tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83372801381154814082024-03-13T21:28:02.026+00:00The Poverty Truth Community'Nothing about us, without us, is for us.'EDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08157303412861922282noreply@blogger.comBlogger236125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337280138115481408.post-82119787202572765532023-02-27T13:21:00.000+00:002023-02-27T13:21:08.949+00:00Life Changing Decisions<p> </p><p class="MsoTitle"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">Tuition fee RESIDENCY Rules<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoSubtitle"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 130%;">Life
changing decisions</span></p>
<p class="Author">Written by - Zizi Orji<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="Author"><br /></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><i>We believe
everyone living in Scotland should have equal rights and opportunities,<o:p></o:p></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><i>regardless
of their immigration status.<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><br /></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">On arriving in Scotland seeking asylum, people are
keen to contribute to life here. Professional
qualifications gained in our home country are often however not recognised. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> Many of us wish to further our studies either in a
new sphere or to ratify our existing qualifications. SAAS (Student Awards Agency Scotland) funding
is available to pay tuition fees and more for those who have settled status as
set out in the Immigration Act 1971.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">However, although the Home Office has given us limited leave to remain in the UK, many people discover they are not able to
take up offers of Further and Higher Educations as they do not qualify for SAAS
funding due to their immigration status.
<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">This has been the case for those who have not yet been
granted indefinite leave to remain by the Home Office and are on the long
residence (10 year settlement) route and must reapply for permission to stay
every 30 months. </span><b><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; text-indent: -18pt;">According to SAAS, to apply for funding
applicants must have settled status as set out in the Immigration Act
1971.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; text-indent: -18pt;">This excludes all apart from those
awarded leave to remain as a result of an asylum application.</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 150%; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Although immigration status is determined by
the Home Office, the Scottish Government has control over Education and has the
power to change the policy of who qualifies for SAAS funding.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 150%; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->There are no UK legal impediments or
prohibitions against extending access to funding.</p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 150%; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">In In our recent campaign we have been asking that<span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> the Scottish Government lives up to its
laudable human rights commitments and extends access to SAAS funding to those
granted limited leave to remain on the 10 year settlement route who are
required to renew their leave to remain at 30 month periods.</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: 150%; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="Author">Hundreds of students from migrant families has been
affected by tuition fees residency rules including myself, Glory and Olivia.</p><p class="Author"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="Author">For many years, we have been campaigning, doing surveys and newspaper
publications and also working alongside the PTC. Several productive meetings
were organised and held with the minister of higher education where we
discussed inequality in education and barriers that existed for people with
certain immigration status, asylum seekers and adults who wants to continue
their studies.</p>
<p class="Author">The fact that these has been campaigned on for many years and
people were not listened to, the Scottish government continued to introduce
schemes that favoured other categories such as Ukrainians and Syrian interpreters
to get funding.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="Author">Studying, gaining qualifications and pursing ambitions are a
major part of rebuilding our lives after a long wait for the Home Office
response.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="Author">Glory was also backed by JustRight Scotland to call for SAAS
funding to be made available to everyone like her.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="Author">The highlight of the campaign was that even if the home office
determined the status of individuals the Scottish government has the power over
education and can change the policies.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="Author">Recently myself , Glory ,Olivia and Elaine had a meeting with the Scottish Government and
SAAS and a payment scheme has been drawn out to cover payments to students in
the year 2021-2023, and hopefully it goes on in the near future.<o:p></o:p></p>
<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 130%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: FreesiaUPC; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" />
</span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>EDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08157303412861922282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337280138115481408.post-154007582944962322022-09-13T10:06:00.001+01:002022-09-13T10:06:50.576+01:00Filled to the Brim<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Over the past two years, members of Poverty Truth groups in
Glasgow and Greater Manchester have been taking part in a collaborative
research project with Wren Radford from the University of Manchester about
everyday experiences of poverty and inequality.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">The project came about through conversations with Poverty
Truth members about the way that aspects of their experiences can often be
labelled and categorised, and then separated out from each other as being
‘about’ food poverty or homelessness or mental health. We wanted to explore
what happens when we start by reflecting on people’s everyday experiences –
both how inequalities play out in daily life, but also the ordinary actions
that people take every day to survive, challenge, and change inequality.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">We began the research will a small steering group helping to
design how the research would work. We recognised that during covid, many of
our usual methods of meeting over a cuppa wouldn’t work! So we decided on using
creative journals for people to record their thoughts and reflections,
alongside small group workshops over Zoom.</span></p>
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</v:shape><![endif]--></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6WVX3e9dmJebN77VPtym-mw-hr8gMBP7himbnOu1Z4RMSdhVI14USwA5osRFsQEPUtGeTGrmJq0QuhX9caOOtynHIwB9oSctKJ6r2v7ixb2VMYmNXc7pRJcEw1a3AJhH11KzyPyZdPdnnGWR3aC0fQ-g2MXy41q5XZsldTFTEckDDQNoIGFis9oO3" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1124" data-original-width="795" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6WVX3e9dmJebN77VPtym-mw-hr8gMBP7himbnOu1Z4RMSdhVI14USwA5osRFsQEPUtGeTGrmJq0QuhX9caOOtynHIwB9oSctKJ6r2v7ixb2VMYmNXc7pRJcEw1a3AJhH11KzyPyZdPdnnGWR3aC0fQ-g2MXy41q5XZsldTFTEckDDQNoIGFis9oO3=w227-h320" width="227" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Everyone interested in taking part was sent a journal, and
art pack, and some prompts. People were invited to write, draw, collage, or
voice record their responses. We then met over Zoom in small groups, to share
and listen with each other. In these sessions we would respond to a couple of
prompts about our daily lives; people would write, draw, or think for a few
minutes on their own before sharing what they wished to with the rest of the
group. There was laughter and tears, and a lot of encouragement for each other
in what was being shared. In the groups, people expressed that it was good to
have time to hear each other, and that sometimes it can be useful to take time
to explore the various aspects and complexities of our daily lives. We spoke
about the importance of seeing the differences but also the resonances between
our experiences.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgcTCJ8LjJAYqbCQ-czJWNWfADaqjqOsxZkkP2e_NmTXfTTtHajpWq8PGYLbFSiJHAGQ5jh9iJbHkE0XpmguCM_uVYsvK3s9pIpKgRIlVg7ZOM2bp8bymHY4iM6LcY68gvMfpsoI4lMLPtIh8wg05pWUyoSmeQNo84TpsqNKMrfTT8k0Bkd0FOPuVok" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="649" data-original-width="795" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgcTCJ8LjJAYqbCQ-czJWNWfADaqjqOsxZkkP2e_NmTXfTTtHajpWq8PGYLbFSiJHAGQ5jh9iJbHkE0XpmguCM_uVYsvK3s9pIpKgRIlVg7ZOM2bp8bymHY4iM6LcY68gvMfpsoI4lMLPtIh8wg05pWUyoSmeQNo84TpsqNKMrfTT8k0Bkd0FOPuVok=w400-h326" width="400" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Out of these conversations and journaling, the group has
produced a creative resource book ‘Filled to the Brim’. The book reflects the
creative expressions that people bring to their ordinary lives and offers a
space to engage with a range of different experiences that make up each of our
days. We are hoping to share this to encourage and inspire our conversations,
creativity, and action in addressing the impact of poverty and inequality.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">The pages in the book are digital re-creations of journal
pages or discussions in the workshops. This gave us the opportunity to reflect
on what we wanted to share, and how to present the differences and continuities
in our perspectives. We also wanted to avoid the sense that anyone can claim to
fully know us directly by looking through the booklet. Rather, we advocate for
continuing to listen to and learn with one another and that collaborating to
address inequality requires space and time to get to know the complexities and
creativities of people’s ordinary lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As one of the pages in Filled to the Brim reads:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">‘These journals partly reflect that <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">there’s more to our lives <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">than what people think of <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">as ‘poverty’. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">We still live, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">we still have our lives.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">The poverty is always there, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">like a backdrop,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">to the daily goings on <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">we have as human beings. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Life is not <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">a static thing.’ <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgsVruzvXjC9Ct57fJrE5p-tfTI46Qhx9mGjtOaoTgJP8sl-8px2Pba38YADotjSOc_sRnJ5cJgkZqcn2nN1dv2Pep5YdGoCukplP9m_Zkw14ATWVg8IvM_g3eXIF78WC4FuG_p9-R8MAMceI2jd59lgrShRMzmDYu3gY0K49cinXySDUFR8eaGzN4p" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="764" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgsVruzvXjC9Ct57fJrE5p-tfTI46Qhx9mGjtOaoTgJP8sl-8px2Pba38YADotjSOc_sRnJ5cJgkZqcn2nN1dv2Pep5YdGoCukplP9m_Zkw14ATWVg8IvM_g3eXIF78WC4FuG_p9-R8MAMceI2jd59lgrShRMzmDYu3gY0K49cinXySDUFR8eaGzN4p=w640-h456" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">On Tuesday the 27<sup>th</sup> September we will be holding
