within the next three years.

What could that mean for your community? You can find out in more detail here:

Re-oxygenating local democracy: organising at town or city level

I now want to turn to two examples of organising that enable groups of people struggling against poverty to engage directly with and exercise some agency and power in relation to Government and other public and private institutions that exercise significant power over their lives at town or city-wide level.

Poverty Truth Commissions

The Poverty Truth Commission is a unique way of developing new insights and initiatives to tackle poverty, developed in Glasgow ten years ago, and now being replicated in more than a dozen towns and cities across the UK. The key principle behind a Poverty Truth Commission is that decisions about poverty must involve people who directly face poverty: Nothing About Us Without Us is For Us.

The Commission process is one of deep listening, relationship building, and shared reflection over a 12-18 month period between people with a direct experience of poverty and civic and business leaders within a town or city.

A few years ago, I co-facilitated the Salford Poverty Truth Commission in Greater Manchester, which was sponsored by the Bishop of Salford and the Salford’s City Mayor, and which brought together 15 civic and business leaders with 15 people from across Salford who each had their own personal experience of and ‘truth’ about poverty to share.

In preparing for the launch, the ‘grassroots’ Commissioners jointly produced a graphic map of the key issues and problems they experienced living in poverty in the City. Slap bang in the middle of the map was an image of Salford Civic Centre.

Debbie Brown, who represented Salford City Council on the Commission, recalled her reaction to seeing this at the launch: “The thing that stopped me in my tracks was a picture of Salford Civic Centre – the City Council was identified as cause of poverty. I was devastated! I hadn’t expected to see that at all!”

As the Commissioners shared their stories over the coming months, what transpired was that several of the grassroots Commissioners had traumatic experiences of bailiffs arriving at their front door, sent by Salford Council with the power to seize and sell their property to repay their Council Tax debts. One Commissioner told how a Council Tax debt of less than £100 had grown to over £1,000 once court charges and bailiffs fees had been added, putting her deeper into debt.

As Debbie said, “We heard some real heartbreaking stories of hiding behind sofas and being afraid of what was going to happen: that was not the city I recognised and certainly not the Council I know”.

In response to this, the Poverty Truth Commission brought together several of the grassroots Commissioners with the head of Council Tax collection in Salford, who was ultimately responsible for sending the bailiffs in. At the workshop he carefully explained the process for sending out reminder letters to those who hadn’t paid their bills.

Patrick, one of the grassroots Commissioners said “Yes, I remember those. They came in brown envelopes, and go straight into the draw. I can’t open them. I suffer from ‘brown envelope’ syndrome.”

The most shocking revelation from the workshop was that the first point of human contact that anyone would have in the process was the bailiff sent to your house to seize and sell your property.

Patrick’s reaction to this was the key to changing Council thinking. “Back in the day, in Ireland, if I had any problems with the council, I would go and see Mrs Mack. That’s what we need to get back to. Salford needs its very own Mrs Mack.”

This lead directly to significant changes to Salford’s debt collection process – including swapping brown envelopes for white envelopes.

As Debbie now says: “…The City Council has changed a lot already, towards a more person centred approach – we now run coffee morning drop-in sessions for any Salford resident who wants to talk through any problems with Council Tax face to face – and we have stopped using bailiffs to collect Council Tax debts from people on low incomes.

Through the Poverty Truth Commission, the collective wisdom and insights of a group of people sharing their own personal ‘truths’ about poverty has kicked started a process of culture change at Salford City Council, towards a much more human and people-centred approach to engaging with its citizens.

“I am not naïvely thinking we can change the world overnight, but if anybody anywhere else needed motivation, just look at what we have achieved in Salford.”

Participatory budgeting

I also want to briefly mention Participatory Budgeting: a process of participatory deliberation and decision-making over the allocation of ‘our’ public funds.

The idea was originated by the Brazilian People’s Party in the city of Porto Allegre in the 1980s. Church Action on Poverty, along with Oxfam, was responsible for introducing Participatory Budgeting to the UK.

For more than ten years until 2012, Church Action on Poverty hosted a Participatory Budgeting Unit, and worked in partnership with central Government, to assist and advise more than 120 local Participatory Budgeting processes, in which local people directly decided how to spend pots of public funding ranging from a few thousand pounds up to tens of thousands of pounds.

Our Peoples Budget campaign promoted the idea that all public bodies should allocate one percent of their funds using Participatory Budgeting.

The Scottish Government has now adopted this policy, which will eventually mean that £100 million of funds spent by local authorities across Scotland will be allocated directly according to the wishes and votes of local people.

Speaking truth to power: organising nationally

Church Action on Poverty has been known for prioritising and amplifying the voices people in poverty nationally since the late 1990s. It is more authentic for people to speak their own truth to power than for church leaders, or me as a director of a charity, to speak on their behalf.

Over the years we have run high profile national campaigns on asylum, debt, Living Wages, tax avoidance but have focussed much of our work over the past six years on the subject of food poverty.

Rather than focus on our campaigns, I would like to share the story of one young campaigner, who has been an inspiration to me in recent years.

Tia Clarke, is a young activist from Blackburn in the North West of England, who has just turned 18, but was 15 when she first started her engagement with us.

Tia and other members of her local child food poverty campaign group have been instrumental in the national #ENDCHILDFOODPOVERTYCAMPAIGN.

They are no strangers to campaigning as their involvement is a result of their own campaign in their home town of Blackburn. This campaign was based on experiences at their school where they and their friends living in food poverty often went without meals.

Their hunger led to a lack of concentration in the classroom and tempers flaring with teachers and classmates. With 40% of children growing up in food poverty in their local area, they could see where the system was failing them and set out to fix it.

