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Doing food together: An invitation to all churches

Churches urged to open more Pantries

Bishop says community food approach “goes to the heart of the Christian faith"

A posed group shot, including the Bishop of Leeds at InterAct Pantry

Churches across the UK are being urged to consider opening food Pantries, as a way to strengthen their neighbourhoods and build local hope.

The Your Local Pantry network has 121 Pantries across the UK, but knows churches are ideally placed to host more and is inviting church leaders to commit to opening a Pantry in 2025.

Last week, the Rt Revd Nick Baines, Bishop of Leeds, visited InterAct Pantry in Meanwood, north Leeds, and talked with members and volunteers about the impact it has locally. The Pantry is run by a charity made up of Anglican, URC, Baptist and Methodist Churches.

Bishop encourages churches to get involved

Bishop Nick said: “What’s really impressive is that we recognise that food isn’t just for eating – we commune around food. So whether people are collecting food or eating food together, it’s a social event. It goes to the heart of the Christian faith as well, this is what we do all the time.

“I would encourage churches to consider how they might be engaged and involved in this. We need to remember, Jesus said we will be judged by whether we visit the sick, feed the hungry, give drink to those who are thirsty and so on. You can!”

Your Local Pantry’s recent Places Of Hope report found that Pantries had saved members £10.5 million in the past two years, and showed that they were bringing a wide range of community benefits, such as improved health, reduced isolation, and enhanced access to other opportunities and services.

Church Pantries reach almost 60,000 people

The Rt Revd Nick Baines, Bishop of Leeds, looks out of the InterAct Pantry window, with volunteers in the foreground

Church Action on Poverty, which coordinates the network, is now able to provide a breakdown of the figures for church-based Pantries.

Of the 121 Pantries in the network, 73 (60%) are hosted by or supported by churches or Christian charities. The first Pantry in a church opened five years ago this November, in Birmingham, and since then church-backed Pantries have been visited 362,300 times, supporting 59,800 people in 22,700 households. (If all Pantries are counted, church and non-church, those figures rise to 691,700 visits, supporting 121,800 people in 44,100 households).

Pantries are a perfect fit for pantries

James Henderson, network development coordinator for Church Action on Poverty, says: “Pantries are all about dignity, choice and hope. They are a perfect fit for churches who want to cement their role in their community, and who want to help make change happen.

“Many churches have spaces that lend themself to Pantries, but also an abundance of compassion and potential volunteers. If any church is wondering how to use food as a gateway to hope, we’d love to hear from you.”

The Bishop of Leeds chats to a volunteer, inside InterAct Pantry
The Rt Revd Nick Baines, Bishop of Leeds, chats to volunteers at InterAct Pantry

Pantries bring vast community benefits

The entire Your Local Pantry network has saved members £5.76m in the past year, and £10.5m in the past two years – but the benefits go far deeper. Research has shown that 83% of Your Local Pantry members say it has been good for their mental health; 74% feel more connected to their local community; 66% have made new friends; and 63% now eat more fresh fruit and vegetables. Pantries also have an average of 15-20 volunteers each,

Pantries are also increasingly about ongoing social transformation, with many members this year becoming involved in local democracy, social campaigns, and art projects.

Anyone interested in opening a Your Local Pantry should email info@yourlocalpantry.co.uk

One church’s story

North End Baptist Church in Portsmouth ran a food bank which had supported around 10,000 people in the five years up to 2020, and when the pandemic struck the level of local need soared. Covid changed the way the team worked, but it also prompted some reflection. Was this the right approach, or was there a better way?

Jo Green, one of the Pantry managers, says: “We spoke to schools and other organisations. They were telling us they had families who needed help but who would not go to a food bank because of the stigma. It made us wonder what we could do. 

“Our minister, Tracey, knew someone who ran a Pantry and we looked at a couple, and decided that becoming a Pantry was the way forward. We closed our food bank at the start of April 2021, and three weeks later we opened as a Pantry. The stigma has certainly reduced. We have a lot of families now and we are finding that people really value it more because they are paying towards it.

“We want to reach people in the area and build relationships. With a Pantry, people come back every week and start opening up and you hear how much it means to people. We are a church so we can direct people in the church to the Pantry, and also let Pantry members know about other things like the toddler groups.”

The Your Local Pantry logo

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A headshot of Sir Keir Starmer, alongside the words Dear Prime Minister

PM responds to the Let’s End Poverty letters

PM responds to the Let’s End Poverty letters

People with first-hand experience of poverty wrote to the Prime Minister urging him to change the Government’s approach… and received an immediate response.

A headshot of Sir Keir Starmer, alongside the words Dear Prime Minister

The Dear Prime Minister project was part of the Let’s End Poverty campaign, and involved 15 people writing to Sir Keir Starmer about their own experiences, insights and hopes.

Getting a grassroots message to the heart of Government is no easy feat, so initiatives like this often require patience. But remarkably, these letters generated an almost instant response… that evening, they were the lead story on BBC London TV news, and then the very next day they were discussed at Prime Minister’s Question Time, in a packed House of Commons.

Watch below, as Sir Keir Starmer tells MPs: “The letters are honest, powerful and important and I think they hold up a mirror to our country.” 

Dear Prime Minister letters

Sir Keir Starmer was responding to a question from Cat Smith MP, who had hosted a Parliamentary event for the Dear Prime Minister letter writers and supporters.

Several contributors read out their own letters, and there was a discussion about what it would mean to truly involve people with direct experience of poverty, when policies and systems are written and designed.

Together we can build a poverty-free nation

The foreword to the publication says:

“The new Government is aiming for a decade of national renewal. The people who need that the most – the authors of these letters and the millions who share similar experiences – must be invited to be partners in that change.

“We invite the Prime Minister to meet with the authors of these letters, to hear in person the wisdom and insights they bring, and to find ways to bring the expertise and insights derived from lived experience into the heart of policy making. Together, we can build a poverty-free nation, and we are eager to play our part”.

Some contributors, such as Karen & Andy in Morecambe Bay, wrote about the positive impact that localised projects like Poverty Truth Commissions have had, and called for similar approaches nationally. 

They said: “We have worked on many initiatives together and are seeing real change. It’s an approach that could make politics more effective, locally and nationally.”

Others talked of the importance of meaningful support, and others outlined the need for hope for a brighter future.

One contributor, Steve from west London, talked about attending his local food bank, and then becoming a volunteer. He said he had seen why we desperately need to end poverty, and what could be done differently, and added: “By ending poverty, people will be freed to make a difference in their life and in their community.”

“Listening to people who know what it’s like to live in poverty is not just the right thing to do, it’s the best way to create solutions that really work for the long term.”
Hannah Fremont-Brown
Let's End Poverty coordinator

One of the letters: Dear Prime Minister, from Carrier

Dear Prime Minister,

I am writing to you as a mum of two children, who is working hard to support them in the best way possible. I want to share with you how I believe that truly listening to people with experience of poverty can make a real difference.

Things aren’t easy. I am a lone parent without family support due to bereavements. I struggle every day due to my ill health, and the side effects from my cancer treatment. 