an online launch for the book, where you can hear more about the project
process, and for you to discuss some of your initial responses to the book. PTC
will also be working with printed copies of the book over the coming year. You
can register for the launch on Eventbrite: <a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/filled-to-the-brim-launch-tickets-412748290247"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/filled-to-the-brim-launch-tickets-412748290247</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">You can also view the digital copy of Filled to the Brim
here: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://lincolntheologicalinstitute.com/filled-to-the-brim/">http://lincolntheologicalinstitute.com/filled-to-the-brim/</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>EDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08157303412861922282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337280138115481408.post-25178504881187271362022-05-20T16:52:00.002+01:002022-05-20T16:52:27.762+01:00<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">ADA
LOVELACE FOUNDATION<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">DIGITAL
HEALTH INEQUALITIES<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">by Brian
Scott<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Hi, guys
I’ve been asked to produce a short blog outlining the field research being done
between the APLE Collective and the Ada Lovelace Foundation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So who are the Ada Lovelace Foundation?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Well,
they put it a lot better than I can:-</span></p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="color: #2a6099; font-family: "Founders Grotesk; font-size: 15.5pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">About Ada Lovelace<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #2a6099; font-family: "Founders Grotesk; font-size: 11.0pt;">The Ada Lovelace Institute was established by the </span><a href="https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #2a6099; font-family: "Founders Grotesk; font-size: 11.0pt;">Nuffield Foundation</span></b></a><span style="color: #2a6099; font-family: "Founders Grotesk; font-size: 11.0pt;"> in
early 2018, in collaboration with the Alan Turing Institute, the Royal Society,
the British Academy, the Royal Statistical Society, the Wellcome Trust,
Luminate, techUK and the Nuffield Council on Bioethics.</span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #2a6099; font-family: "Founders Grotesk; font-size: 11.0pt;">Ada Lovelace (1815–52) has been adopted globally as a
trailblazer for women in maths and science; the daughter of Romantic poet Lord
Byron, she was educated by her mother Anne Isabella Noel Byron to excel in
mathematics. Her most influential work and writings were produced in relation
to Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine, designed in 1837.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The
Project is looking at the Digital Divide and the issues raised, and problems
encountered during and post Covid Pandemic for example, when trying to contact
your GP and other health services in the community.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The
participants have been asked to be Peer Researchers which means that for us
taking part, we take an active role in collecting data through interviews which
are very much interviewee-led and then passing the information to the
researchers at the Ada Lovelace Foundation for assimilation in their overall
research. (very Borg-like statement (Trekkie reference or to be really annoying
a ‘Trekker’ reference).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">We have
already had 2 workshops already, one face-to-face (good pens and notepads but
rhubarb flavoured shortbread!!!!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
second was held over<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Zoom.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The
first meeting was more of an overview and introduction to research and
icebreaker between all the participants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The second we a more in-depth look a:-</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">u<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">what questions to ask</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">u<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">how to ask the questions (open questioning rather
than closed questioning)</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">u<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">how to make the interviewee comfortable and turn
the interaction into more of a conversation rather than a Q&A session.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">As the
research goes on than I’m sure myself and the other participants will keep you
up-to-date with how the research is going and, you never know, if you’ve been
really good and not ended up on the ‘naughty list’ you could be asked to be
interviewed or even become a Peer Researcher yourself.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Brian
Scott</span><o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">May 2022</span><o:p></o:p></i></p>EDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08157303412861922282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337280138115481408.post-17432857358404645072021-10-25T11:48:00.004+01:002021-10-25T11:48:29.158+01:00Little Stones, Large Cairns <p>Earlier this month we were delighted to host an open conversation ‘Little Stones, Large Cairns’ sharing the story of the United Nations International day for the Eradication of Poverty - hearing from folk across the UK and around the world about what the day means to them.</p><p>Patrick in New York shared his experience of speaking at the United Nations and we are delighted he has given permission for us to share his words with you here.</p><br /><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 7.2pt 0cm 0cm; word-spacing: 1px;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 36px;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitWZIGfjjFjBm5ZZWnlALVu-Kioq7MyxDu0Y-DuDxcz6xXLoyH0bjbjNtaTfSr2Nrsg_Six3LMF7c8t4zJMDraU4yoMbN6wxYmgZzPYZcal1FYhVE480vBVeblVD4HK-Xlv6ZuKFkDOM8/s2048/563F09BF-480D-429C-B6B3-DBC259D18871.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitWZIGfjjFjBm5ZZWnlALVu-Kioq7MyxDu0Y-DuDxcz6xXLoyH0bjbjNtaTfSr2Nrsg_Six3LMF7c8t4zJMDraU4yoMbN6wxYmgZzPYZcal1FYhVE480vBVeblVD4HK-Xlv6ZuKFkDOM8/s320/563F09BF-480D-429C-B6B3-DBC259D18871.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm 7.2pt 0cm 0cm; word-spacing: 1px;"><b><span data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-originalfontsize="18pt" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 1.5rem; line-height: 36px;">Patrick Lubin – New York – 6 October 2021</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 36px;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm; word-spacing: 1px;"><span data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-originalfontsize="18pt" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 1.5rem; line-height: 36px;">Good afternoon everybody. Thank you for the invitation to celebrate with you today, for me it is a great honor.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm; word-spacing: 1px;"><span data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-originalfontsize="18pt" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 1.5rem; line-height: 36px;"><br /></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm; word-spacing: 1px;"><span data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-originalfontsize="18pt" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 1.5rem; line-height: 36px;">The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is important for me because it is a commemorative day to honor all the victims of poverty and to celebrate all the people fighting to eradicate poverty in the world. It is a gathering all around the world, all of us who have suffered of poverty together with all that are fighting to end poverty. It is <b data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-removefontsize="true" style="font-size: 1.5rem;">a moment of meditation</b> to make silence to honor all the victims of poverty. For me it is as well a day to remember Joseph Wresinski, the founder of ATD Fourth World.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm; word-spacing: 1px;"><span data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-originalfontsize="18pt" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 1.5rem; line-height: 36px;"><br /></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm; word-spacing: 1px;"><span data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-originalfontsize="18pt" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 1.5rem; line-height: 36px;">I remember very vividly the first time I went to the United Nations. Christelle, a friend, invited me to the commemoration on October 16, 2015.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm; word-spacing: 1px;"><span data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-originalfontsize="18pt" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 1.5rem; line-height: 36px;"><br /></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm; word-spacing: 1px;"><span data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-originalfontsize="18pt" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 1.5rem; line-height: 36px;">For me, who has defended people all my live before living in the street, when I spoke at the UN on October 17 2016, it was to represent all the people that, like myself have suffered in the street. It was an opportunity to honor the fight of these people. I have witnessed all this and I have to be there, I have to participate.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm; word-spacing: 1px;"><span data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-originalfontsize="18pt" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 1.5rem; line-height: 36px;">I got into this fight because we are representing ourselves, our families, our communities and ATD Fourth World. We represent people around us, even if we don’t know them. We are engaged in the same fight to stop poverty, to bring awareness to <b data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-removefontsize="true" style="font-size: 1.5rem;">churches, mosques and temples</b>, to reduce <b data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-removefontsize="true" style="font-size: 1.5rem;">inequalities</b>, to <b data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-removefontsize="true" style="font-size: 1.5rem;">stop human rights violations</b>, <b data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-removefontsize="true" style="font-size: 1.5rem;">to change the laws</b>.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm; word-spacing: 1px;"><span data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-originalfontsize="18pt" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 1.5rem; line-height: 36px;"><br /></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm; word-spacing: 1px;"><span data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-originalfontsize="18pt" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 1.5rem; line-height: 36px;">To stop poverty in the world we have to get involved, I feel if I am not there I am missing something crucial. I have to be here and fight because we need to <b data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-removefontsize="true" style="font-size: 1.5rem;">defend the right to be respected, to housing, to food and we need to end humiliation.