In Tia’s own words

“Food poverty happens all around me. When you are hungry you get in a mood. Then you are in a mood all day and you just want food. To tackle food poverty schools should get more involved, they should look at pupils’ personal experiences and the Government should help as well.

“I became involved in the Blackburn with Darwen Food Alliance which is part of Church Action on Poverty’s Food Power programme in October 2017. Since then I have shared my own experience of food poverty both locally & nationally, and was one of a small group of young people who set up the #DarwengetsHangry Campaign.

In 2018 I became involved in the national Children’s Future Food Inquiry. This has involved speaking to MP’s in Westminster, appearing on Channel 4 News, as well as being featured in national newspapers.”

The #ENDCHILDFOOD POVERTY campaign has received national profile, and in the past nine months has twice forced Boris Johnston to U-turn and agree to provide Government funding for children who would normally receive free school meals, but who have not been able to do so because their schools were closed due to the pandemic.

You can see Tia on Channel 4 News here:

A huge strength of this campaign has been the power of authentic voices of experience.

We know that people who have lived the reality of any issue have the most meaningful and powerful insights into how to solve it.

Partly driven by this knowledge, Church Action on Poverty is now leading on a new Speaking Truth To Power programme.

We know that change happens when people come together and demand it, and when people are focusing on issues of their own genuine priorities.

This exciting new programme will help that to happen, by supporting people with direct experience of issues to take action on the root causes of poverty in the UK.

The programme will bring together people with a diverse range of direct personal experiences of poverty to speak truth to power both locally and nationally, and will work together to access and share tools, training and opportunities, so people can unleash their own power.

Participants will develop the skills, training and support to speak confidently and powerfully to local and national media, politicians and other power-holders. As people become effective campaigners and spokespeople in their own right, we hope they will inspire others to action.

Investing in becoming a church on the margins

Turning lastly to the question of ‘what has all this got to do with the task of being Church? Over recent years we have been exploring more directly the challenge to the church of what it would mean to respond in practical and tangible ways to Pope Francis’ challenge to be or become a ‘Poor church of and for the poor.’

We recently produced two powerful, compelling reports that make challenging but insightful reading.

The first reveals that low-income neighbourhoods are being disproportionately affected by church closures, charting data over a 10-year period. The second looks at what it really means to be a church on the margins, drawing on in-depth conversations with many people and communities.

Churches, at their best, are thriving hubs at the heart of their neighbourhoods. If national church leaders will reinvest instead in low-income areas instead of retreating, they can again help whole communities to thrive and build better futures.

“Not just a food bank for the poor, a debt advice project for the poor, a campaigning organisation for the poor… A church for the poor.”

Rev Al Barrett

Part of our inspiration for this work is the Church of Scotland, who more than ten years ago made a national commitment to say that Mission and Ministry in the ten percent poorest neighbourhoods in Scotland was THE Gospel priority.

Since then they have allocated twice as much ministerial resource to Priority areas, and funded some of the most innovative anti-poverty initiatives in the country – including starting the first Self Reliant Groups and Poverty Truth Commission in the UK.

“Priority for the poorest and the most marginalised is the gospel imperative facing the whole Church, not just the Church in the poorest places.”

We are excited that partly as a result of our programme, in July 2020 the Methodist Church at national level committed to spend £8 million over the next 5 years on a ‘church at the margins’ programme to be invested in ministry in and led by marginalised communities themselves. We are starting to explore what it will mean to be a partner with them in this work over the coming years.

It is our aspiration that other denominations will follow the example of the Methodist Church and Church of Scotland in committing significant and long-term funding to investing in programmes which live out the Churches’ wider commitment to the poorest and most economically marginalised communities, as the Gospel priority, over the coming years.

I will finish with the words of Deacon Eunice Attwood, who has recently been appointed national Church at the Margins worker for the Methodist church:

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Local welfare schemes are failing people in crisis

Crisis support schemes run by local authorities are failing to operate effectively with increasing numbers of destitute people turning instead to food banks and other …

News

Finding love and compassion among the bric-a-brac

The story of one shop, one church and some fantastic results WHAT could your local church do to reach those on the margins of society? …

News

Universal Credit – how will it affect Sheffield?

David Price of our local group in Sheffield summarises some of the concerns about the change to Universal Credit. At Sheffield Church Action on Poverty’s …

News

Talking about poverty in the UK – what works?

A 10-step guide to communicating more effectively – and changing public attitudes to UK poverty. This is a guest blog by Nicky Hawkins from the Frameworks …

Opinion and insight

What does a ‘church of the poor’ look like?

Some inspiring thinkers have been helping us to develop our vision of how churches could engage better with poor communities. Communications Manager Liam Purcell shares …

Resources

More than just a full tummy

Our 2018 report on the social impact of Your Local Pantry (our network of member-run community food stores).

Opinion and insight

Universal Credit – universal chaos?

In a guest blog first published by the William Temple Foundation, Greg Smith reflects on work at the sharp end of austerity Britain, and theological …

News

Change comes … in groups!

Andy Turner is Church Action on Poverty’s new Churches Engagement Worker. If you live in the South of England, he has an invitation for you! …

Opinion and insight

Poverty and the Passion

Director Niall Cooper shares an Easter message from all of us at Church Action on Poverty. Looking at the world this Holy Week, it feels …

News

Calling young poets: write about ending hunger!

