Sharing our expertise in the House of Lords
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A huge part of our work involves campaigning and advocating for changes that we want to see to help improve the lives of people experiencing poverty, homelessness and disadvantage locally.
We regularly meet with key decision makers both in Greater Manchester and Lancashire, and nationally too, to shine a light on what is important and to talk to them about how they might be able to influence or drive forward tangible changes that will make a real difference.
Our director, Patrick O’Dowd, was pleased to join the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, the Catholic Education Service and the Caritas Social Action Network at the House of Lords for a round table discussion on child poverty.
As our recent exclusive research showed, more than one in three children in the area our charity operates within are experiencing poverty – going to school with hungry tummies, many without a safe, secure permanent place to call home.
The event at the House of Lords, which was sponsored by Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick, included discussions around the impact of the two-child limit on benefits on families as well as the need for a comprehensive child poverty strategy.
Patrick explained: “The round table was a great opportunity for us to highlight some of the changes we feel are necessary when it comes to being able to support people out of poverty.
“We work with thousands of individuals and families every year and our campaigning work includes a wide range of ‘asks’ of policy makers that we believe will have the most impact.
“It was an honour to attend the session at the House of Lords and to share real-life stories of people who are experiencing acute crisis right now.
“We often hear statistics around poverty but these are more than just numbers. Every number is, in fact, a real person whose life is being impacted significantly while decisions are delayed or action is not taken.
“Being able to discuss policies such as the two child limit on benefits, which keep many families in poverty and at an unfair disadvantage, was incredibly important, and it was great to meet MPs and officials who were all eager to do as much as possible to solve the issue. We’re hoping that the Government will take this into account when it delivers its long-awaited child poverty strategy.
“We are hoping to see the strategy soon as long delays are simply leading to more and more families in crisis. As demand for our services continues to grow as people reach breaking point and come for support, there can’t be significant delays in addressing the underlying causes by Government and other key decision makers.
“We need action and we need it now before even more young lives are critically impacted.”
To find out more about child poverty locally and how you can help, click here now: www.caritassalford.org.uk/endchildpoverty