</b></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm; word-spacing: 1px;"><span data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-originalfontsize="18pt" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 1.5rem; line-height: 36px;"><b data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-removefontsize="true" style="font-size: 1.5rem;"><br /></b></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm; word-spacing: 1px;"><span data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-originalfontsize="18pt" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 1.5rem; line-height: 36px;">Being present and feeling welcomed at the United Nations is a huge honor for me, especially to have the right to speak. It is a<b data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-removefontsize="true" style="font-size: 1.5rem;"> powerful privilege</b> to address my speech to the world, to explain what I went through while living in extreme poverty and what a challenge is to survive.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm; word-spacing: 1px;"><span data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-originalfontsize="18pt" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 1.5rem; line-height: 36px;"><br /></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm; word-spacing: 1px;"><span data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-originalfontsize="18pt" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 1.5rem; line-height: 36px;">Not everybody has the possibility to speak at the UN. It is because of the work of ATD Fourth World that we can speak at the UN so I spoke representing ATD Fourth World.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm; word-spacing: 1px;"><span data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-originalfontsize="18pt" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 1.5rem; line-height: 36px;"><br /></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm; word-spacing: 1px;"><span data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-originalfontsize="18pt" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 1.5rem; line-height: 36px;">October 17 is a day to celebrate, at the UN we are present with our power to make people understand and become aware that there is another world where people suffer and are traumatized because of poverty. Society mainly doesn’t care, we are mistreated and humiliated. So we are there to stop humiliation and represent our people.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm; word-spacing: 1px;"><span data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-originalfontsize="18pt" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 1.5rem; line-height: 36px;"><br /></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm; word-spacing: 1px;"><span data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-originalfontsize="18pt" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 1.5rem; line-height: 36px;">When Kim spoke at the UN for the first time, for her, for us, it is <b data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-removefontsize="true" style="font-size: 1.5rem;">a lot of pain but</b> it give us the chance to change what people think about poverty, what we can do better to stop poverty so that people understand and have knowledge of what poverty is, what kind of traumas we go through. Thanks Fighting poverty is a kind of war for us.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm; word-spacing: 1px;"><span data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-originalfontsize="18pt" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 1.5rem; line-height: 36px;">At the UN we want to send a message and there we feel we are not alone because people are there with their heart and intelligence to support us to eradicate poverty.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm; word-spacing: 1px;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 36px;"> </span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm; word-spacing: 1px;"><span data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-originalfontsize="18pt" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 1.5rem; line-height: 36px;">We are there to <b data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-removefontsize="true" style="font-size: 1.5rem;">advocate</b> for people who don’t have the possibility to<b data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-removefontsize="true" style="font-size: 1.5rem;"> speak</b>, to be heard, so that we are not forgotten. If you speak at the UN you speak to the world.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm; word-spacing: 1px;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 36px;"> </span></b></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm; word-spacing: 1px;"><b><span data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-originalfontsize="18pt" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 1.5rem; line-height: 36px;">Having the commemorative stone</span></b><span data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-originalfontsize="18pt" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 1.5rem; line-height: 36px;"> at the UN for me means to remember for ever October 17, 1987 when father Joseph Wresinski inaugurated the stone in Paris and when later the day was recognized the day to honor the victims of poverty.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm; word-spacing: 1px;"><span data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-originalfontsize="18pt" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 1.5rem; line-height: 36px;"><br /></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm; word-spacing: 1px;"><span data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-originalfontsize="18pt" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 1.5rem; line-height: 36px;">I remember when I used to go with my father to the memorial to honor the victims of war, the stone is the same, it is a monument to <b data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-removefontsize="true" style="font-size: 1.5rem;">honor</b> people in <b data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-removefontsize="true" style="font-size: 1.5rem;">poverty</b>. Poverty is a war because it is killing people.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm; word-spacing: 1px;"><span data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-originalfontsize="18pt" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 1.5rem; line-height: 36px;"><br /></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Liberation Serif", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm; word-spacing: 1px;"><span data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-originalfontsize="18pt" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 1.5rem; line-height: 36px;">The <b data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-removefontsize="true" style="font-size: 1.5rem;">stone</b> is a place to be all together to respect and take a moment of <b data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-removefontsize="true" style="font-size: 1.5rem;">silenc</b>e <b data-originalcomputedfontsize="24" data-removefontsize="true" style="font-size: 1.5rem;">for the victims of poverty</b>.</span></p>EDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08157303412861922282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337280138115481408.post-7600079428730753812021-09-21T12:37:00.005+01:002021-09-21T12:37:47.940+01:00Universal Credit Cut - Keep the Lifeline!<p> This month our blog post comes from Rose - urging the government to stop the £20 cut to Universal Credit and keep the lifeline.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDxZMICSo8HMYsUlOD8geo7r9gCOScXdgxxw594OR60uvCi_ii5fKu_yogvzHVkZXfM5e4hkotd0SogSzkQpXGYxKj5J3goVxEjJOM69ZZ3HVvryl-any3k8aNMo-CQS38ubS4qm-_eeU/s1551/keep+the+lifeline.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="1551" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDxZMICSo8HMYsUlOD8geo7r9gCOScXdgxxw594OR60uvCi_ii5fKu_yogvzHVkZXfM5e4hkotd0SogSzkQpXGYxKj5J3goVxEjJOM69ZZ3HVvryl-any3k8aNMo-CQS38ubS4qm-_eeU/s320/keep+the+lifeline.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: arial;">"Having a devastating and difficult illness such as
complex post traumatic stress, any changes made in my life can be catastrophic.
They trigger fear and uncertainty, even if it's 'just' £20.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
letters with those words sent through to me with this information cause fear
and alarm and I wonder how am I going to survive. Often times, I'll try to
sleep through it, to hide from the reality of another cut, another
psychological and financial adjustment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Having many skills, and having pushed through so many
obstacles to qualify, I feel disqualified and unable to add to my already
dwindling financial support. I would love to , but find myself in periods of
illness where it's too difficult to even function, let alone work again.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: arial;">£20' is a shop for me, a few dinners shrewdly
calculated, still wondering and fearful if I'll have enough at the
checkout. Always "will I have enough?",</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">The reduced produce is always my go to, reduced flowers I
can nurture back to life, gives me some sort of purpose and joy to see the
beauty of their colour filling my sparce but safe home.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">It's not just a figure to me, it's an engrained part of my
survival. It's my safety net from dropping completely into poverty, giving my
son my food, as I often go hungry.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">The '£20' is more than money to me, it's so
considered to me in my life as I have to budget every single detail. It's my
train fare to places like the Poverty Truth Commission, for tea and a sandwich
and human contact, human concern, interaction and a strength given to go on. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">It's sterling money, but it's my absolute lifeline, without
it, I see the deficit, I feel it also in many different ways.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Psychologically, if it's there and it's in my bank, i know I
can use it for so many different things for survival. Like an elastic band, I
can stretch that '£20', because poverty has made me innovative, it's
shown me another way. The depression, the fear, the shame, the discouragement
of never really having enough to pay the gas bill, for a bed for my son, for
the constant struggle, fatigue and apathy for life have no room in my life,
they can't, if they do, I'm beat, I give up.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">So I'd like to keep that '£20' it's change in
your pocket, not considered a lot at all, maybe you've never considered the
real impacts of the cuts on real people's lives.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">People like me, who despite continually swimming against the
current, with '£20', I can do so much. It buys me a life boat and
oars to swim in that current of life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Being in many situations where I've had absolutely nothing
and someone gives me '£20', I've won the lottery, my lifeline has
returned. I can provide dinner, can feed my therapy dogs, and I can buy those
stunningly beautiful flowers blooming brightly and bringing light, bringing
joy, hope and creativity. It brings a safety, that the household are fed
a meal, that we have light for another day, there's money in the meter for
another day, there's bread on the table for another day.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">And there's peace momentarily<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">One purple note brings all of this. It's removal does only