The End Hunger UK campaign is inviting young people to write poems about hunger. End Hunger UK Campaign Manager Rachel Alcock introduces this exciting competition. Calling …

News

A symbol of change

With Church Action on Poverty’s support, new Self-Reliant Groups are emerging across Greater Manchester. Link Worker Joyce Kay explains how SRGs are changing people’s lives. …

News

Food Power: young experts

Our Empowerment Programme Officer Ben Pearson has been involving young people as experts in tackling food poverty. Our new Food Power programme is supporting Food …

Resources

Church Action on Poverty Sunday: prayers from Sunningwell

St Leonard’s Church in Sunningwell, Oxfordshire, held a service recently to mark Church Action on Poverty Sunday. They kindly agreed to share their prayers with …

News

Adrian Smith RIP

We are sad to report that Adrian Smith, a long-standing member of Church Action on Poverty’s Council of management, passed away recently. Rose Tyrrell, who …

Resources

Step Up to the Plate

Our 2018 report outlining what the Government needs to do to establish a clear food and poverty strategy for the UK. Produced jointly with the …

News

Voices from the Margins

With Church Action on Poverty Sunday approaching on 11 February, our Director Niall Cooper says that as Christians, our challenge is to hear, value and …

News

Step Up to the Plate

In our new report, we call on the Government to establish a Food and Poverty Strategy for the UK. Step Up to the Plate is …

News

Read all about it! We make the paper

See what we had to say about food poverty in Greater Manchester. THOUSANDS of people in and around Manchester learned this week about our ongoing …

Opinion and insight

Celebrate what food banks do – but demand action from government on hunger

The Right Revd Rachel Treweek, Bishop of Gloucester, wrote this blog for End Hunger UK. I am both amazed and shocked by the growth of …

News

End Hunger UK campaign in the news

In the city where school meals first began, we looked at an under-reported aspect of holiday hunger. Much has been said and written about holiday …

News

2018 : the year to End UK Hunger

Let’s make 2018 the year to End Hunger in the UK Together, we can build a society in which everyone has access to good food …

News

Opening up the Pantry

We launched ‘Your Local Pantry’ as a social franchise on 7 December. Our Business Development Officer Dave Nicholson explains how Pantries will help tackle food …

News

Hidden scandal, untold stories: poverty in the north east

Our joint investigation uses new statistics and true experts’ accounts Church Action on Poverty has this week teamed up with one of England’s biggest regional …

News

Tackling food poverty through people-powered change

Our new Empowerment Programme Officer Ben Pearson explains how the Food Power programme will tackle food poverty from the grassroots. Food Power is a new …

Resources

Extra resource for Church Action on Poverty Sunday: Bible study

This reflection on Matthew 22:1-14 and ‘voices from the margins’ was written by Revd Raj Bharath Patta. You could use it in your church or …

Resources

Extra resources for Church Action on Poverty Sunday: thoughts on the rich young man

We usually read Jesus’ interaction with the rich young man in Mark’s Gospel as being addressed to one person with wealth. Sue Richardson from Christian …

Resources

Extra resources for Church Action on Poverty Sunday: reflection by Helen Hood

Helen Hood, a member of our Council of Management, led us in a reflection at our 2017 conference on ‘voices from the margins’. Helen has …

Opinion and insight

No Advent cheer for modern-day Cratchits

Our Director Niall Cooper sees little Christmas cheer in two recent pieces of poverty news. Advent has not started well for tens of thousands of …

Resources

Extra resources for Church Action on Poverty Sunday: prayer by Nick Jowett

Nick Jowett of Church Action on Poverty in Sheffield wrote this prayer for our 2017 annual conference. You could also use it on Church Action …

News

Voices from the Margins conference reports: views from attendees

At our annual conference in Sheffield on 18 November, churches and projects shared stories of how they are listening to voices from the margins of …

News

Voices from the Margins conference reports: Sheffield Pilgrimage

At our annual conference in Sheffield on 18 November, churches and projects shared stories of how they are listening to voices from the margins of …

News

Voices from the Margins conference reports: Parson Cross Initiative

At our annual conference in Sheffield on 18 November, churches and projects shared stories of how they are listening to voices from the margins of …

News

Voices from the Margins conference reports: Timebuilders

At our annual conference in Sheffield on 18 November, churches and projects shared stories of how they are listening to voices from the margins of …

News

SPARK autumn 2024

Read or download our newsletter for supporters

Opinion and insight

Time to scrap the two-child limit

In this guest blog, Sam Corcoran explores why it’s time to scrap this harmful policy.

News

From churches to the Government: end this great sibling injustice

More than 170 church leaders from across the UK have urged the Chancellor to scrap the unjust two-child limit in …

News

SPARK autumn 2024

Read or download our newsletter for supporters

Opinion and insight

Time to scrap the two-child limit

In this guest blog, Sam Corcoran explores why it’s time to scrap this harmful policy.

News

From churches to the Government: end this great sibling injustice

More than 170 church leaders from across the UK have urged the Chancellor to scrap the unjust two-child limit in …

12 stories of hope for 2022 – and immediate actions you can take

The 2022 Dignity, Agency, Power photo calendar is packed with inspiring and uplifting people helping to loosen poverty's grip.

Copies are being sent to Church Action on Poverty’s supporters. If you’re not on our mailing list and would like to order copies, email us.

Here’s is a preview, showing the 12 featured stories. For each one, we also suggest a simple immediate step you can take, to help propel the movement to end poverty.

1. Meet Jayne & Shaun

Jayne Gosnall and Shaun Kelly have inspired many others by
sharing their stories, poetry and creativity, including in the Same Boat? anthology and through the Self-Reliant Group movement.

Jayne was also part of Salford Poverty Truth Commission and has spoken up in the media about poverty.

She says: “One of the best things that has happened to me is getting involved in projects through Church Action on Poverty. It’s a great organisation and what I like is that they always try to get normal voices in there, which is really good.

“One of the things that happens with people in poverty is that their confidence and self-esteem are affected so it’s really important that people are encouraged to use their voice, even if they do not feel they have got one.”