Both of my children have special educational needs. I feel that many people don’t want to truly understand our struggles. Some of the schools they have been part of are not understanding of our situation. They don’t follow plans made with early help, or really listen to what we need to support us as a family. I do not receive disability living allowance benefits for my girls as I struggle to fill in the forms.

I feel let down by the whole system at the moment. I am stuck between a rock and a hard place, having to make difficult decisions about how to care for my children and get the income we need. The stress of always having to make tough decisions has a really big impact on us. People in positions of power need to learn to really listen to people’s circumstances and offer support, not restrictions.

Over the last few years, I have been part of the first Poverty Truth Commission in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and it’s changed my life. I think every council should run one. Lived experience voices should be heard in government. A Poverty Truth style programme at a Government level would bring MPs and people of lived experience of poverty into the same circle. MPs should attend Poverty Truth Commission launches and celebrations in their area and take part!

So, Prime Minister, I am writing to ask you to take the first step to really listen to those of us with experience of poverty, and to work with us for change.

From
Carrie, Poole

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Time to scrap the two-child limit

In this guest blog, Church Action on Poverty supporter Sam Corcoran lays out some of the reasons we're calling on the Government to put an end to the unjust sibling penalty.

Child benefit was a universal benefit that was not means-tested, but that changed in 2013 with the introduction of the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) which effectively reclaims child benefit if any household member is earning over £60,000 pa (£50,000 prior to 2024). 

In 2017 a policy was introduced restricting Universal Credit and child tax credit for 3rd and subsequent children born after that year. The stated aim of the two-child limit was to make “families on benefits face the same financial choices about having children as families who are supporting themselves solely through work”. Without commenting on the moral case for using the benefits system to deter people from having children, the policy has failed to achieve its objective, with studies showing only a small fall in births in affected families.

What the policy has achieved is a massive rise in child poverty. 25% of children are now living in poverty. A report from the Resolution Foundation in January 2024 suggested that half of families with three children or more will be in poverty by 2028-29, up from a third in 2013-14 – whereas the number of two-child families in poverty is expected to stay the same, at one in four. This supports the argument that the two–child benefit limit has increased child poverty. It is estimated that 420,000 families were affected by the two-child limit in 2023, so the number of families affected is significant. 

The impact of the limit is going to get worse.

As the policy applies to children born after 6 April 2017, the impact on child poverty is continuing to increase, and when the policy is fully rolled out it is expected to affect 750,000 families.

So why isn’t the new Government repealing the two-child limit?

Seven Labour MPs were suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party for supporting an amendment in the King’s Speech. At first sight this suggests that the Labour party is opposed to a change to the limit. However, comments from a number of other Labour MPs suggest a strong desire to reduce child poverty, and that the suspensions were about party unity around the King’s Speech. The way forward may be to persuade the Labour party to change its policy from within. The main objection to a change of policy seems to be the cost, estimated at £1.7bn, and where this would be funded from.

To put the costs in perspective, in the spring 2024 budget the High Income Benefit Charge Threshold was increased from £50,000 to £60,000, at a cost of £635 million in 2025-26. 

In a wider context, investing in children carries long=term benefits, with improved educational outcomes and longer healthy life expectancy. Sir Michael Marmot advocates “Give every child the best start in life” as the first of six key recommendations in his report Fair Society; Healthy Lives to address health inequalities.

As a local councillor I have seen the impact that early intervention and prevention (or the lack of it) can have on the costs of expensive high-needs intervention. So perhaps the £1.7bn cost of abolishing the two-child limit should be compared with the £7.3bn a year spent on Research & Development tax credits, of which over £1bn goes on R&D carried out overseas, and 80% of the cost goes on research that would have happened anyway.

The case for abolishing the two-child limit seems strong. It has not achieved its stated aims. It has contributed to an increase in child poverty. 

Some further reading

The politics

Connor Naismith MP posted on X/Twitter:

“I passionately care about lifting the 7,000 children in my constituency out of poverty. Motions to amend a King’s Speech will not do that. A serious, considered plan from a Labour government will. I will work constructively with colleagues to ensure we deliver that plan.”


Sam Corcoran is a Labour councillor, former leader of Cheshire East Council, and a member of the Roman Catholic National Justice and Peace Network.

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Just Worship review

Theologian Greg Smith reviews the new book by anti-poverty activist Stef Benstead.

This is a remarkable and challenging book aimed mainly at evangelical Christians who want to, or perhaps ought to, consider how they should be responding to poverty and inequality in the UK. It comes from someone who is rooted and grounded in conservative evangelicalism of the Reformed variety, who begins the discussion of just worship (page 7) with a reference to the Westminster Confession of 1646 which “…says that man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” The assumption is that true worship begins with repentance and faith in Jesus, which produces obedience to the teachings of Scripture, and produces Christian lives, which demonstrate God’s character to others and bring glory to him.

A plain-sense reading

It is not surprising therefore that the strength of this book is exposition of the Bible, particularly the texts which address issues of justice, mercy and poverty. There are indeed plenty of them, in the Torah and the Prophets, and in the New Testament. Sadly in evangelical churches they are often not well known, preached about or reflected upon, or put into practice, in comparison to the words of comfort and assurance to faltering sinners. Stef Benstead offers a reading of Scripture through a plain-sense, almost literalistic hermeneutic, and in doing so presents a classically prophetic call to the church. For example (page 21):

We need to live lives that match up to the teaching of the Bible and the character of God if we are to truthfully claim that we are his people. We need to be little images of Christ on earth, showing in our lives and actions what God is like and what he wants. If we don’t then, all the rest of our worship – our songs, prayers, and Bible studies – are no better than idolatry. If we don’t seek to obey God, then the worship that we do offer is no better than like offering sacrifices to please false gods.

As a Christian who has tried to live by these biblical teachings for half a century, I enjoyed this emphasis, and discovered some fresh insights. Almost inevitably I felt a measure of guilt for some of the things I ought not to have done, and some of the things I have not done that I ought to have done. I hope that other Christian readers, and I recommend that they read it, will not respond either with denial of our complicity in the structures of inequality and poverty, or a paralysis of guilt that prevents meaningful amendment of life. I hope the biblical focus of the book will not be a barrier to others who do not share the author’s presuppositions and theology.

Lived experience

I can’t see many non-Christians picking up and reading this book, which is a pity, because alongside the biblical material the writing is grounded in personal experience of poverty, and analysis of UK policy injustices that increase hardship. In chapter 3, Stef makes the distinction between charity and justice, drawing on her personal experience as a person with long-term illness, relying on state disability benefits, yet still expected to find paid work. She has experienced the indignity of needing to use a local food pantry, where there is little or no choice offered to the recipients, and where much of the food is low-quality or out of date, and leftovers from the supermarkets.  It is a reminder that all theology and hermeneutics is contextual, and our personal experiences and social positionality shape the way we think about the justice of God. I hope that in future writings Stef can further develop this line of thinking.