the opposite, the deficit.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">One single '£20', does so much more than you
think.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">So do please think, of the families deeply affected, plunged
even deeper into poverty and hopelessness.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Your '£20' which is mere change in your pocket is
not just sterling fiscal money.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">It's a vital means of survival.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">It's a hope installer<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">It heats a home<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">It feeds who dwells there.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">It's so much more than just sterling money. It's just that
you don't realise it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you did, you would return it to its rightful owner......</span><o:p></o:p></p>EDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08157303412861922282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337280138115481408.post-17908268045112639812021-08-17T15:50:00.000+01:002021-08-17T15:50:26.992+01:00Mice Have Rights too<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">This month's blog post comes from Carol T, </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">a reflection on standing up for your rights.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhBPzKv1KkS7ezlSdMe20m5LXyLL5kVP7D82z1ljvxVIFBQuofVhyphenhyphenVstCvv1uD__nJnn_6fBsyqG7lsUDEoAPRGktrvH9_9-JgAYnuczWBgE1YDJ3J0Oad8aFXuEE67Qnc2pznup1nHLw/s909/Difference-Between-Rat-And-Mouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="413" data-original-width="909" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhBPzKv1KkS7ezlSdMe20m5LXyLL5kVP7D82z1ljvxVIFBQuofVhyphenhyphenVstCvv1uD__nJnn_6fBsyqG7lsUDEoAPRGktrvH9_9-JgAYnuczWBgE1YDJ3J0Oad8aFXuEE67Qnc2pznup1nHLw/s320/Difference-Between-Rat-And-Mouse.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">I was inspired to write this poem after the Poverty Truth meeting on Human Rights. </span></div><p></p><p> I have mice in my flat just now and have had mice and/or rats for the last 4 years. In one of the clips we were watching about housing rights someone had mice in their home and it made me think about mine. I've ended up putting up with them all this time, even though I'm terrified of mice!</p><p>When were asked at the end of the meeting to each say what we were going away thinking about, I said 'Mice have rights too!', just trying to be funny. But then I started thinking about what it is like for the mice and how I don't stand up for my human rights, so it's me that hasn't got a back bone! </p><p>It's scared. I'm scared. Writing this poem helped me to look at how I was really feeling.</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><b>Mice have Rights too</b></h2>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">What about me?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I've a right to remain<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I don’t have a name<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">But my rights are the same.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I've got mouths to feed<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Stomachs are empty<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Only poison to eat.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Scraps are plenty, Plenty of rights!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I don’t make much sound<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I'm as quick as a flash<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Shadows are glanced in the blink of an eye<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">As I scamper by.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Your screams, screeches pierce through my ears<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">You frighten, scare me I'm full of fear<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Brothers and sisters dead on the trap<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Slowly die as they eat the poisonous crap.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">What about me ?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I've a right to remain<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I don’t have no name<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">But my rights are the same.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">A safe place to stay a crumb from your table<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Trying to keep my family stable<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">You try to destroy me you turn a blind eye<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Laugh at your phobia call me Vermin.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Dirty evil spineless creature<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I cant help my nature.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">What about my voice I want to be heard<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Listen to my life my family dead<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Its quick you say just a snap to the neck<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Or a slow poisonous deep sleep what a cheek!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Where else can I go you’ve taken my habitat<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Built homes, flats, knocked down our turf<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Well weve had enough squattins our game<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Treat us with kindness be humane.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">You’re the spineless one you cant say No!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Accepting conditions has become your to go<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Jumping at the slightest noise<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">That’s your choice<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Take a leaf out of my book<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Stand up for your rights just look.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Open your eyes open your ears<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Accepting humiliation for years<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Fight learn gain knowledge you see<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Stop blaming me Stop blaming me. </p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">What about me<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I've a right to remain<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">I don’t have a name <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">But my rights are the same.</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p>EDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08157303412861922282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337280138115481408.post-50747369856005356762021-07-21T17:03:00.001+01:002021-07-21T17:03:22.233+01:00<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><br /><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> Human Rights and Poverty</span></b><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Our conversations the last few weeks have frequently been around human rights and poverty and this Monday our Poverty Truth Conversation focused in on the issue, welcoming friends from ATD 4th World and Making Rights real into the conversation.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In this month's blog Caroline who has long been campaigning for the Right to Food shares some of her thoughts.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsB_2A4iZna9abV6rJ2eacvcRkRLEjNrmOGKlzPpRH3z7T72eV1rzefflYdNJ1J6_N4EBoERrLOXtWuPWrFOMlg0Mr2o_BNPmB6_tVGZ8PpkExfaTofp4zfZfhcORnGiMfE0yvKQIChB8/s960/human+rights.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsB_2A4iZna9abV6rJ2eacvcRkRLEjNrmOGKlzPpRH3z7T72eV1rzefflYdNJ1J6_N4EBoERrLOXtWuPWrFOMlg0Mr2o_BNPmB6_tVGZ8PpkExfaTofp4zfZfhcORnGiMfE0yvKQIChB8/s320/human+rights.jpg" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">"The Government need to
move away from a charity model of food provision ie. food banks and ensure that people are not at the mercy of the benefit system to feed
themselves.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">This is why we
should all support the campaign of enshrining the right to food in
Scots law. If it was successful it would guide the Scottish Government on developing strategies to tackle food
insecurity based on human rights. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> This would achieve food
equality for all. We would know this has been
realised when everyone has physical and economic access to
food.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Human rights
are every ones rights. We must all
challenge the Government when they are failing."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">You can find out more about the Right to Food Campaign here: </span><a href="https://www.nourishscotland.org/campaigns/right-to-food/">The Right to Food Campaign - Nourish Scotland</a></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>EDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08157303412861922282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337280138115481408.post-82403837103895954252021-06-25T11:40:00.003+01:002021-06-25T11:40:47.304+01:00Introducing Stories of Hope<p> </p><p style="line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Our blog this month comes from Zizi, introducing us to our recently launched booklet 'Stories of Hope - Finding Asylum'.</span></p><p style="line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6mSN9e7UWM845ZGXqJJcNhtD3IvYXDvBcvva0AhxEYEbZGGXRJhOZh08cxWmqLAMBG7V7p4w6YExNpd92tq5401LxQAattAGI2kYtGPHSU8NFU3tZ5eSPRhN-FzO-poyotYDwwH67SJ4/s2048/IMG-1343.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6mSN9e7UWM845ZGXqJJcNhtD3IvYXDvBcvva0AhxEYEbZGGXRJhOZh08cxWmqLAMBG7V7p4w6YExNpd92tq5401LxQAattAGI2kYtGPHSU8NFU3tZ5eSPRhN-FzO-poyotYDwwH67SJ4/s320/IMG-1343.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">My name
is Ezinna Orji, Zizi as am fondly called. I actually inspired this Stories of Hope
booklet with other ladies. I was an asylum seeker and passed through the
process though with challenges but now am a community practitioner
that empowers others that are in the process .</span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">It all started from the
accent as everything was wee in Glasgow, then to
communicating, housing, access to health care, basic amenities -</span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">and where to access these
information to get us settled. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">It was
a bit of struggle because the asylum stigma was there. But with time I
realised that there was great assistance only if we got through to
the right channel.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The thought of telling our stories in a
comic way brought about the creation of this book so as to enable
both people that can and can’t read to see that there is hope.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">When things happen in your life, you have three
choices. You can either let it define you, let it
destroy you or you can let it strengthen you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I choose strength. </span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">This booklet is just to let those in
the process know that there is a lot to access and help while
in the asylum process like education, getting to know your