Photo by Madeleine Penfold

2. All aboard for tax justice

In 2012, Church Action on Poverty and Christian Aid took a double-decker Tax Justice Bus around the UK on a 53-day tour,
visiting 109 towns and cities.

Campaigners spoke to politicians, campaign groups, church leaders and the media, inspiring people to speak up and mobilising support.

This campaign and others paid off in summer 2021, when the G7 leaders agreed that multinational companies must pay at least 15% tax on profits in countries where they operate – a big step towards tax justice.

Photo by The Press newspaper in York.

3. A love letter to brave souls

To challenge poverty, it’s vital that people with direct experience are heard.

Ellis Howard, an actor-writer from Liverpool, ran workshops
with Church Action on Poverty in 2020, showing how people can
use their lived experiences and transform them into activism, using stories of struggle, hunger or poverty to build power and shape the future.

Ellis’ contribution to our Same Boat? poetry anthology on
poverty and lockdown was “a love letter to those brave souls who history continually tries to undermine, but we don’t let it.”

He says: “For so long these stories, these experiences, these lives have been completely undocumented. They haven’t been celebrated in a glorious nuanced way.”

Photo by Madeleine Penfold

4. A bold vision to end hunger

The End Hunger UK campaign, coordinated by Church Action
on Poverty from 2016 to 2020, brought together faith groups,
campaigners and charities, united by a bold vision of a country
where everyone has access to good food.

One of the brightest events was when the Food Glorious Food choir, formed in a Sheffield food bank, sang at the city’s Cathedral as part of a day of action.

There is a long way to go, but campaigning has helped ensure that the Government now properly monitors food poverty, and is funding a programme of food and activities which goes some way to tackling the growing problem of holiday hunger.

Photo by Alexandra Wallace

5. Food with dignity

The Your Local Pantry network safeguards food access without compromising on dignity.

The number of Pantries supported by Church Action on Poverty
has more than trebled in the past two years. Over 11,000 households are now members.

Pantries reduce costs, strengthen community, combat isolation and improve health and wellbeing. They are bustling triumphs of community, and can be the cornerstone for future progress.

Pictured are volunteers Christine Hoy and Karen Paterson, at the Fresh Start Pantry in Edinburgh.

Photo by Christopher Cook.

6. Tackling Debt on our Doorstep

For many years, ‘doorstep lenders’ and ‘rent-to-own’ companies
were a scourge on poor communities, charging exorbitant rates
to people who had nowhere else to turn.

We knew it would take a broad effort to bring change, so the Debt On Our Doorstep campaign brought together churches, credit unions, experts on debt and credit, and most importantly, people with personal experience of debt and high-cost lending.

This picture shows our ‘loan sharks’ demonstration outside Parliament. Campaigning paid off… Government regulators finally took action, introducing a cap on the cost of credit and other regulations which ultimately led to Wonga, Provident Financial and other lenders having to cease their exploitative practices.

Photo from Church Action on Poverty archives.

7. July

Stef Benstead knew first-hand how badly the UK was treating disabled people, and wasn’t willing to stay silent. Her book, Second Class Citizens, charted the way that disabled people’s rights had been breached and set out a vision for a better way.

Stef, a Church Action on Poverty trustee, was also part of Manchester Poverty Truth Commission, which has brought people in poverty and decision-makers together, to find solutions through their shared wisdom.

8. August

In August 1999, The Pilgrimage Against Poverty began on the Scottish island of Iona. Nine weeks later, with hundreds of walkers having taken part, it reached Westminster, where some of the Pilgrims met the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, setting out proposals to tackle poverty.

The Pilgrimage, organised by Church Action on Poverty, shone a light on poverty in the UK and pressed for change, mobilising and energising supporters as never before.

9. September

Monica Gregory, who works with homeless people in Oxford, has been speaking out as part of Church Action on Poverty and Sustain’s Food Power programme, and also took part in a Food Experiences panel work to understand food insecurity in the context of covid.

Monica found confidence through the work to speak up about poverty in Oxford, which is often hidden.

She says: “It doesn’t matter what people think of you, you know, as long as you believe in yourself and you love yourself. Just look in the mirror and tell yourself that you know that you love yourself and that you are worthy. Don’t ever give up.”

10. October

All over the UK, there are people whose experience of poverty has given them powerful insights into what could make a difference. Challenge Poverty Week each October amplifies voices that are too often drowned out and focuses on solutions.

If we harness our collective kindness, determination and wisdom, we can build the compassionate and just society that we all crave.

You can sign up below to find out what’s happening in 2022, or to take part. challengepoverty.net in Scotland or challengepoverty.co.uk in England and Wales.

11. November

Great things can happen when people come together. Self-Reliant Groups are proof of that. Each group is run by and for its members, creating new freedom in their lives and alleviating many aspects of poverty such as marginalisation and a lack of power. Groups meet regularly, save together, make collective decisions and learn new skills together, with the potential to become a business.

Church Action on Poverty leads the growth of groups in the North West of England.

12. December

Local people know best what their community needs, so it is right that they should decide how money is spent in their town or city.

That idea ought not to sound radical, but in the early 2000s it was. The concept of participatory budgeting began in Brazil in the 1990s, and when a group from Salford visited ten years later, they brought the idea back to the UK, involving thousands of people in more than 200 areas.

Phil Teece, who led the work for Church Action on Poverty, says: “Citizens are as capable, or more capable, of making the decisions that will affect them most. That’s a very powerful message. It’s not about alleviating poverty per se, but it’s transferring power and giving people the confidence to engage. It makes a big difference to people who felt they had no power whatsoever.”

Resources

Planning a Lent programme for your church in 2021?

‘Life-Changing Stories’ is Church Action on Poverty’s new series of Bible studies, to be published on 8 October 2020.