Economics

The author has clearly done a lot of hard work reading about social policy and the wider research on inequality and poverty in the UK. The material about social injustice is presented in an accessible way, challenging the greed of those who amass wealth and the sins of employers who fail to pay a real living wage. In chapter 4, she addresses the contradictions and self-destructive tendencies of global neo-liberal economics that drive austerity policies. Inequality harms both the economy and the political and social sphere too. Chapter 5 draws on the stories of the patriarchs to explore how riches can be used with generosity for the common good, though in none of the narratives is wealth unambiguously a blessing, or is mixed with other sinful behaviour. She then presents a personal challenge for those of us who have a comfortable lifestyle, how we should consider generous sharing of what we have with others who have less, and how we can strengthen and build local community. Churches, especially those rooted in neighbourhoods where poverty is commonplace, have great opportunities to build solidarity and an alternative economy, based on radical values of mercy and inclusion. However, too many middle-class Christians simply follow consumerist values, especially in the housing market, which isolates them from the struggles of people in what David Sheppard in the 1980s called “uncomfortable Britain”.

Politics

The final chapters of the book turn to politics and public policy. In the Reformed theological framework it is taken for granted that the secular government is under the authority of God and in its policies should reflect the justice and mercy of God in the way it treats and governs its citizens. The church has a right and duty to call rulers to account and to advocate policies in line with Christian values, and which reward virtue.  The discussion is helpful and draws out some issues of principle around freedom, equity and caring for the poor. The unresolved problem for me is that this assumes the classic approach of evangelicalism from Wilberforce onwards of working for gradual reform by Parliamentary mechanisms. It is not clear to me that (even our new) government shares these values, or understands the faith commitments that drive them, especially when they are trapped by the opinions of the electorate, for example over immigration. There could be more in the book about practical politics, about community organising as in the Citizens movement, and the Poverty Truth network that amplifies the voices of people struggling  in everyday hardship.

Steff Benstead is to be thanked for writing a book which brings together the radical teaching of the Bible with the reality of life in unequal Britain today. Please do buy and read it, and use the material to provoke discussion in your church or small Bible study groups.


Greg Smith is a Bible-loving, liberation theology inspired, urban Christian activist. Read more of his thoughts on his ‘Primitive Ranter’ blog.

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Unheard no more: Story project brings hope for change

Five people with experience of complex poverty have been speaking up to press for change, as part of an exciting collaboration in York.

Church Action on Poverty worked with the independent media outlet YorkMix and with a local group called Lived Insights, to help tell complicated stories effectively.

Participants all had experience of issues such as poverty, anxiety, food insecurity, homelessness, drug use, or the criminal justice system.  

They spent several months over last winter and the spring exploring and sharing their experiences, and the stories were then published online over this summer, in a series called Unheard York.

A collage, showing a megaphone graphic, a City of York logo, and a screenshot of a story headed: "What I learnt from four months in York's homeless system"

Meet Charlotte, Anne, John, David & Tammy

Unheard York: what has the impact been?

As a result of the stories, Lived Insights (which is part of the national Speaking Truth To Power programme) has secured meetings with representatives from the city council to discuss possible changes. One issue raised was the complete lack of an established  feedback system, for people who had been through the homeless system to share their ideas and insights. 

Unheard York: The background to the idea

The work was prompted by a 2020 report, called Telling A Different Story, which noted that the media often tend to over-simplify complex stories, and struggle to convey the complexity of disadvantages in people’s lives. It said the voices of people with multiple disadvantages were often missing, and called for more collaborations between the media, charities, and people with personal experience. 

It immediately interested our communications team, who have long worked to amplify people who can bring first-hand insight to discussions around poverty. 

Unheard York: reactions

"It's been a great collaborative project bringing together experiences of people into a powerful series which asks the public and change makers to consider reframing how they view circumstances they might have previously judged people on."
Miles Goring
Lived Insights
"The Telling A Different Story report laid out some real challenges, but also showed how charities and the media could work together positively. It’s been really uplifting to hear unheard issues and voices saying what could be done differently, and it’s encouraging to see politicians open to listening.”
Gavin Aitchison
Church Action on Poverty
"Tourists who see the 'chocolate box' image of York are rarely aware that the city has some serious social issues, with many residents afflicted by poverty, homelessness, addiction – often a combination of complex needs... The articles generated a lot of positive comments from readers, who started sharing their own experiences. Ultimately I hope York's leaders will also use Unheard York to shape improvements in support services."
Chris Titley
Editor, YorkMix

Extract from Charlotte's story

“This is the hardest process I’ve ever had to go through, and it’s so hard because I’m not the one managing it. I’m being pushed and pulled by a system. If you don’t pester, then you are just another number on paper…
“There are not enough houses in York for families. When you’re on the waiting list, there isn’t enough social housing to bid on. In York, some houses have been converted to Airbnbs or for student lets as well. There’s just not enough social housing.
“When I spoke to other people, a lot of them were saying the same as me: the council hadn’t been clear with them how long it would take, and people felt there was no compassion. These people are often going through the worst times of their lives, and it should not be like this for them. 
“Being able to meet someone face to face would have made a big difference. You could speak to someone there and then and ask your questions.
“I’m saying all this because I want it to be easier for other people who are going through it. We had some support but not everyone does. I feel more compassionate and empathetic now that I have been through this and having spoken to other people who have been through it. I was compassionate before but I understand it more now.”

Charlotte’s recommendations, at a glance:

  • Within the temporary accommodation block, Charlotte calls for more recognition and support of the emotional struggle that homelessness brings, and for some form of communal space.

  • Within the council, Charlotte feels strongly there should be face to face interaction, and more clarity about what lies in store when for people becoming homeless.

  • And, above all that, Charlotte and Lived Insights reiterate that York needs more affordable housing, particularly with many homes being lost to Airbnb and student let accommodation.

Unheard York: What we did, and why

The collaboration was built on trust and a shared set of purposes and principles. Early on, Church Action on Poverty, Lived Insights and YorkMix sat down to discuss what would work from a possible partnership. We agreed the following points:

Purpose

  • To tell how important systems in York could be improved, to reduce risk of poverty.
  • To amplify the voices of people with first-hand experience, to this end. 
  • To share storytelling power more widely.
  • To model dignified, collaborative, purposeful storytelling. We want to change things, but without stigmatising people or speaking for others.

Principles

  • Every story should primarily be told by the person with first-hand experience of the issue, ideally in the first person.
  • Every story should include a look at solutions, showing how things could be done differently. We wanted to show that change is possible.
  • Every story should include some wider context. The storytellers are not isolated examples, but evidence of flawed systems. 
  • Stories should reflect the real complexity of people’s lives. Where there are multiple issues, we shouldn’t reduce these for ease of narrative.

Our partners on this project

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The Bishop of Leeds chats to a volunteer, inside InterAct Pantry

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Wythenshawe voices: It’s wonderful – but austerity NEEDS to end

In Wythenshawe, people tell of the harm of austerity, and hopes for a better future

“We need funding back. We need Government to pay attention to what we are saying…. Poverty is a killer. We need austerity to end.”

Cat lives in Wythenshawe, south Manchester, and was taking part in the Neighbourhood Voices conversation at the Dandelion Community, a radical inclusive church and community base, very close to Manchester Airport.

Issues raised include housing, poverty, mental health support, opportunities for young people, and the engagement levels of politicians.

Funding and opportunities have been taken away

Cat helps out here and is clear what she wants from the next Government.