community, making friends, bonding and bridging gaps, sharing your stories to
empower others and also volunteering to give you added advantage to
becoming self-confident.</span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">For me I have always been hopeful. Our eyes
are in front because it is more important to look ahead than to look
backwards.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Past is a waste-paper, present is a newspaper, and
the future is a question paper. Come out of your past, control
the present, and secure the future.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">This is not just a story of hope but reality to
being happy.</span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">You can read the beautiful booklet of welcome we created here:</span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;">https://issuu.com/magictorchcomics/docs/stories_of_hope_digital_</span></p><p style="line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 16.2pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>EDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08157303412861922282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337280138115481408.post-44325306513192092152021-05-26T11:21:00.003+01:002021-05-26T11:21:31.325+01:00My Story of Hope<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -2.0cm; margin-right: -51.95pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm -51.95pt 0cm -2cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> Our late</span>st blog post comes from Jackie, reflecting on her story of hope.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht8ciQ36uN5mv8vl7YM_0N4PJwW_sGSgM18r5ywdBZ1ekb6t4f8m82LbXsQzx8RmlLVEvBiszAgMkD2OmfuKEewQOgz6wIOI5-jqkh7MJcaNft2txM_wC8MylUWIizNqS4DwszsKzY0sE/s1672/IMG_4661.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1254" data-original-width="1672" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht8ciQ36uN5mv8vl7YM_0N4PJwW_sGSgM18r5ywdBZ1ekb6t4f8m82LbXsQzx8RmlLVEvBiszAgMkD2OmfuKEewQOgz6wIOI5-jqkh7MJcaNft2txM_wC8MylUWIizNqS4DwszsKzY0sE/s320/IMG_4661.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p> </o:p>My story of hope is one that begins with my journey from being a mum, living in poverty, and trying to heal and sustain myself through campaigning for a better world. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">The Poverty Truth Community empowered me by listening to me, acting with me, and believing in me; giving me the hope, strength, and guidance I needed to eventually find a job working with communities to create sustainable food systems. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">This work has been both fulfilling and transformative for me, and my journey is very much reflected in the opening words that I compiled for the 17th October event in George Square, Glasgow, which the PTC gave me the opportunity to host in 2015. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">The theme was: ‘Building a sustainable future: Coming together to end poverty and discrimination’, and, while my words captured some of the anguish I experienced as a mum living with poverty, they also provided hope for the future, which is what I have now: Here is a summary:</p><p class="MsoNormal">Today we live in a frenzied, consumerist world and the beneficiaries of it are but a privileged few. Yet consumerism has a way of convincing us that it benefits everyone. We are told that we have freedom of choice, everything at our fingertips, we can have things right here and right now and, if we work hard enough, we can have anything we want and we need. </p><p class="MsoNormal">This is the myth of consumerism. The reality is that the cost of living is rising and the incomes of the poorest are being reduced; many are debt-ridden, battling illness/disability, discriminated against, working long, anti-social and low-paid jobs, and sacrificing precious time with their family and friends with little to show for it. People are breaking their backs to achieve the impossible and then they get stigmatised for not trying hard enough.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Consumerism is a powerful machine, charging through communities, leaving shattered lives and broken people in its wake. It is having a devastating effect on the environment and exacerbates poverty around the world. But there are signs here and globally that the time is ripe to reverse some of the damage that has been done. Sustainable development, in short, is:</p><p class="MsoNormal">"Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." From the World Commission on Environment and Development’s (the Brundtland Commission) report Our Common Future (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987). </p><p class="MsoNormal">All over we see grass roots efforts in the shape of social enterprises, eco-groups, community activism, charities, churches and new approaches to community development that are linking people to their environment and communities in ways we have never seen before. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Through sustainable development we can take the control of our future, and that of the generations who follow us, out of the hands of the privileged few who are driving consumerism, and into the hands of the people who have been affected by it. </p><p class="MsoNormal">We are the ones who know the truth about how consumerism influences us; how it causes and contributes to poverty, environmental degradation, inequality, and discrimination. We are the ones who can raise awareness of the damage it does to ordinary human beings trying, against the odds to live together harmoniously in communities here and the world over. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Through sustainable development we can take small steps as individuals and communities to resist, transform and overcome. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Jackie Stockdale</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -2.0cm; margin-right: -51.9pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm -51.9pt 0cm -2cm;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -2.0cm; margin-right: -51.95pt; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -2.0cm; margin-right: -51.9pt; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -2.0cm; margin-right: -51.95pt; margin-top: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -2.0cm; margin-right: -51.9pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm -51.9pt 0cm -2cm;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -2.0cm; margin-right: -51.95pt; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm -51.95pt 0cm -2cm;"><br /></p>EDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08157303412861922282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337280138115481408.post-59685099843948212312021-04-06T13:49:00.002+01:002021-04-06T13:57:49.955+01:00My Skiphat<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4euHL8x68qXupQZENc7EpcIJO6mcEKCfCiwHr597qqttF7n6LCaC2Bv1qNLkOd-dmjcINf3QbFOzNxPCxMn9Byd1JpSWqb_hrdM5JHDrzjXtIqtvHxOP06VhrVIw3yRDLkQyCGQKE8fA/s979/IMG_0785.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="979" data-original-width="708" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4euHL8x68qXupQZENc7EpcIJO6mcEKCfCiwHr597qqttF7n6LCaC2Bv1qNLkOd-dmjcINf3QbFOzNxPCxMn9Byd1JpSWqb_hrdM5JHDrzjXtIqtvHxOP06VhrVIw3yRDLkQyCGQKE8fA/s320/IMG_0785.jpg" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I came across this boy one day. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Begging for pennies to keep
hunger at bay. </p><p class="MsoNormal">His skiphat at his feet.</p><p class="MsoNormal">His hair cut short and neat.</p><p class="MsoNormal">I
just stood and looked .</p><p class="MsoNormal">Why don't you go home to your mum I said.</p><p class="MsoNormal">'Mrs,' he
said, 'I cant go home, </p><p class="MsoNormal">You see the drugs have entered my bones.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Every day I sit
with my Skiphat at my feet.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Missing my Mum and home, </p><p class="MsoNormal">Missing my hugs because
of the drugs.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">'Tell your weans,</p><p class="MsoNormal"> Use your brains don't be a mug.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Stay away
from drugs.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Smack give it a wack.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Es turns you into a dirty wee Bs.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Hash can't
you see its trash.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Blues will land you in prison blues.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">'Listen to me...</p><p class="MsoNormal"> My story is true, </p><p class="MsoNormal">With my Skiphat at my
feet. </p><p class="MsoNormal">My hairs no longer neat.</p><p class="MsoNormal">My arms, legs, face is so
skinny.'</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hold on to your life, cause I no longer have mine.</p><p class="MsoNormal">My Mum's got me
home.</p><p class="MsoNormal">My Skiphat no longer at my feet.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It's on my Head now.</p><p class="MsoNormal">My hair's short and neat.</p><p class="MsoNormal">'YES that's
my boy'</p><p class="MsoNormal">My Mum tells all.</p><p class="MsoNormal">'Yes that's my boy lying there in his Coffin'. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Cath Wallace</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>EDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08157303412861922282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337280138115481408.post-61841013870735830972020-12-04T16:58:00.000+00:002020-12-04T16:58:07.272+00:00Dear Little Black Child<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi43djcKOykw14Jw212GOfaDW_A-zt64-Loj8YMEJmc0HGZ49-KHVUFIEMNyfX8ne-qShH84lL1zu8UInzGYieVzcClqBpi7U1eb7CdDV695rhxiY54-X7tzR8p-c-6hIp3eJ_8pA14al8/s2048/IMG_9843.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi43djcKOykw14Jw212GOfaDW_A-zt64-Loj8YMEJmc0HGZ49-KHVUFIEMNyfX8ne-qShH84lL1zu8UInzGYieVzcClqBpi7U1eb7CdDV695rhxiY54-X7tzR8p-c-6hIp3eJ_8pA14al8/s320/IMG_9843.JPG" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Dear Little Black Child, </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I’m
sorry that I have to tell you this but you’ll need to know eventually. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
don’t know if you’ve noticed yet but your skin is dark. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">No it’s not dirty and
no it’s not ugly. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">But because your skin is darker there are sadly
many people in the world who believe that because you have more melanin
it means you are less human. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">They believe you don’t deserve a chance to
live and have less worth than a rock. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Since they believe this they have
tried every possible way to make your life harder. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Made it so in America
50% of people arrested are black even though there are only 13% of black people
in America. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Made it so you have a harder time getting jobs, made it so when
police come you’re scared they’re gonna hurt you, made it so when your in
hospital doctors don’t treat you as seriously “because you have a higher
pain tolerance”, made it so that when people think of slaves they think of
you.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Little black child you will never know the privilege of being the standard,
of being the default doll colour or the typical protagonist in a book. To
see proper representation of yourself is hard and I don’t mean the black
best friend or the ghetto black girl. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">To live in a world where your colour