News

The Collective, Episode 2 – Community responses

The second episode of The Collective, exploring Community responses to the crisis, is now online. Watch the full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4rLgvw-0-A The Collective is an …

Resources

Sheffield Poverty Update, September 2020

Read the latest newsletter from our local group in Sheffield.

Resources

SPARK newsletter, autumn 2020

Download our newsletter for autumn 2020

Opinion and insight

Book review: No Fixed Abode

No Fixed Abode by Maeve McClenaghan is published this month. It tells the stories of many people who have been pushed into homelessness and who …

News

3 key ways we will be challenging poverty this autumn: Join us

This autumn, Church Action on Poverty will be working harder than ever to challenge poverty, and we hope you’re up for joining us in this …

News

Church Action on Poverty North East 2020 AGM, 25 September

Has there been a faith response to COVID-19? Find out what’s been happening around the North East.

Opinion and insight

Let’s walk upon the water

Self-Reliant Group facilitator, Laura Walton, considers the seaside this bank holiday weekend. Such is the advancement of science and technology that we can control and …

Opinion and insight

A walk in the park

Self-Reliant Group facilitator, Laura Walton, celebrates the joys of going for a walk in a park A walk in the park. A phrase often used …

Opinion and insight

Look after each other

Self-Reliant Group facilitator, Laura Walton, reflects on the importance of looking after each other. Despite what the rest of the country thinks, we Mancunians are …

Opinion and insight

Are you a sun worshipper of follower?

Self-Reliant Group facilitator, Laura Walton, is inspired by a sunflower. A lone sunflower stands tall in my garden. It has survived neglect, vicious attack by …

Opinion and insight

We’re all going on a summer holiday

Self-reliant group facilitator, Laura Walton, writes about how to have fun this summer, whatever the weather. “We’re all going on a summer holidayNo more working …

Opinion and insight

Food insecurity and social isolation in Sheffield

A guest blog from Charlotte Killeya of Parson Cross Initiative in Sheffield

News Opinion and insight

Love and unity in a UK food desert

Our latest podcast episode hears how community pantries have responded to the pandemic. Hit the play button below to listen. Find previous episodes here News …

News

Sheffield Poverty Update August 2020

Read the latest newsletter from our local group in Sheffield.

News

A Fair and Just Future for Cornwall

This new report features 21 articles by key stakeholders from across business, faith and the voluntary sector, all of whom articulate their own particular vision …

News Opinion and insight

How one estate pulled together and how covid could change it forever

We must all look out for one another, to ensure nobody is cut adrift. We continue to hear heartening stories of how communities across the …

News

The Collective, Pilot – Church responses to the crisis

On Tuesday 14th July we launched the pilot episode of our new show The Collective on Zoom and Facebook Live. The Collective is an hour …

Opinion and insight

A place to call home

Self-Reliant Group facilitator, Laura Walton, remembers the struggles facing those seeking asylum in this country. A shielding friend visited my back garden this week and …

News

Dozens join e-choir for rendition of a Disney classic

Community choirs in Sheffield have come together online beautifully. All of us have been seeking ways to stay connected during the coronavirus outbreak, and to …

News

New songs for a strange land

ACE, our partners running the first Your Local Pantry in Wales, reflect in this guest blog on how we can ‘build back better’ after the …

Opinion and insight

Way Maker

Self-Reliant Group Facilitator, Laura Walton, reflects on freedom, anxiety and the lifting of lockdown restrictions. How did you spend your Super Saturday? Doing what you’ve …

News Resources

Running a Good Society conversation

Church Action on Poverty supporter Liz Delafield shares how Dialstone Lane Methodist Church in Stockport used our ‘Good Society’ resources to spark conversations and action …

Opinion and insight

Something to wonder at and ponder on….

As lockdown restrictions begin to lift, Self-Reliant Group Facilitator Laura Walton, remembers those we have lost in the last few months, reflecting on the joy …

News

Gathering on the Margins – 23 June

Gathering on the Margins is going from once a week to once a month. We used our final weekly session to reflect on the past …

Opinion and insight

1 city, 8 tales: sudden poverty & an outpouring of goodwill

Our latest podcast hears stories and first-hand insight from four people in one city.

Opinion and insight

Be in my Bubble

Self-Reliant Group Facilitator, Laura Walton, reflects on ‘social bubbles’ and the power of just spending time with people Laura writes a spiritual refection every Sunday …

News

Gathering on the Margins – 16 June

This week we talked about campaigning and movement building, including different approaches to campaigning and what issues Church Action on Poverty should campaign on. We …

News

Gathering on the Margins – 9 June

This week we looked beyond the UK and talked about how we can stand in solidarity with people around the world, and what we can …

News

Church Action on Poverty in Sheffield Update, June 2020

Read the latest newsletter from our local group in Sheffield.

Hymns Resources

Viral Song

A hymn by Church Action on Poverty supporter NIck Jowett.

Opinion and insight

New wine, new wineskins: theological reflection on ‘building back better’

On 3 June, we gathered theologians, writers and ministers to reflect on what the church’s role should be in ‘building back better’ after the pandemic.

News

Gathering on the Margins – 2 June

In this week’s gathering we discussed how the Coronavirus crisis has impacted the lives of children and young people. We have these gatherings every Tuesday …

Opinion and insight

Reflecting together, 28 May: Whom are we serving in our services?

Resources and notes from our online gathering of 28 May, reflecting on what it means to be church on the margins during the pandemic,

News

You can’t eat the view

Andrew Howell of End Hunger Cornwall shares a report from their conference, and an update on the situation during the pandemic.

Opinion and insight

Reflecting together, 21 May: inhabiting the public realm in the midst of lockdown

Notes and video from our online gathering of 21 May, reflecting on what it means to be church on the margins during the pandemic.