“They talk about a cost of living crisis, but it’s class warfare. Our working class lives are disproportionately affected, and we are a largely working class area. We don’t get political support – the only help we have had recently was from Marcus Rashford on free school meals, and he’s not an MP.

“If I was an MP, I would tax the rich more. I would make sure tax is a lot fairer. Our treasury is missing out on a lot by allowing tax breaks and loopholes. Addressing that alone would provide so much more funding for things. We need to get the NHS funded again, and social programmes. We need to care about our smaller communities.

Cat standing in front of a We Love Wythenshawe poster

“Wythenshawe gets a bad rep from people who do not know it, but there’s community here. We care about each other. We might never have met but we care about what happens to each other.

“London gets a lot more than the rest of the country. Our politics is very London-centric. The EU used to bolster our funding but that has been taken away now. 

“We need things here for the kids to do. There’s no upward mobility for the children. They come out of school and are stuck doing low-paid working class jobs, unless they can play football or act. Children need to be able to have dreams that are achievable, but the idea of upward mobility has been taken away from us. I was doing a Masters in English contemporary literature and film, then during the pandemic my mental health suffered and there was no support or aftercare.

“It all comes down to funding. Austerity has not done anything, except make people poorer, poorlier and unhappier.”

Zoe and Eloise at Neighbourhood Voices, at Dandelion in Wythenshawe
Zoe (left) and her daughter Eloise at the Dandelion Community

Hard-to-reach politicians, and a mental health crisis

Zoe, another of the volunteers, says: 

“I feel the community I am in needs more of a relationship with the Government. People don’t feel they and the Government are on the same page, and feel that politicians are unreachable. We do anti-poverty events and they need to engage.

“Working in a food bank, we get to learn people’s needs, which is often housing. We get a lot of people from a hostel and from social housing, and problems spill out to us because people are not getting everything they need.

“There’s also a mental health crisis. So many young people are not getting the medication or therapy they need. Mental health is breaking down. 

“It feels like little people like us are being squeezed and squeezed and squeezed ’til there’s nothing left. I didn’t used to know what gentrification was, but I’m learning – it feels like we are being pushed out of our community so upper classes can come in. If they’re building nice houses, why can’t we have nice houses too? They’re talking about things like 10% of housing being affordable housing – on a council estate! It makes no sense! 

"People need somewhere to call home"

“My daughter starts university in September and she has to live with me because she cannot find anywhere affordable to stay, and she will probably still live with me after university. She’s thinking of moving abroad after, and it’s awful that our children are thinking they can’t afford to live in their country.

“Some people will say immigration is the issue, but that has nothing to do with it. It’s because they’re not building enough houses. There should be somewhere for people to live. People need somewhere to call home. 

“I’m from Wythenshawe and the best thing is the people. People here will help you no matter what. It’s like: if you have nothing, you can share your nothing with someone. It doesn’t matter who you are, we are just all neighbours, and in the majority everyone is wonderful.

“My hopes for Wythenshawe in five years? I would like people to have the right places to live, accessible places, and for people to be getting the right amount of benefits for their needs. I would stop sanctions. I have been sanctioned before for being in hospital so missing an appointment.

“I want people to be able to live and get jobs. When I was 16 I could walk into a job, but kids now can’t, there need to be more jobs.”

A signpost in Wythensawe, including directions to the airport, station, job centre, bus station, market and health centre

Views of a first-time voter

Zoe’s daughter Eloise, who will be voting in her first General Election, says:

“We need more social housing, definitely, and there are no jobs here. I have looked and looked and looked. Benefits are not keeping up with inflation, and a lot of places are really really suffering with that. I’m studying at the moment, I’m going into biomedical engineering, and want to move to the Netherlands after that, or go to Gaza.

“Wythenshawe needs funding for parks, churches, food banks. I don’t feel there’s enough funding there, or in schools. There’s very little funding. Wythenshawe has a strong sense of community, however it’s not always safe, due to teenagers having nothing to do and schools being underfunded. It’s like a lot of council estates – not enough opportunities.” 

The rise of food banks

Another volunteer said: “We all get on with each other. We’re all friendly. People from Manchester are all friendly compared to some places. But Manchester doesn’t get as much of anything as places like London do.

“We didn’t used to have food banks, but now we do. Since 2010, things have got worse, but now no matter who gets in, to fund anything they’ll have to take money off something else.” A

Moving here was the best thing we did

Three volunteers sitting for a posed photograph, inside the church hall

Local resident Elizabeth is concerned about the state of the pavements locally, and also about the uncertainty around benefits.

She says: “I’m in a scooter and for me the paths are a big problem. The holes and the state of the paths is awful for wheelchairs and scooters. In my wheelchair, it’s a nightmare. We also need more variety of shops in the town. It’s an alright place to live but there is not enough choice. Whatever Asda sells, that’s what you have to put up with. 

“I will definitely vote, but nobody yet has really mentioned benefits and what they will do for people on benefits, or with disabilities. They need to tell us what they’re actually going to do, what will happen?

“The best thing about Wythenshawe is the people, the community. There is a lot going on in here. I have been coming to this church for 25 years. A lot has got better, it’s much more of a community. We used to live in Altrincham but there was nothing to do there. Moving here was the best thing we did.

“My hope for Wythenshawe is that we get more money, so people do not have to use food banks.”

Read more Neighbourhood Voices stories and insights here, including from Sheffield, Stoke, Epsom and Halifax...​

Annual review 2023-24

Sheffield MP speaks at Pilgrimage event about tackling poverty

Doing food together: An invitation to all churches

PM responds to the Let’s End Poverty letters

SPARK autumn 2024

Time to scrap the two-child limit

From churches to the Government: end this great sibling injustice

Church Action on Poverty in Sheffield: 15th annual Pilgrimage

Unheard no more: Story project brings hope for change

Wanted: honorary Treasurer for our Council of Management

Our use of social media: an update

Just Worship review

6 places, 41 people: Some of the UK’s unheard election voices

Wythenshawe voices: It’s wonderful – but austerity NEEDS to end

London voices: poetry, photos and unheard issues

A church with people at the margins

Weed it and reap: why so many Pantries are adding gardens

Epsom voices: It’s a lovely place – but many feel excluded

Stoke voices: We want opportunity and hope

Merseyside Pantries reach big milestone

Transforming the Jericho Road

Partner focus: Meet Community One Stop in Edinburgh

Thank you Pat! 40 years of compassionate action

Sheffield MP speaks at Pilgrimage event about tackling poverty

The Bishop of Leeds chats to a volunteer, inside InterAct Pantry

Doing food together: An invitation to all churches

A headshot of Sir Keir Starmer, alongside the words Dear Prime Minister

PM responds to the Let’s End Poverty letters

Weed it and reap: why so many Pantries are adding gardens

Many Pantries are adding gardens. We hear of the impact for people's diet, wellbeing and enthusiasm

Paulette and Jackie lean on the gate, beneath a sign reading Kirkley Pantry Community Garden
Paulette and Jackie at Kirkley Pantry Community Garden in Lowestoft

The garden at Kirkley Church Hall used to be overgrown and largely inaccessible… but not any more.

A small team have turned it into an oasis, laying paths, planters and raised beds, and swapping out knee-high weeds for nourishing wonders. 

