Day: October 17, 2015

Challenge Poverty Week

17 – 23 October

More than 900,000 people in Scotland live in low income households – in a rich country like ours this is unnecessary and unacceptable.

Challenge Poverty Week is an opportunity for you to raise you voice against poverty and show what is being done to tackle poverty across. Organisations large and small supported Challenge Poverty Week last year, and we hope even more get behind it this year.

• to bring to public attention the reality of poverty in Scotland;
• to the show the impact of poverty on individuals and communities and to address the sterotypes that exist about poverty;
• to highlight what is being done to address poverty (particularly by communities themselves);
• and to highlight the continuing challenges that we face in addressing poverty

​To achieve this organisations across Scotland will be organising events, running community activities, meeting with politicians to discuss their concerns.

Through all these focused activities we want to show that there is nothing inevitable about poverty. Not only are many people and organisations addressing poverty right now, but there is far more that we can do in the future to make a bigger impact.

John Dickie, Head of Child Poverty Action Group Scotland, said: “If we are serious about ending poverty in Scotland its vital that we build the public support needed to make real change happen. Challenge Poverty Week is a great opportunity to work together to highlight the damage that poverty wreaks and create the pressure needed for real action to end it.”

The City of Edinburgh Council is supporting the week. In his Leader’s Report published yesterday, Council Leader Cllr Andrew Burns said: “Tomorrow, 17 October, marks the start of the national Challenge Poverty Week. A number of events and activities are being held locally to coincide with it.

“In September, the Council agreed to adopt a set of pledges to challenge the stigma that can so often be associated with living in poverty. Part of the ‘Stick Your Labels‘ campaign, these pledges reinforce that poverty is not inevitable and commit organisations to setting out what they will do to help.

“In shaping the deal, we want to build on our strengths across the region, whilst tackling persistent inequality and other constraints that threaten to hold us back. If successful, we could potentially unlock an additional £3.2bn worth of private sector investment.”

The city council, having just signed up to the Stick Your Labels anti-stigma pledges, will be highlighting its work on tackling poverty, and that of its partners, during Challenge Poverty Week 2015.

There is a varied programme of events over the week, including Councillor visits to food poverty projects, the launch of the Edinburgh Equalities and Rights Network, Fairer Scotland conversations being run through third sector organisations, additional welfare advice sessions and staff events.

The Lord Provost, as President of Edinburgh’s independent social justice charity, the OneCity Trust, will also visit Bridgend Inspiring Growth, a project grant-funded by a the Trust to tackle the impacts of poverty through learning, eating and exercise. It is hoped that these activities will raise awareness in the city, where one in five families are experiencing poverty right now.

For further information visit

http://povertyalliance.org/challenge_poverty

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