Opinion and insight

Book review: Bread of Life in Broken Britain

Nick Waterfield, who manages a food bank in Sheffield, reviews this new book by Charles Roding Pemberton.

News Opinion and insight

Staying connected: 3 stories from Sheffield

Charlotte, Carlie and Michelle tell how lockdown is affecting their community

News

Gathering on the Margins – 26 May

During this pandemic, communities have come together to support each other. In this week’s gathering we discussed at coordinated responses to the crisis and mutual …

News

SPARK autumn 2024

Read or download our newsletter for supporters

Opinion and insight

Time to scrap the two-child limit

In this guest blog, Sam Corcoran explores why it’s time to scrap this harmful policy.

News

From churches to the Government: end this great sibling injustice

More than 170 church leaders from across the UK have urged the Chancellor to scrap the unjust two-child limit in …

How grassroots films change views of poverty

Film is a powerful way of accelerating and effecting social change.

Like other artistic forms of storytelling, it can shine a spotlight on unjust systems, and make a compelling and memorable case for change.

One person who knows that well is Brody Salmon, a film-maker in North West England who has highlighted many of the social issues in his communities.

New storytellers from forgotten areas

Church Action on Poverty as worked with Brody twice in recent years, supporting his work on the Edgelands film and then again on the Same Boat? film in 2020, during the pandemic.

Edgelands was made by the young people involved in the Darwen Gets Hangry campaign, and explores the reality of poverty, hunger and welfare on forgotten estates.

Note, this film includes strong language from the start, and addresses issues including drug use and sexual exploitation

Brody says: “Working with CAP over the years has been both challenging and rewarding as a filmmaker. Challenging because of the reality faced by so many in this country, but rewarding because of the effects that we have seen our work have.

“From raising funds to generally raising awareness, it’s a privilege to have been a small part of CAP’s journey so far. By shooting my films on location, and with improvised dialogue from street cast actors, we have worked hard together to ensure our approach is always both accessible and meaningful.”

Same Boat? was written by Ellis Howard and directed by Brody. It was made as a result of creative workshops run by Church Action on Poverty during summer 2020, and launched during the first Challenge Poverty Week England and Wales.

Brody is the November feature in Church Action on Poverty’s 2021 Dignity, Agency, Power calendar.

News Resources

Act On Poverty – a Lent programme about tackling UK and global poverty

Charities and churches launch course on practical activism ahead of a much-anticipated General Election.

News

How 11 people spoke truth to power in Sussex

Powerful and amazing things happen when people who want change come together. We’ve seen that time and time again… and we’ve been reminded of that …

News

Obituary: Michael Campbell-Johnston SJ

We remember a Jesuit who was committed to hearing the cry of the poor

Annual reviews

Annual review 2022-23

Read about our impact and how we used our resources in our 40th anniversary year

News

Ashleigh: “I think we will become known for making a change”

What drives activists and activism? For Ashleigh, it is a combination of love, hope, and a passion for equality and justice. Ashleigh has experienced powerlessness, …

News Press Releases

North East churches & community gather to tackle poverty together

Church leaders from 6 denominations and people with experience of poverty in North East England met, to work together to tackle poverty in the region. …

Opinion and insight

There’s huge public desire to end poverty – will politicians now act?

This article is by the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, for Challenge Poverty Week. What do you want for and from your society? That might …

News

What is Let’s End Poverty – and how can you get involved?

Niall Cooper outlines the new Let’s End Poverty campaign, and how you can get involved. If you are passionate about tackling poverty in the UK …

News

Our partner APLE is looking for new trustees

Could you be a trustee for APLE (Addressing Poverty with Lived Experience)? We’re pleased to share this invitation from the APLE Collective (who work in …

News

Nottingham’s first Your Local Pantry opens

We’re helping local partners to reclaim dignity, choice and hope in Nottingham. The first Your Local Pantry in Nottingham has opened to members. Meadows Pantry …

Resources

SPARK newsletter autumn 2023

Download the autumn 2023 issue of our newsletter for supporters.

News

SPARK autumn 2024

Read or download our newsletter for supporters

Opinion and insight

Time to scrap the two-child limit

In this guest blog, Sam Corcoran explores why it’s time to scrap this harmful policy.

News

From churches to the Government: end this great sibling injustice

More than 170 church leaders from across the UK have urged the Chancellor to scrap the unjust two-child limit in …

“All it needs is people willing to listen”

Stef Benstead looks back on her experiences as part of the first Manchester Poverty Truth Commission.

I was invited to join the Manchester Poverty Truth Commission by Niall Cooper, after he had met me a few times at various Christian conferences on poverty and related issues. It sounded like a great idea that addressed one of the challenges I regularly come up against in my work on disability and the social security system – that those with power don’t listen to those affected by their policies, and end up making bad policies due to wrong beliefs or assumptions about what the issues are and what are the causes, and therefore the solutions, of those issues.

It’s really important that people with lived experience of an issue are an equal part of the policy-making process. Many of the problems with Universal Credit are because the government didn’t listen to people in poverty and on benefits; problems with benefits for sick and disabled people would also have been avoided if sick and disabled people had been listened to.

But it’s also hard for people with lived experience to get involved. It’s not just a lack of time, lack of contacts or lack of knowledge about how to get our voices heard. It’s also that the bureaucratic barriers that have built up and the harm that flawed policies have caused have built a painful wall between policy-makers, such as the local council, and the people affected. When policy-makers do want to start listening and put into practice what they are told, it isn’t enough to simply say that they’re listening. First there needs to be a relationship between the two sides, so that those of us in poverty and with lived experience of the impacts of policy can be reassured that this time the listening is genuine and the outcomes will be real and positive.