Today, it’s a welcoming, shared space, abundant with crops and promise, and supporting the community here in Lowestoft, Suffolk. It boasts potatoes and parsnips, beans and berries, lettuce and lemon balm, and more – and many of the crops are reserved for use in Kirkley Pantry, which runs from the hall.

A welcoming garden space, open to anyone

Paulette Holland, pantry coordinator, says: “Over the past few years, a small band of people have turned it into a productive kitchen garden. They provide the Pantry mainly with salad crops, but also a variety of other things. 

“The garden is open to anyone. We got the first lot of produce last summer, and we are hopeful of some more this summer. Members really enjoy it and sometimes ask about it.

“It’s a lovely, welcoming space for the community or members of the Pantry and we have some overlap between the gardeners and the Pantry members.” 

A sign on a raised bed at Kirkley Pantry Community Garden, saying produce is for use in the Pantry
Above and below: Kirkley Pantry's garden
Kirkley Pantry Community Garden: a cultivated area beside the church hall

63% of Pantry members eat more fruit & veg

Kirkley Pantry is one of many in the network that have started growing and sharing more of their own food. 

All of us strive to live healthier lives, but doing so is expensive. 

Last year, the cost of fresh fruit and veg rose by 14% on average, and there were wide fluctuations, with crops such as swedes, onions and cucumbers seeing huge spikes. This year, we have been warned prices may rise further

But Your Local Pantry members frequently tell us how much they cherish fresh produce.

In the 2023 social impact report, 98% of members said increasing their household’s fruit and veg intake was important to them, and 63% said they were eating more of it since joining the Pantry.

One member said: “I’m less worried and stressed which in turn is making me a better mum to our disabled daughter. We are all also eating much more fresh fruit and vegetables as these items are becoming very expensive in shops.” 

A growing movement across the UK

Raised beds and a polytunnel, on an old tarmac courtyard
The community garden at St Leonard's in Bootle

As well as Kirkley, Hitchin Pantry in Hertfordshire is in the process of adding a garden; St Leonard’s Pantry in Bootle, Merseyside, has a garden on-site including its own polytunnel; Llanrumney Hall Pantry has recently added an allotment; and the new Marlborough Road Pantry opening in Salford later this year will include an allotment as well.

Community Alliance Trust in Craigmillar, Edinburgh, already had a garden, then opened Greenhouse Pantry.

Volunteer Paul Masser says: “I run a couple of gardening sessions a week and anyone can come and help out and get a share  of the produce, and we take a lot over to the Pantry, where it is free.

“We try to keep what we grow as varied as possible. We do a lot of potatoes, carrots and onions – things that are always popular, and then there’s stuff like French beans, broad beans, courgettes, squash, cucumber, beetroot, chard.

“Part of it is for people to learn how to grow different things and try things they have maybe not tried or heard of before. There are some things that are very easy to grow, but not easy to find in the shops – so part of what we do is introducing people to things like Swiss chard and kohl rabi.

“The response has been good. A lot of the more unusual veg, and a lot of the greens, are very well received by people from different communities. We have Syrian and Bangladeshi members, and they really appreciate all this stuff, and it’s going down well. 

“People often want allotments, but the waiting lists are so long. Having a community project you can dip in and out of is much more accessible for people.”

Gardens, gluts and gleaning in Kent

Kerrie Bryan, smiling in front of a polytunnel in the community garden
Kerrie Bryan, a member of Aylesham & Rural Pantry in Kent, working in the garden

BeChange runs Aylesham Pantry in Kent, and had a garden through European funding. Now, it has several beds and a greenhouse, even growing their own watermelons last year.

Angela Doggett says: “If we have a glut of something, some goes to the Pantry and some goes to our cooking activities or community lunch. We also have a little kiosk and people who are not Pantry members can take some for a small donation, and that goes back into running the garden, like buying seeds.

“This year our plan is to have a separate plot just for the Pantry. We are trying to work out what will go down well. 

“We also get stuff from gleaners. Local farmers have volunteers who go in and pick unpicked produce and it goes to different charities, and we are recipients of that. We want to grow things that we would not get from the gleaners. For instance there are cauliflowers everywhere down here and a lot of apples come in, so we will stay away from those, and try things that are a bit different.

“People really welcome having the fresh produce. In the Pantry, they’re just extras people can have, and people often tell us what they have made with what fresh stuff they’ve taken. It does encourage people to think about veg in their diet, and people enjoy it. It goes really well. In the summer, it’s really nice because people get extra things.

“We have someone employed to run the garden and we have some volunteers who come in, not necessarily just for that. We have just started a gardening course club as well.”

Does your Pantry or church project run a grow-your-own project? Let us know on info@yourlocalpantry.co.uk

A bench and trellis with named plaques on
Above: a quiet spot in the St Leonard's garden. Below: two members in Aylesham
Aylesham Pantry's garden
Kirkley Pantry Community Garden: work in progress to redesign an area. A path is laid, and ground is being cleared
Above and below: Kirkley Pantry's garden, one area under construction and another already thriving
Kirkley Pantry Community Garden: a cultivated area beside the church hall, with tyre planters, benches and a grass area

Annual review 2023-24

Sheffield MP speaks at Pilgrimage event about tackling poverty

Doing food together: An invitation to all churches

PM responds to the Let’s End Poverty letters

SPARK autumn 2024

Time to scrap the two-child limit

From churches to the Government: end this great sibling injustice

Church Action on Poverty in Sheffield: 15th annual Pilgrimage

Unheard no more: Story project brings hope for change

Wanted: honorary Treasurer for our Council of Management

Our use of social media: an update

Just Worship review

6 places, 41 people: Some of the UK’s unheard election voices

Wythenshawe voices: It’s wonderful – but austerity NEEDS to end

London voices: poetry, photos and unheard issues

A church with people at the margins

Weed it and reap: why so many Pantries are adding gardens

Epsom voices: It’s a lovely place – but many feel excluded

Stoke voices: We want opportunity and hope

Merseyside Pantries reach big milestone

Transforming the Jericho Road

Partner focus: Meet Community One Stop in Edinburgh

Thank you Pat! 40 years of compassionate action

Halifax voices: on housing, hope and scandalous costs

The UK doesn’t want demonising rhetoric – it wants to end poverty

Sheffield MP speaks at Pilgrimage event about tackling poverty

The Bishop of Leeds chats to a volunteer, inside InterAct Pantry

Doing food together: An invitation to all churches

A headshot of Sir Keir Starmer, alongside the words Dear Prime Minister

PM responds to the Let’s End Poverty letters

Stoke voices: We want opportunity and hope

Stoke on Trent hosts the third of our Let's End Poverty Neighbourhood Voices conversations.

We’re in Stoke-on-Trent, where eight local residents are discussing the city, its challenges, and their hopes.

As it happens, the conversation took place the day before the General Election date was announced, but even then it was still on people’s minds.

We’re here for the latest in the Neighbourhood Voices series: a chance for people in communities across the country to have their say on their community, its strengths and challenges, possible solutions, their hopes, and the issues they would like election candidates to prioritise.