does not define you is what our people have been fighting for for hundreds of
years, that’s right hundreds, you’d think things would have changed by
now. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">People say slavery was abolished years ago but that’s not true. Sure
we’re not in the fields picking cotton anymore, but we are being
systematically oppressed. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Little black child I’m so so sorry that you have
to deal with this, that we all have to deal with this. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">But don’t worry. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">With
protests and petitions and education we will fix this. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">So that you don’t
need to worry about police brutality or racism. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">So that the labels that
have been nailed to us can be burned. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We’ve waited a long time but it’s
coming. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">With love,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">C.J. Adebayo </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">(age 15)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>EDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08157303412861922282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337280138115481408.post-83254307592514097982020-09-18T14:32:00.004+01:002020-09-18T14:32:24.041+01:00SOS - Lack of Care<p> </p><p class="Standard" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="Standard" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCGeDBERH1X7sKk9SDfWlfjBYowLpXlaoEM-bliwW8nVQMrQdJ7gOOuYaYPTA_fiKSU6FJcai5wsEMySzd4HmUC8DerA6oIMJdGvE8hh1AFIfpuzpqb_xvb83VaRH1jguH5mCaH1GknSQ/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="264" data-original-width="392" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCGeDBERH1X7sKk9SDfWlfjBYowLpXlaoEM-bliwW8nVQMrQdJ7gOOuYaYPTA_fiKSU6FJcai5wsEMySzd4HmUC8DerA6oIMJdGvE8hh1AFIfpuzpqb_xvb83VaRH1jguH5mCaH1GknSQ/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="Standard" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">This weeks blog post comes from one of our Community Members, Susan, in which she shares a story that
she found shocking outside of a local accident and emergency wing of a hospital
in Scotland early Summer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="Standard" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">"I was appalled, for this man who had just had a stroke, it
was COVID 19, 10 o'clock at night, -1 degrees, and he was just left
there to go and find his way home. Left there with nothing."<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="Standard" style="mso-pagination: widow-orphan;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Susan lives in Glasgow and
is a grandmother, carer and active in her local community. She is a community
member with The Poverty Truth Community and a board member of </span><a href="https://www.faithincommunity.scot/"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration-line: none;">Faith in the Community Scotland</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. She also a member of the UK
co-research team as part of a 3 year international participatory research
project in partnership with Oxford University looking at </span><a href="https://www.atd-fourthworld.org/the-emotional-impact-of-poverty/"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration-line: none;">Understanding Poverty in All Its
Forms</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. Susan is currently involved in a collaborative project with</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">, ATD Fourth Word, Amnesty International and Just Fair.</span></p>
<p class="Standard"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">'I
had been up at accident and emergency with my dad. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">I wasn't allowed to go in
obviously because of the COVID 19. So I had to wait outside. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">While I was
outside (I was there for a while) different people were coming back and forth. </span></p><p class="Standard"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">I went inside the hospital doors because it was absolutely freezing that
night, it was really really cold. There's a phone on the wall that you use for
the taxi service. So a man came out and he's on the phone and I can hear him
and he's saying “but my partner will come down, I'll stay in the car, whatever,
I don't have the card, I don't have any money, but the money's in the house, I
had to go straight to hospital, I've left everything in the house,” and then
he's put the phone back and just put his hands up. </span></p><p class="Standard"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">I said “is he no
giving you a taxi” and he said, I've no got a bank card with me and I've no got
any money so they'll no book me a taxi they'll no get me one.”</span></p>
<p class="Standard"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Luckily
before I left the house, I had put £10 in my pocket and I thought I'll just
give him the £10 so I said take this money. He was refusing and he was saying I
cannae take the money. I said, look take the money. He proceeded to tell me how
he'd been in the hospital that day cos he'd took a stroke and I could see by
his face and that he'd took a stroke. It was quite clear. I was actually
appalled by the fact that he was just released from hospital. It was COVID 19,
it was 10 o'clock at night, it was -1 degrees in our Summer and he was just
left to go find his way home. </span></p><p class="Standard"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">And I was shocked at the taxi service<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>who weren't very understanding and wouldn't let the taxi come either. And I just feel that it was really quite brutal and
he was left, it was late at night, everything is deserted, even if he had bus
fare, buses weren't running as they normally would, so he could have waited,
and he couldn't get a direct bus from where he was anyway, and he'd just took a
stroke.</span></p><p class="Standard"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> I was really shocked about the whole set up and I thought I can't believe that somebody was released after being in hospital with a stroke and
just left and that nobody checked that he had the money to get home, they
didn't finish off the service they were giving him. He was left there with
nothing.</span></p><p class="Standard"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">I was just glad he took my money and we phoned and
the lassie called him a taxi and that was him he got home I imagine okay. But
the whole thing to me I thought was just really appalling that just the lack of
care, just the lack of care.'<o:p></o:p></span></p>EDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08157303412861922282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337280138115481408.post-20563935230499373262020-08-25T14:30:00.003+01:002020-08-25T14:30:37.752+01:00Covid Refections<p> Our latest blog comes from a friend of The Poverty Truth Community - reflecting on what we have learned so far from Covid 19 and our experiences of lock down,</p><p class="Body"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkIUb5J1yEKajW6hxB9FuzMfJq0Lru-i8YHjmuSSdRVChQPadnluMf7qqpAw_Qm_JXfHEWznbFeYrC80fV1GaA0MxV5TWS26eFGSonxFgqEdEyn1RyxwszOTPp9ak3VPOGnSosi7Tc-Xo/s2048/pexels-lisa-fotios-4021358+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1538" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkIUb5J1yEKajW6hxB9FuzMfJq0Lru-i8YHjmuSSdRVChQPadnluMf7qqpAw_Qm_JXfHEWznbFeYrC80fV1GaA0MxV5TWS26eFGSonxFgqEdEyn1RyxwszOTPp9ak3VPOGnSosi7Tc-Xo/s640/pexels-lisa-fotios-4021358+%25281%2529.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p class="Body"><span lang="EN-US">"The Scottish government did the right thing when
they announced on March 23rd 2020 that the country was going into
lockdown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was crucial to protect our
elderly and vulnerable from the global pandemic of coronavirus . After all this
was a new virus. No one knew how it was going to affect any of us and the
transmission is spread easily and very quickly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="Body">Prior to the country going into lockdown we had the schools close early
to protect our young children from passing this virus on to vulnerable
relatives . Home schooling was to be the
new way of working. What they didn’t
take into account was the children who did not have internet access . How was
this going to work out? The guidelines were “Do not go out unless it is
essential to do so”, “Do not go into another household” and the elderly and
those with underlying health conditions had to shield and have not to go
outdoors . This would have left many
families who were dependent on their children grandparents and other family
members and friends without that support . </p><p class="Body">We never realised until this pandemic how much home internet would become very vital . When we are on a
low income and already plunged into poverty, having broadband connection simply was not an affordable
option . “You can collect home work from the school” they
said. They were so many pitfalls to this.
If you are in the shielding group we are told “Stay indoors”. How can
they then go to the school to collect homework?
What if the school wasn’t in walking distance? We were told “Essential travel only” . We
couldn’t leave young children with grandparents because they were shielding. We had charity organisations working
alongside low income families working
within a budget trying to stretch their money as far as they can while
having to make difficult decisions .
These organisations were applying
for emergency funding to help families get connected to the internet and to buy a device for the families in order that the children were not
left behind .</p>
<p class="Body"><span lang="EN-US">While the lock down was absolutely necessary to
contain the virus and stop the spread .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Some people started panic buying<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>food and especially toilet rolls,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>kitchen roll, soaps and
detergents like bleach and disinfectant. Shops were forced to restrict how
many we could buy at any one time . The panic buying also meant<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>if we could not<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>get the items we wanted in one shop we had to
travel to multi shops, which of course posed a greater risk of infection.</span></p><p class="Body">Again lack of internet at home or like the elderly who had never done an online
shop had no other option but to physically go to the shops . When they were at
a greater risk of becoming really unwell with the virus . Delivery slots were being booked weeks in
advance so even if anyone shielding had the capability of doing online shopping they couldn’t wait up
to a month or longer for a delivery when
they had to feed themselves and families . </p><p class="Body">Hand sanitiser was another item that was near impossible to buy with some
companies increasing the prices as much as 3 times or more in many stores of
the original value pre- pandemic. The
same with face masks and surgical gloves .
NHS workers in hospitals , care
homes and caring for the elderly at home still had to work , hand sanitiser was
crucial for them while they traveled into work and back home. Working with the
most vulnerable they just could not afford to risk catching the virus and
transmitting it to vulnerable patients .
