By Aaron Barbour
Today we are taking part in Blog Action Day to add our voice to the global conversation taking place about poverty.
Much has been written about the ills of poverty, so no need to repeat it all here. Check out: linksUK’s own research publications and Evidence Papers.
It’s also worth having a look at the following: Poverty in the UK, International Poverty, The Campaign to End Child Poverty, and the JRF’s End Child Poverty site.
At Community Links one of our four strategic aims is to reduce poverty, something we’ve been working at for the last 31 years.
We witness real hardship in our local communities. For example we have a cupboard full of dried and canned food to help out people who turn up on our doorstep penniless and hungry. One local woman told me “I haven’t eaten over the weekend as I ran out of money and had to feed the kids first.”
This is totally unacceptable. We are the fourth largest economy in the world and yet have a growing disparity between rich and poor. This is made strikingly clear for all those who visit our headquarters in Canning Town (one of the poorest neighbourhoods in the country) as the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf loom visibly a mile or two down the road.
Next week we will be issuing a new publication detailing our research and practical work on child poverty – with recommendations to help those most affected locally – let us know if you would like a copy.
So today there are three things you can do:
- Join the conversation by leaving a comment here about your experiences of poverty.
- Check out Blog Action Day and see what others are talking about around the world.
- Have your own conversation about poverty with your family, friends and colleagues, and do it today.