A posed group photo for the Neighbourhood Voices event at YMCA North Staffordshire in Stoke

Stoke snapshots

People here give rapid snapshots of Stoke:

“We might be poor, but we are blinking well kind,” says Danny, chief executive of YMCA North Staffordshire. “In Covid, the papers said Stoke was one of the kindest places, with most community action. There’s still that real neighbourhood kindness here in Stoke.”

Issues raised include job opportunities (particularly for young people), wages, transport links, the city’s reputation and narrative, urban investment, and hope.

An exterior view of YMCA North Staffordshire in Stoke

Economic issues

Danny says much of the city’s historic identity came from the potteries, which once supported tens of thousands of jobs.

Danny: It’s a very working class city; there are very few middle class people. People want something to be proud of. When I was a kid, Stoke was as good as anywhere else as a city. Now, everywhere seems to have been improved, apart from us.

“I think towns and small cities in Britain have been completely ripped off. You can see huge development in the big cities, like Manchester, but Stoke has had very little. We are the proof that trickle-down economics is a load of rubbish.”

John: “Money goes out of Stoke, and so does talent. When kids do well, they leave. Most of the highly-educated and socially-mobile young people want to live in Manchester, London, Glasgow, Nottingham – they don’t stay here. And even a lot of the top earners and leaders who work in Stoke, live outside it.

“There’s really good friendship and loyalty in Stoke. But parochialism is a huge negative. There’s a culture of suppression of ambition. When kids grow up here they go away and then they are surrounded by people who expect to be successful and expect to have a good lifestyle, but a lot of people in Stoke don’t expect that. There is this poverty of aspiration we have to try to get to somehow.”

Nicky: “Stoke has a high rate of setting up businesses, but it lacks some of the professional sector to help that thrive, like accountants and legal professionals. 

Dan B, a youth ambassador at YMCA: “When we leave school, people are expected to do warehouse jobs rather than getting interested in progression. There are a lot of closed down business and shops. You get dropped into low-paid jobs.

“When I left school, I knew I wanted to be in the type of role I am now (a youth ambassador), but in 2016 there were not many opportunities like this in Stoke. Maybe in Birmingham, but not here. I got a painting and decorating job but I hated it, it wasn’t what I wanted to do. Then there was an apprenticeship here – but there still wasn’t a lot of this type of role in Stoke.”

Danny: “There is a real lack of example that things could be better. There can be a ‘this’ll do’ mentality. People know what having nothing is like, but there’s still a fear of ending up with less than nothing – that’s the poverty that rich people do not understand, when they just talk about aspiration.” 

John: “Stoke people have generally got a good solid character, and that’s why a lot of people do well. I think there’s a lot of low-level entrepreneurialism, but maybe not enough confidence. But people who break through do well, partly due to that affable personality.”

A Google Earth view of Stoke-on-Trent

What do you cherish about Stoke?

Nicky: “People are very proud of our heritage and the arts. Our assets are another positive, like our green spaces – we are a very green city. Most neighbourhoods have access to green space.

“Also, if you put community events on, they are embraced massively. Stoke has one of the highest rates for community involvement and events. If there’s a big local event, everyone is out for it. People want to do stuff, and engage and get out.”

Nnaeto, chaplain at the YMCA: “This is my fifth year in Stoke. For people who have come in from elsewhere, our lens is different. We do not know all the history, but we see the opportunities. It’s central, you can go anywhere, life is fairly cheap, houses are less expensive here.”

What are the stories of Stoke?

Nnaeto: “We talk about the danger of a single story. If people look at just one angle, they miss a lot of different sides of things.”

Nicky: “If we are constantly telling young people they live in a poor city, what is going to happen? We have gone for World Craft City status, and the judges felt it was such a special place. But interestingly, the five people who talked about how wonderful Stoke is were all people who had moved here.”

What gives you hope? What would you like to be the story of Stoke?

Nicky: “That we are a city of crafts. We are a place for creatives and entrepreneurs to be birthed, and we will nurture and look after people. 

“What are the positives of the city, and how do we create hope for the future? For me, it’s the community and the craft and the location.”

Linda: “If we teach some of the history, it would help have aspirations again. We have the potential to be a tourist destination that people visit. We have the historical things that would attract people, and a canal system.

“We are stuck in the past sometimes – but stuck in the negative past, not the positive past. It’s like Stoke has a really bad advertising team!

”There are glimmers of hope, like in Hanley, there is a new Kurdish restaurant opening there, and across the road, the old DWP office is now a shop, and next door is a Caribbean shop. There are a lot of different cultures opening on the street. People have moved here and are making the most of it.

“If you took somewhere like Burslem High Street, and 20 creatives, and covered the rent and utilities at first, that would be thriving.”

Bishop Matthew Parker: “We all need to know our story, but we need not be defined by that past. Stoke has produced a lot. It wasn’t just creating for the industrial revolution; it was creating things of beauty.”

Dan: “A lot of young people here have talent but it never gets seen or heard. There’s a lot of hidden talent and people never get the opportunity to be heard, or seen or given a chance. When I started here, I was very shy, I wouldn’t talk to anyone, or I’d go bright red. 

“When my manager told me about the youth ambassador role, I thought they were having me on! But I knew it was an opportunity to develop my skills. Young people need more of that kind of opportunity to build themselves up, to know they can go for higher roles, maybe one day the CEO role. Companies in Stoke should be giving younger staff more opportunities to go for the higher roles.”

What is making a difference, or could make a difference?

Nicky: “The city was a real target before for the BNP and some politicians and press have tried to turn the community against each other, and sow division. But embracing diversity can be a real strength for the city.

“A lot of our young people here at the YMCA were talking about poverty setting them back, and how they felt trapped – whereas some of the people who have moved here from somewhere else felt they had the power to change their futures.

“What we are trying to do as the YMCA is unlock the kindness of Stoke people who left the city and done well for themselves. We send young people to Stoke expats, such as to a farm in Canada, to learn and see opportunities.”

“Another thing that helped was EMA (Education Maintenance Allowance). That was really good for the city. Young people were getting £30 a week so could go to college, and got a free bus pass. We saw a huge increase in young people able to invest in their future.”

Becky: “Yes – EMA really helped me. I had been homeless before I came here, but then I did childcare at college and now I’m involved in activities work.”

What would you like election candidates or the next Government to prioritise here?

A Google Streetview image of Hanley Bus Station in Stoke

Becky: “Transport links for me. I used to live in Burton on Trent, and it would cost me £9,80 on the train to go visit my parents. It’s only £2 on the bus, but the buses aren’t great. I go every few weeks to see my family, but it’s hard. There should be better bus passes for young people. So transport is the big thing for me, and general opportunities.”

John: “Connectivity in the area is shocking, partly due to geography. Most cities have a donut model, with a city centre in the middle. Stoke became a city, but it’s history is as 6 or 7 industrial towns, so it’s more of a sausage shape. It’s the only polycentric city in the UK. Since austerity, bus services have got worse. There are virtually no buses after 7pm on a Sunday.”

Dan B: “We’re talking about situations that are serious. When I talk to MPs, I feel that they’re listening but not understanding the real value of young people’s opinions and what their struggles are. And there are people in older generations who would love to work but can’t. We need to hear from more young people in these situations, who understand what it’s like for young people. They need to take us seriously.”