This is what Poverty Truth Commissions achieve. The time taken to share personal stories revealed a common humanity which I at least wasn’t expecting. I thought there would be a middle class/poorer people divide. In fact what I heard was business and civic leaders who had grown up in poverty, brought up by single parents on council estates; and grass-roots commissioners who, like me, had grown up middle-class only to fall into poverty later. Commissioners on both sides had experienced recent bereavement or relationship breakdown. These stories of our lives levelled the playing field: we realised that where we had ended up wasn’t representative of who we are as people, and that was as true for the business and civic commissioners as for the grass-roots commissioners.

The biggest impact for me was when one of the business and civic leaders took an idea that I had put forward, which from her perspective was unaffordable and unworkable at that point, and came back a month later with a revamped idea that could be made to work. I’m still working on this idea now and hope it will eventually come to fruition.

The PTCs break down barriers between the people who usually make policy and those who usually merely receive it. It does this by creating relationship between the two sides, teaming us up in a common fight against poverty and inhumanity. It can be a transformational process with ripple effects that continue long after the commission itself has formally finished. All it needs is people willing to listen.

Stef Benstead is a trustee of Church Action on Poverty, a grassroots commissioner in Manchester Poverty Truth Commission, and the author of Second Class Citizens: The treatment of disabled people in austerity Britain.

News

7 ways a Your Local Pantry could help YOUR community in 2024

The Your Local Pantry network is growing rapidly. There are now more than 100 Pantries, across all four nations of the UK from Portadown to …

News Opinion and insight

Artist Don: How Leith Pantry has helped ease my depression

Pantry member Don tells us how he and Your Local Pantry helped him have helped each another Your Local Pantries are making an amazing difference …

News

Are we set for a landmark legal change on inequality?

Are we close to seeing a landmark legal change? For the past few years, growing numbers of people and groups have been calling for a …

Resources

SPARK newsletter winter 2023-24

Download the winter 2023-24 newsletter for supporters of Church Action on Poverty

News

Let’s say what we truly want society to look like – Let’s End Poverty

This year is a chance to reassert what we want for the country. The huge majority of us want to end poverty… Niall Cooper says: …

News

Charity and church leaders call for urgent action on rising poverty in the UK and around the world

Senior leaders from churches and charities have called on politicians to take urgent action on rising poverty in the UK and around the world. In …

News

New Year’s Honour for inspiring campaigner Penny

Compassionate community campaigner, Penny Walters, has been awarded the British Empire Medal in the New Year Honours list. The award is in recognition of her …

News

Meet our five new trustees

Five new trustees have joined the council of management of Church Action on Poverty, bringing fresh skills, insights, ideas and dedication to the organisation. All …

News Opinion and insight

Feeding Britain & YLP: Raising dignity, hope & choice with households

Your Local Pantry, Feeding Britain and others are working together to prevent hunger, offer dignity and choice, and co-design a national exit strategy from dependence …

News

SPARK autumn 2024

Read or download our newsletter for supporters

Opinion and insight

Time to scrap the two-child limit

In this guest blog, Sam Corcoran explores why it’s time to scrap this harmful policy.

News

From churches to the Government: end this great sibling injustice

More than 170 church leaders from across the UK have urged the Chancellor to scrap the unjust two-child limit in …

Listen up to level up: why we must rebuild together

Tracey Herrington from Poverty2Solutions says why campaigners are heading to Conservative Party Conference this week

It has now been 18 months since the country first went into lockdown. As we begin, slowly and hopefully to move out of the pandemic, it has never been more important to make sure that we really do ‘build back better’ and create a better future for us all.

Doing this properly means politicians and policymakers must start to actually learn from and work with those with the expertise that only comes from lived experiences. As someone who lives in an area too often dismissed as ‘left behind’, working and living alongside people experiencing poverty and the social security system first-hand, I witness and learn from this expertise every day.

The pandemic has been challenging for us all and it has amplified the existing difficulties and challenges faced in low-income communities. But it has also shown us how policymaking too often ignores the expertise of experience; and fails to bring it to bear on decision making. Creating a sustainable road map out to a better future will need us all to come together, to ‘do your duty for equality’; and tackle persistent inequality head on. A just and compassionate society demands this and it really is the only way to ensure that no one is left behind.

It's never been more important to listen

At a time of high economic uncertainty, and with a government commitment to ‘levelling up’, there has never been a more important time for people with direct experiences of poverty to be involved in policy and decision-making, contributing their expertise and ideas for change. As Sue, a member of community group Dole Animators puts it:

‘Too often people are portrayed as numbers on paper, or as stats and percentages. It is very easy for policy makers to dismiss who they represent when they aren’t considered as individuals. Having someone describe their lived experience is not only brave but essential if we want positive and long-lasting change. They can show us our failings, our lack of compassion and humanity. If a policy affects someone why shouldn’t they have the right to be involved in its making?’

What we want to change

Poverty2Solutions, a coalition of three community groups (ATD Fourth World, Dole Animators and Thrive Teesside) led by people with direct experiences of poverty, want the UK government to commit to working with people with lived experiences of socio-economic disadvantage in policymaking processes and decision-making. Doing so would ensure that policies that have a direct impact on those in or at risk of poverty make a positive and effective contribution to stemming the rising tide of poverty and inequality.

Despite the pledges of successive governments, rates of poverty and levels of inequality remain unacceptably high. Covid-19 has hardened and exposed these inequalities, strengthening the case for targeted and effective action.

If Government had listened sooner...

Experiences of the past 18 months show us that harnessing the expertise that comes with experience can lead to more targeted and effective policy responses.

Whilst the government introduced a range of bold and compassionate policies at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, had they engaged with people with lived experiences as the crisis developed, their response would have been better and more effective.