There are of course more than nurses and Carers who are essential
workers. </p><p class="Body">We have the supermarket workers
who had no protection at a time when Covid
19 was at its peak and the police who had to implement safety measures to keep
us all safe. Fire and ambulance services could not work from home , which was
the default position of the Scottish governments guidelines . Panic buying also saw food banks not having
the donations that they normally receive and depend on for families who rely on
this service . This was a very worrying time for both the food bank providers
and the families . They could not afford to bulk buy food to keep them going
through the pandemic when we are already
living from day to day .</p>
<p class="Body"><span lang="EN-US">What we also seen through this most difficult
time was the way communities came together to support each other .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Emergency food parcels were delivered to
those who were most in need of them . We saw money being raised for charities
by people walking around their gardens , clap for the carers at 8pm on a
Thursday evening , and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>fantastic videos
of grandchildren doing social distance dancing with grandparents outside their
houses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has brought people and
communities closer than ever before . It has shone a light on how when it is
needed, we gather our strength and courage to look out for each other .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Communities have forged relationships<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that weren’t there before the lockdown . The
elderly and vulnerable where checked in on - socially distanced of course . The
bond of these<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>new relationships<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>will be still be in place long after the
pandemic is gone .</span></p>
<p class="Body"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we
gradually<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>come out of lockdown and the
future is uncertain. Our economy is taking a big hit with businesses not being
able to survive lockdown even with the job retention scheme , created by the UK
government to keep people in work and the UK government paying 80% of the wages
. It is now winding down and will end on October the 31st of this year ,
including help for the self employed. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="Body">What we also saw was children who would have
free school meals . Depending on what local authority in Scotland you came
under, Glasgow and others issued vouchers for Farmfoods while Edinburgh gave
direct cash payments into the accounts of the families on a low income using
the data they already held. During the early closure of the schools , and when
the school summer holidays arrived, the Scottish government kept the scheme going with some councils like
Glasgow switching to direct cash
payment. After being put under pressure from charity organisations calling for this to happen, Glasgow gave the
payment along with the school clothing grant , while Edinburgh made the
payments every two weeks to ensure that families could stock up on meals
throughout the school holidays . The UK government also created the eat out to
help out scheme. Where throughout August, we could dine out on a Monday,
Tuesday and Wednesday and have a discount of 50% up to £10 worth of food and
soft drinks . This is to help the hospitality sector keep vital jobs for their
workers . This is only good if we have the money to dine out in the first place
and many families are not able to take advantage of the offer .</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="Body"><span lang="EN-US">We all want to live a caring society and both
the UK and Scottish governments have provided us with that during the pandemic
and still are as we ease our way to a new normal way of working, living and
shopping . We are still advised of measures to protect ourselves and others
with face coverings being mandatory while we travel and shop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all haven’t agreed with all the of the
decisions that have been made and unfortunately job losses are inevitable as we
go into the biggest recession the UK has ever had . However we have all shown
compassion and empathy throughout this . We can rebuild our communities and our
own lives showing the same understanding and shared values to keep our families
and our communities safe ."</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #0076ba;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>EDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08157303412861922282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337280138115481408.post-54314170658689487322020-08-03T09:18:00.001+01:002020-08-03T09:18:20.662+01:00Dear SQA<p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><span> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6EmG7rFoWzdXKEvNgcsugGVmzUuOuq7f3E1X_Futfn0IBrzh7Xm8teiwDUyhqjKR_R-7WyENWwSRPLE5VnQkAHVSvSb-ZUJs3kxdIF2TnyrJ286h5nRMKSJWtemJYHSPQHcn-oZlvXSo/s320/6FBBE9C9-7FCC-4B6B-A213-905173DECBA1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="219" data-original-width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6EmG7rFoWzdXKEvNgcsugGVmzUuOuq7f3E1X_Futfn0IBrzh7Xm8teiwDUyhqjKR_R-7WyENWwSRPLE5VnQkAHVSvSb-ZUJs3kxdIF2TnyrJ286h5nRMKSJWtemJYHSPQHcn-oZlvXSo/s0/6FBBE9C9-7FCC-4B6B-A213-905173DECBA1.jpeg" /></a></div>Glasgow<o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;">3 August 2020<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;">Dear Scottish Qualifications Authority,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;">My exam results arrive tomorrow. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;">I was in 5<sup>th</sup> year when the schools closed - the year school always tells you is one of the most important of your academic life. It should have been the year I sat 4 Highers and a National 5, but in the end it was a year that turned out like no other for any of us. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;">It feels like the year and my exams have been taken away from me. I have been so stressed and worried. And I haven’t heard from you in all this time.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;">When I get the text tomorrow morning I’ll probably feel like throwing the phone against the wall. I’m not very optimistic. I know I could have done so much better than my prelims if I’d had the chance to keep working. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;">I’d had a bad year at school. There were personal issues which made it very difficult and stressful, but I still had time to turn things round. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;">Before lockdown when I was feeling optimistic and thinking about how the exams could go, I thought I might get C’s and maybe a B. I thought I would have the chance to keep working through March, April and May. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;">Last year I got mostly A’s for my National 5’s, and that was what I was thinking I would have the chance to do this year, to strive better in the exam itself.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"> I think I’ll just be reading ‘FAIL’ when I open the text tomorrow though. This has all been a bit of a nightmare and caused me so much worry.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;">I remember back in March the feeling of disbelief when my friends were telling me the schools were shutting. I had already been self isolating for a week as I had symptoms of the virus, and couldn’t believe I wouldn’t get back in again. That week was horrible. I mean, now we’re all used to it, but that first week, it was dreadful.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;">Then I heard the exams were cancelled. My first thoughts were ‘Yes! No exams!’ – sheer elation. But as I thought about it I was like – ‘Oh wait, last year I did better in my exams, but now this is it all over, I don’t have any extra time to study. There’s nothing I can do.’<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;">My friends told me at first, and then there was an official statement, but I didn’t hear anything from you at the SQA directly to me or to young people in general. No official acknowledgement of the impact that decision was going to have on my life. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;">I think my mum got one text from the school, but that was it. When I think about it now, that’s kind of messed up. Such a huge decision taken about my life and I wasn’t consulted or told about it – just left to stress my head off. Left with all that uncertainty on top of all the uncertainty I had about what was happening to the world in general.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;">Although I’m dreading what the text will say and what will be in the envelope – although I’m pretty sure I’ve failed, I actually have no idea. I still don’t understand how the exams have been graded. That’s something else you have failed to tell me or explain to me.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;">The school said something about prelims and predicted grades. As I said, I had a really hard year and I failed hard on my prelims. Maybe if the teacher likes you and thought you could have done better they might have boosted your predicted grade. But I don’t know. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;">And that’s the problem. I don’t know. Surely I should? Surely you should have spoken directly to young people, explained to them how this was going to work? Not leave us guessing, stressing and making it up.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;">I’m just glad I have the opportunity of another year at school if this has gone badly wrong. I can hopefully sort it all out. I’ve been offered a Foundation Apprenticeship in Childcare. That means I’ll be in school 3 days, college 1 day, and on placement in a nursery 1 day – I’m really looking forward to that, I really enjoy working with children, I hope I can make a career out of it. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;">I can’t imagine what it must be like for 6<sup>th</sup> Years that needed specific grades. If they’d had a bad start to the year like me and were hoping to be able to pull it all back for the exams.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;">My exam results arrive tomorrow. It feels like one of the most essential years of my life has been cut off. These last few months not knowing what was going on and hearing so little from the school and the SQA have been so stressful. At times it has been overbearing.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"> But I worked through it by saying, ‘whatever happens happens, I’ll sort through it as it comes.’ That helped me let go, but before I developed that mindset, it was tough. It affects your mental health, all that confusion, waiting and worrying.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;">My exam results arrive tomorrow. I’ll finally get my communication from you. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;">Jack<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p>EDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08157303412861922282noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337280138115481408.post-11688339093772047562020-07-03T13:53:00.000+01:002020-07-03T13:53:08.523+01:00The Right to Work<p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Y349__55JgkMqbdLj2NTsX2VZtJxeJPH4vtWClFVHpfzoLIyaymAzbicdFeVJzqpdn8AD_qTN73jdsYddaamzhhU5bmqbu_qO7SnMckX-5iFK4o3fpUj4Q0c78aDKakHEHwoCIKxC8U/s4032/8385E6D0-6520-4E5C-BF0C-F6AAA77B15E9.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Y349__55JgkMqbdLj2NTsX2VZtJxeJPH4vtWClFVHpfzoLIyaymAzbicdFeVJzqpdn8AD_qTN73jdsYddaamzhhU5bmqbu_qO7SnMckX-5iFK4o3fpUj4Q0c78aDKakHEHwoCIKxC8U/s320/8385E6D0-6520-4E5C-BF0C-F6AAA77B15E9.jpeg" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">I<span style="font-size: 11pt;"> hear how so many people in lockdown are struggling without work and a sense of purpose. That their mental health is affected by not being able to contribute. That this is leading to depression. And I understand exactly how that feels, but for a different reason.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">I am an asylum seeker and have lived in this country for 6 years. Because I am an asylum seeker, I do not have the right to work, even thought I want to contribute. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">I understand how people are feeling now in lockdown, because it is how I have felt for all these years. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">Being able to contribute to society, feeling involved, that is <span style="font-size: 11pt;">so important for your mental health. My children can go to school here, I have a grandchild born here, but I am limited in my potential and in my life. I am limited in moving forward, and am living with the effect that has on me.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">I hope others understand now something of how it feels to be in the asylum process, because now they have felt it too in their lockdown experience. </p>EDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08157303412861922282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337280138115481408.post-63077496149004345332020-06-19T11:50:00.002+01:002020-06-19T11:53:07.084+01:00Now I don’t want to Keep Quiet Anymore - Black Lives Matter<p class="s2" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsLN0jmRcro3Th8atLtCkQk663sdfDSplz5Mx78_xcRBkfVG8uZm7Ds3hVTOf5i8jdAHud1GHRwQuBiOZ1bXpjxiLYpuPuh636V0nz1xIIHlh4J_30eIkY33XoRlVPgUMi6kjiistO-cs/s1373/329AEB50-A816-40FE-B481-D419FB3EA51F.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1373" data-original-width="1368" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsLN0jmRcro3Th8atLtCkQk663sdfDSplz5Mx78_xcRBkfVG8uZm7Ds3hVTOf5i8jdAHud1GHRwQuBiOZ1bXpjxiLYpuPuh636V0nz1xIIHlh4J_30eIkY33XoRlVPgUMi6kjiistO-cs/s320/329AEB50-A816-40FE-B481-D419FB3EA51F.jpeg" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Before coming to Scotland, I did not know what discrimination and racial discrimination were.<p></p><p class="s2" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"><br /></span></p><p class="s2" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Some events led me to associate discrimination with my status - I was then a person seeking asylum. I thought, I was treated differently because of my status. Then I got my leave to remain I still was treated differently I then started thinking of colour </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">but I found it difficult to accept that I was treated unfairly because of my colour. </span></p><p class="s2" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"><br /></span></p><p class="s2" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">To me there is no difference between white or black we are all from the human race, we are all human beings.</span></p><p class="s2" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"><br /></span></p><p class="s2" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">When I finally understood what racism is in terms of it being the fact of treating someone unfairly because of his/her colour I was in a denial. I was in a denial because it was hard to accept that racism exist.</span></p><p class="s2" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"><br /></span></p><p class="s2" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">When I finally accept</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">ed </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">that racism existed I kept quiet when experiencing or witnessing it.