John: “I have seen so many regeneration schemes, Government plans all relying on private sector investment. We need regional focus and regional banks that operate for the region. There’s bad politics between Stoke and Newcastle-Under-Lyme, connecting to difficulties with councils. If you had a North Staffordshire regional focus, you would then have the economic area to do more.”

Nnaeto: “I want them to tell a more hopeful story of Stoke. Hope is the one thing, the most important thing people need. It’s easier for me, because I see it with a different lens. When I sit with young people, it’s difficult for them to see that there is hope but they do not need to be pulled down by negative narratives. Spread more hope.”

Could you host a Neighbourhood Voices conversation? Find the toolkit here:

Let's End Poverty logo: text in black, with a pink triangle logo
Make your voice heard - take action at the Let's End Poverty website

Annual review 2023-24

Sheffield MP speaks at Pilgrimage event about tackling poverty

Doing food together: An invitation to all churches

PM responds to the Let’s End Poverty letters

SPARK autumn 2024

Time to scrap the two-child limit

From churches to the Government: end this great sibling injustice

Church Action on Poverty in Sheffield: 15th annual Pilgrimage

Unheard no more: Story project brings hope for change

Wanted: honorary Treasurer for our Council of Management

Our use of social media: an update

Just Worship review

6 places, 41 people: Some of the UK’s unheard election voices

Wythenshawe voices: It’s wonderful – but austerity NEEDS to end

London voices: poetry, photos and unheard issues

A church with people at the margins

Weed it and reap: why so many Pantries are adding gardens

Epsom voices: It’s a lovely place – but many feel excluded

Stoke voices: We want opportunity and hope

Merseyside Pantries reach big milestone

Transforming the Jericho Road

Partner focus: Meet Community One Stop in Edinburgh

Thank you Pat! 40 years of compassionate action

Halifax voices: on housing, hope and scandalous costs

The UK doesn’t want demonising rhetoric – it wants to end poverty

Sheffield Civic Breakfast: leaders told about mounting pressures of poverty

Artists perform for change in Manchester

Sheffield MP speaks at Pilgrimage event about tackling poverty

The Bishop of Leeds chats to a volunteer, inside InterAct Pantry

Doing food together: An invitation to all churches

A headshot of Sir Keir Starmer, alongside the words Dear Prime Minister

PM responds to the Let’s End Poverty letters

Transforming the Jericho Road

In this guest post, Bryn Lauder of the JustMoney Movement explores the connections between poverty and tax justice.

Last month, I had the privilege of visiting a food bank and clothes bar in Newcastle Upon Tyne. Many of us have felt that sense of pride and joy at seeing the local church actively and compassionately serving local communities, meeting the most marginalised with open doors and open hands.

But following the sense of pride in seeing the church be the hands and feet of Jesus, questions naturally arise:

  • Why, in the sixth largest economy in the world, do so many people need to depend on these services?
  • What is driving poverty, inequality and injustice in our society and how do we tackle it at the root?

Over 50 years ago, Martin Luther King Jr delivered his sermon ‘A Time to Break Silence’. In it he challenges us:

‘On the one hand we are called to play The Good Samaritan on life’s roadside; but that will be only an initial act. One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho Road must be transformed so that people will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on life’s highway. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard or superficial. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars, needs restructuring.’

But, how do we transform the whole Jericho Road?

At the JustMoney Movement we believe it’s vital that the church has the big conversations about justice, asking ourselves how we can campaign and act for a world free from poverty, where our systems and structures treat all people equally and with dignity.

We have a vision of a new Jericho Road, where all may walk freely, with dignity. Our vision is of a world where money is used to shape a fairer, greener future for everyone.

That is why on 9 June, we are inviting churches across the UK to mark Tax Justice Sunday. Tax isn’t an easy topic and it’s not one we often hear about in church! Yet taxes are part of everyday life: they are a tool of government, a mechanism for distributing wealth, and a means of raising revenue towards a strong welfare state and well-functioning public services.

If as a church we want to move past charity and towards justice, surely we should be thinking and talking more about tax.

Tax could be a tool for addressing these issues, but as it stands the system often does the opposite. Taxes fall most heavily on those with lower incomes, so that the very wealthiest in society do not pay their fair share. At the JustMoney Movement, we see tax not as a burden, but a blessing: a way that we can show love for our neighbours and care for creation. That’s why we run the Church Action for Tax Justice campaign, calling for fairer taxes to get us closer to the kind of just, compassionate society we see in the biblical Jubilee and in Jesus’ kingdom values.

We understand that tax can be a difficult topic, but we also know that to truly be a justice-seeking church, we need to step out of our comfort zone.

What next?

  • Download our Tax Justice Sunday resource which includes a Bible study, reflections, prayers and actions here.
  • We believe taxes are a blessing, not a burden, and we are working hard to shift this narrative. Let us know what you’re thankful your taxes pay for here.
  • Join us on 11 June for our Fair Tax Week MoneyTalks event with former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. Find out more here.

Annual review 2023-24

Sheffield MP speaks at Pilgrimage event about tackling poverty

Doing food together: An invitation to all churches

PM responds to the Let’s End Poverty letters

SPARK autumn 2024

Time to scrap the two-child limit

Sheffield MP speaks at Pilgrimage event about tackling poverty

The Bishop of Leeds chats to a volunteer, inside InterAct Pantry

Doing food together: An invitation to all churches

A headshot of Sir Keir Starmer, alongside the words Dear Prime Minister

PM responds to the Let’s End Poverty letters

Halifax voices: on housing, hope and scandalous costs

This Neighbourhood Voices story comes from West Yorkshire

We’re in Halifax. Queen’s Road to be precise – in a former betting shop that is now home to Halifax Unity, a group seeking to co-create a vibrant, diverse and resilient community, where everyone feels welcome and able to express themselves.

It’s a fitting setting for this Neighbourhood Voices conversation, hosted by Mums On A Mission.

  • What do people cherish about this community?
  • What should change?
  • What issues would our speakers most like election candidates to prioritise?
  • And what do they themselves stand up for?

Over the course of two hours, we heard about housing, transport, racism, the mental health crisis, the cost of living scandal, but also hope. Read on…

Mums On A Mission was set up by Ashleigh May, who was relocated to Halifax after being made homeless in East London, and by Vanessa Raimundo.

The group operates in London and now in Calderdale, providing support, particularly to Black families. They work also with other groups, including Spotlight Faith Group, which works with asylum seekers and refugees locally, and Light Up Black and African Heritage Calderdale.

A group of 6 people, four standing and two crouching in front. They're holding Let's End Poverty postcards.

Housing

Ashleigh: “Housing is a big issue. We have asylum seekers who get their settlement status but no housing, and there are also families who are living here and need better or bigger houses. I have been in private rented housing for six years, and within that time I had a rat infestation. Despite the social workers and council trying to find me somewhere, I had to bear it out and go back to the house, still not in good conditions, and a year later I had to contact environmental health.

“My landlord now says she can’t afford the mortgage, so has given me notice to leave. It’s affecting my children’s health.

“There’s one family we have been working with for years now. They have been moved from house to house, but there are no suitable properties, and they’ve been in Ryburn House (temporary accommodation) for 10 months. The council have said the only way they will get moved sooner is if they split the family in two. 