For example, groups with experience very quickly flagged issues tied to digital exclusion and Free School Meal replacements. Had these groups been listened to and learned from, robust and practical responses could have been better developed that would have mitigated, at least in part, negative consequences that we have seen such as a widening educational attainment gap. Working in partnership with groups with lived experiences would have enabled the government to develop targeted policy responses in an efficient and timely manner, as opposed to taking the more knee-jerk and reactive response we’ve witnessed.

At Conservative Party Conference this week

Poverty2Solutions have been working together for almost five years to develop solutions to poverty that are grounded in our own expertise and experiences. We know what would make a difference in the communities that we live in; creating a fairer and more equal society and we want to be part of conversations about how we improve policies for all of us; we want to ‘build back better.’

The re-launch of our report, Do your duty for equality. Making the case for addressing rising levels of inequality in partnership with people with lived experiences of poverty will happen at the Conservative Party Conference. Poverty2Solutions will be partnering with Bright Blue to host a fringe event: “Leaving no-one behind: the people’s voice in levelling up” .

A real chance for transformation

Poverty2Solutions are a bit different from the usual policy wonks, journalists and parliamentarians that you typically find in attendance at the Conservative Party Conference. But we are attending and speaking up because we want to work with politicians to share our expertise and experiences, and to collaborate in exciting and innovative ways to create positive change.

The possibilities that can emerge by working directly with people with direct experiences of poverty and social security is genuinely transformative. I really hope politicians will listen, and grasp the opportunity we’re holding out to draw on the expertise in communities just like mine.

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For 11 years, the Parson Cross Initiative has played an important role in its community, coordinating various activities and support. For many years, it ran a weekly food bank session, but the pandemic prompted the change in approach that the team had long wanted. Nick Waterfield, who is pioneer minister in Parson Cross and who features on the October page of the 2021 Dignity, Agency, Power photo calendar, tells us more…

What has changed since covid began?

One of the big changes is that we phased out our old food bank work. By January this year it had finished. That was all done to increase dignity, agency and power of local people. It was about shifting how we do food support.

We now do two things: we do a market and meals service, and a community hub with a social café. There are no referrals now, and people make a small financial donation if they can.

We have a broader range of people using it now. For instance more people who didn’t necessarily need free food but who do benefit from some support are coming.

Dignity, agency and power through food

Before, we were ringing around for donations of food but now we pay £20 a week to Fareshare and the food comes and people get to choose what they want. It gives a lot more choice and agency, and people can decide what they want and what they can give. It has been a momentous change from the old food bank approach.

There is more dignity now. In a food bank setting, you know why people have come and sometimes that’s the immediate context of a conversation. Now, it’s a more natural welcome, and it’s acknowledging that none of us has a right to know about other people’s private situation.

We never doubted that it was the right thing, to move away from the less dignified food bank approach, but one thing I did worry about was what might happen to some people who might stop coming. In fact, I am encouraged and amazed by how many people have kept coming back.

Dignity, agency and power through food

At the end of 2019, Nick had recorded this video with Church Action setting out his hopes for the 2020s as a whole, little knowing the pandemic was about to disrupt all our lives.

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At the allotment, we have had opportunities to do new things. Indoor spaces were taken away from people in the pandemic but we have established new partnerships with other community groups. There’s a group here, Brown Girls With Drills, who we’ve been working with, and some young adults. It has given a whole new group of people access to the allotments.

It has all been about growing. Growing stuff and people and relationships, for want of a better phrase. It has been a major shift over the past year towards working in partnership and sharing space.

And what has happened is, the more and more people we have seen, the more and more stories we have heard of personal and community strength and resilience. Our services weren’t there for a while, but people were still supporting one another and looking out for one another.

Sharing space, sharing power

That’s where power can come from. You cannot develop community power without a sense of belonging. Only then can you talk about values and hopes and dreams, which is where shared power develops.

At the allotment now, we have more young people talking with older people who they would not have been talking with before, and all the groups are recognising that the others have rights in the same space.

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Two people who know that well are Mary Passeri and Sydnie Corley, co-chairs of York Food Justice Alliance and tenacious campaigners against the causes of poverty.

Mary and Sydnie feature on the September page of our 2021 Dignity, Agency, Power calendar, in recognition of the work they do across York and beyond.

Before covid, the alliance existed to coordinate all the different food aid projects around York and to speak up about what was causing hunger in the first place. A report was sent to the city council and Mary and Sydnie joined in others in producing this short film, focusing on hunger in the school holidays:

The duo also ran their own project, a zero-waste food stall, which helped many people get by day-to-day. But they both believe passionately in the need for a long-term focus. “We need to look for an exit strategy,” says Sydnie. “We need to look at how we can end the need for having food banks.”

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To that end, they have spoken up in local and national media, sharing their insights on Radio York, BBC 5 Live, the Six O’Clock News on TV, and in The Yorkshire Post.

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Mary said then: “We’ve done media work because we want to challenge preconceptions. People have ideas about single parents or people on disability benefits or whatever, and we wanted to challenge the stigma and stereotypes.”

Vision of a better society

This year, they have also been involved in the Covid Realities initiative, and the Food Experiences During Covid-19 research project, both of which aim to help ensure lasting change, as the country rebuilds after covid.

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“You are worthy. Don’t ever give up.”

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Monica works with Good Food Oxford, one of the local food poverty alliances involved from early on in Food Power. She found confidence through speaking out alongside other people in Food Power, highlighting the poverty that exists in Oxford but is often not acknowledged.

“It doesn’t matter what people think of you, you know, as long as you believe in yourself and you love yourself. Just look in the mirror and tell yourself that you know that you love yourself and that you are worthy. Don’t ever give up.”

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