“Because of this situation with housing, many people’s mental health is deteriorating. How can you work well, knowing you have all these problems? People’s wellbeing is being burnt out. It’s a vicious cycle with many different factors.”

Viv: “Even though we don’t want it to, issues like lack of housing create competition and resentments within a community. It is a vicious cycle. Really bad accommodation leads to people getting sick, so people have to move and get private accommodation, but it’s so expensive they have to choose whether to heat or eat. If there was help earlier on, so much could be avoided.”

Mary: “After getting your status as an asylum seeker, there is no integrated system. You are in Home Office accommodation while your claim is addressed, and then you get seven days to leave.”

People sitting chatting around a coffee table
The Neighbourhood Voices conversation in Halifax

Community

Vanessa: We have an openness here and an honesty about things, and being able to talk about our situations, and it’s all built on lived experience here.”

Ashleigh: People want to meet and see people who look like them, representing them. People who feel the way I feel and see how I feel. People see that we make them feel like family.”

Viv: It’s amazing, so many people without many resources, trying to support each other, like LIght Up and Mums On A Mission. Mums On A Mission has that way that grassroots groups do, of saying: ‘we will find a way and see what can work’. There’s not enough housing here and there’s not enough support. At least if you’ve got a group like Mums On A Mission or Light Up, you can process what’s going on.”

An exterior view of Halifax Unity's building

Racism, and comparing London & Halifax

Ashleigh: When I moved here it reminded me of how Barking & Dagenham was in the 90s, you had areas with issues of discrimination, but I also saw potential. By 1999, the community in Barking & Dagenham was becoming more diverse, and within six months of moving here I was seeing more cultural diversity, but I still did not see services that reflected me, so it still doesn’t always feel like home.

“There is a lot of racism here. One girl was racially abused in Pudsey and police did not deal with it or get statements for ages, so we stood up and said it wasn’t right. 

“When I first came here, people assumed we were asylum seekers, but I had been born in England and lived here.” 

Vanessa: As a Black woman here, there’s a lot of harassment, and it’s laughed off – and the people doing it are shocked when you respond to them. I think it’s improving in some areas. The more time people spend together, the more they realise we are all people, but there is a lot of pre-assumed prejudice.” 

John: There has been a big rise in the Black population here in the last few years, and statutory services do not know how to work with families from different cultural backgrounds, so they need groups like Mums On A Mission and Spotlight to help them.” 

Ashleigh: “I think when people hear the way politicians talk about asylum and boats, it increases anxiety. People need to be treated like human being, but they are talked about as if they are something on the stock exchange. Also, a lot of people that come through the asylum system are skilled workers, but they are not allowed to work here.” 

Vanessa: The country is wasting those skills. Why not support people to provide services by and for people seeking asylum?”

A Let's End Poverty postcard, with a mug alongside

Cost of living scandal

John: “A lot of people don’t talk about poverty, but it’s real, due to high costs of living. A lot of people are in crisis. A lot of people are out of pocket on energy pre-payment meters, and don’t know they can change it. 

“There’s a lot of poverty among Black people, among BAME or global majority communities.”

Ashleigh: People are always juggling, moving money from one place to another to pay one bill, then another. It’s a cycle of not having enough, and that causes more stress. The energy crisis is hurting people and you can also see here how it affects local business and charities.

“It has affected a lot of people, and it increases isolation because community spaces close and people can’t afford to go out. There’s more online, but the risk is that the digital focus reduces human connection and that can lead to more discrimination, because we’re not actually coming together so much as human beings.”

Mary: “With the cost of living, and high energy bills, people are struggling and crying out – and then companies like British Gas are making huge amounts of money. How is that right?”

Viv: We have said as a country that companies’ right to make profit is somehow the priority?! You get some crisis funds, but what about addressing the thing that causes the crisis?”

Ashleigh: Organisations like us are helping people on the front line, but money keeps going to big groups, rather than the grassroots, so all we can do sometimes is refer on.” 

Vanessa: “It all means you’re always on edge, with mental health, because. That’s what comes of living in poverty.”

Viv: “People have been through so much, and then their mental health sits on top of all that.”

Esther: “It’s very difficult for me, with accessing food and eating. I don’t have facilities to cook much, and if I wanted to cook food I know, I would have to travel to Huddersfield, and that costs £15. I’ve been moved from Halifax to Brighouse, and getting from there to college or into Halifax costs a lot as well.” 

John: There are a lot of issues for men with mental health. It’s varied, but men do not say as much, for whatever reason. You have to be able to connect and resonate with them, and what I do is through sport.

“That brings people in – people have depression or family issues, and it’s not easy, and you end up talking to each other, like counselling. People then associate with their peers. We have people in temporary accommodation or going through asylum claims, and through sport and talking, people come together and are introduced to each other. “

A Halifax Unity sign in the Neighbourhood Voices venue

Transport

Ashleigh: “Transport is not fairly priced for kids. In London, kids travel free on buses, but not here. So if someone has, say, three children in secondary school and you have been relocated across town and now live far from school, it’s really expensive. Why can’t it be free for kids on buses to school?”

Vanessa: “Transportation services are much better in London.”

Let's End Poverty logo: text in black, with a pink triangle logo

Election priorities

John: I would focus on crime, poverty and mental health. I want a bigger society where more grassroots groups can be heard about what’s happening to them. There also needs to be more for young people.

“Poverty is the main thing we need to put forward. If people had enough money for food and energy and their rent or mortgage, they would have much less to worry about. If we tackle poverty, then things like poor mental health, violence and crime will all reduce as well.”

Mary: They need to look in to work and employment, and what they pay people. It’s not about telling people to ‘just work’, because the system doesn’t work well – you can be working and lose so much through deductions to the support you had, so you lose out. If we work on that, poverty will come down.” 

Ashleigh: “I would like candidates to hear about people’s wellbeing, and invest in social care, housing and making sure people in statutory services are trauma-based trained. The quality of life in this country is getting worse.” 

Viv: How can we be as well as we can be, and support each other, while systems are breaking? The focus is all on work and productivity rather than wellbeing. The DWP is going from supporting people to just policing.”

A hope logo

What gives you hope?

Esther: I get hope from the way people in here treat each other. When we lack something, we come together. When we come to Mums On A Mission, that gives me hope.” 

Vanessa: “Having a community support network gives me hope. That’s what was missing for  my mum 20 years ago, a support network of humans being humans to each other, and being there for one another. We helped someone once in town, who was beaten up and needed help. She texted us months later, saying she was the girl we had helped, and saying we had restored her hope in humanity. Having support really helps.”

John: “When people speak truth to power, to influence decisions and demand change, that gives me hope.” 

Vanessa: “Yes, our experiences are so valid, and need to be heard.” 

Ashleigh: “When we started speaking up and saying what we had experienced, people who had worked in the sector for years were surprised, but they acknowledged that they were inspired by our strength, and the fact that despite what we had gone through, we were still helping others. 

“Speaking up shifts things in people and reminds them why they started doing the work they do in the first place.”

  • Three of the people in this conversation preferred to preserve their anonymity. Esther, John and Mary are pseudonyms. 

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