</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">I kept quiet because I was scared of not being listening to, not being </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">believed and not being supported.</span></p><p class="s2" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"><br /></span></p><p class="s2" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">In housing for example, I experienced people being allocated difficult to live in houses because of their colour or because of them being poor. </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> I</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> kept quiet because of fear and my heart was bleeding</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">.</span></p><p class="s2" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"><br /></span></p><p class="s2" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">In term of employment, I have experienced not being properly trained and supported in my role and yet being told I am not making any progress. And I kept quiet!</span></p><p class="s2" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"><br /></span></p><p class="s2" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Now I don’t want to keep quiet anymore.</span></p><p class="s2" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"><br /></span></p><p class="s2" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">I believe that I can contribute to the flourishment of Scotland</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">but for that I need to be supported, I need </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">to be treated fairly, I need </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">people to work in team and in partnership</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> with me</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">.</span></p><p class="s2" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"><br /></span></p><p class="s2" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">I also believe that the racial discrimination that we are facing is due to ignorance. With education, with conversations about racism, people can be aware of their biases and prejudices and overcome them by doing the right thing.</span></p><p class="s2" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"><br /></span></p><p class="s2" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">I also believe on the other hand that some people </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">are deeply racist.</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> For this minority, we</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">,</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> as individuals, </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">as a community</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">, we</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> need to break the silence and let them know that racial discrimination is not ok in the UK, is not ok in Scotland.</span></p><p class="s2" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"><br /></span></p><p class="s2" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">I am willing to join my voice with other </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">people,</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> to share my experience and also to listen to their experiences and together raise our voices to say: Racial </span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">discrimination,</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> discrimination on the ground of people</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">’s</span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> ‘characteristics’ is not ok.</span></p><p class="s2" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"><br /></span></p><p class="s2" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Poverty Truth Community Member</span></p><p class="s2" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p class="s2" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p>EDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08157303412861922282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337280138115481408.post-15800811513854637562020-06-01T12:09:00.000+01:002020-06-01T12:09:00.116+01:00What does The Poverty Truth Community mean to you?<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1SpQfmxvTdUfkCdX2z8DfVi9Mj3m2QkLnnqLNyOL4UskNVw5-nCpiZm634o0BLM6PTZnvSCcLikBUT2auIpGjoL8yPsXykjg93P0ixP__ODllgPg8aTEDssBCyKSOKjCBmDrtszLhA0A/s1600/6A413664-CED7-4EFD-8364-F9E04FE57092.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1SpQfmxvTdUfkCdX2z8DfVi9Mj3m2QkLnnqLNyOL4UskNVw5-nCpiZm634o0BLM6PTZnvSCcLikBUT2auIpGjoL8yPsXykjg93P0ixP__ODllgPg8aTEDssBCyKSOKjCBmDrtszLhA0A/s320/6A413664-CED7-4EFD-8364-F9E04FE57092.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">Hi everyone, let me introduce myself, my name is Brian Scott and I was born, </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">and</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"> still live in, Glasgow. I have two boys - one a teenager and the other a ‘wannabe’ teenager’ and a mad cat called Ali, who, like me, has a dodgy back and</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"> dodgy legs.</span></div>
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<span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">I first became involved with the PTC (known as the Poverty Truth commission then) about 3 years ago. I can honestly say that in that time I have met some fantastic people, made some new friends and achieved an awful lot. If you had told me </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">3 years ago when I first made my baby steps into volunteering with the PTC that I would be meeting Scottish Government Ministers, Senior Civil Servants and delivering talks to conferences I would have said you were ‘having a laugh’. But I’ve done all that</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">, and more, during my time with the PTC.</span></div>
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<span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">When asked to write this short bio piece about myself (Carol emphasised ‘short’ as I could talk about myself for pages!!!) I was asked to write about my highlights, the kind of work I’ve done and anything I thought</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"> could be done better by the PTC. </span></div>
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<span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">Let’s tackle the last part of that sentence first – what could the PTC do better. We can all do things better but, in the case of the PTC, I really can’t think of anything they could do more for their volunteers etc. </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">Even during lockdown Elaine, Carol and Davy have went out of their way to keep in contact with us, making sure we are keeping well and had everything we needed etc. The guys in the office, to me, have done so much in encouraging my journey with the PTC an</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">d giving me opportunities to take part in campaigns, meetings etc without any pressure put on me. Talking to my colleagues in the PTC I am sure I’m not the only one who shares that view.</span></div>
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<span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">So</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">,</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"> what have I been involved in during my time with the PTC. In a </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">simple word – ‘lots’. I’ve listed below just some of the opportunities and campaigns that the PTC have allowed me to take part in over the past three years, </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">though I’m pretty sure I’ve left a lot out</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">:-</span></div>
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<span class="s5" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">• </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">Working Groups on the </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">Assessment and </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">Benefits System</span></div>
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<span class="s5" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">• </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">Taking part in various pieces of research on the physical and mental health implications of poverty.</span></div>
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<span class="s5" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">• </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">Addressing a national Joseph Roundtree conference on the uses of the Framing Technique.</span></div>
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<span class="s5" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">• </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">Opportunity t</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">o take part in a media course facilitated by ‘On Road</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"> Media’.</span></div>
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<span class="s5" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">• </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">To be part of a Q&A session addressing the Scottish Parliament Advisory Panel on Education </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">concerning</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"> the issues surrounding childhood and poverty.</span></div>
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<span class="s5" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">• </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">Taking part in the Mutual Mentoring Scheme.</span></div>
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<span class="s5" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">• </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">To meet with other campaigners from not just around Sco</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">tland, but the rest of the UK.</span></div>
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<span class="s5" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">• </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">To meet with Scottish Government Ministers at the very highest level to discuss issues surrounding poverty.</span></div>
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<span class="s5" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">• </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">To be part of the Scottish Parliament’s Advisory Group on Fuel Poverty</span></div>
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<span class="s5" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">• </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">To be part of the advisory sessions regarding </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">the Scottish Child Payment Scheme.</span></div>
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<span class="s5" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">• </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">To take part in both TV and Radio documentaries discussing poverty</span></div>
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<span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">And, finally, to meet all you wonderful people (all donations accepted – especially over £5).</span></div>
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<span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">Now what has been the highlight of my time with the PTC. </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">Difficult to </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">choose</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"> just one, but I’ve done it! The most enjoyable, informative and eye-opening thing I’ve been part of over the past three years has been the ‘Mutual Mentoring Scheme’. Here the PTC partnered with civil servants working within the Scottis</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">h Parliament to pair up </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">PTC </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">members </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">and</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"> civil servants. I was partnered with a lovely chap from the Scottish Government called Tom. I was lucky enough to take part in ‘Mutual Mentoring’ at the same time the Scottish Government was putting into legislatio</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">n </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">the stages</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"> of taking over welfare responsibilities for DLA/PIP/AA and Housing Benefit. Through, Tom, </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">I took part in working groups discussing poverty, was asked to address the Directors and Heads of several Civil Service Departments on life in poverty </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">and growing up in an inner city housing estate and, generally, got to see the inner workings of government that I would never have been able to see otherwise. For my part, I brought Tom to Possilpark on several occasions to discuss the issues growing up a</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">nd living in the inner city. Introduced him to local people, local groups as well as local activists and, hopefully, gave him much to chew to over when he went back to Edinburgh. I was anxious to show Tom that life, living in a housing estate, isn’t all </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">bad and that there are many, many people within the area who will, willingly, go the extra mile to help their neighbours.</span></div>
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<span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">H</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">opefully, I’ve given you an interesting overview of my time with the PTC. It’s been exciting and fulfilling but there’s still work </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">to be done out there. </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">So,</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"> join in, (if you haven’t already). In the words of the late, lamented comedian, Rikki Fulton (</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">yes,</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"> I am that old) – ‘It’s going to be one hell of a party’!</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">”</span></div>
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<span class="s7" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">Not to be missed p</span><span class="s7" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">lease see </span><span class="s7" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">attached link to view Brian</span><span class="s7" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">’</span><span class="s7" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">s excellent </span><span class="s7" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">version of a classic Str</span><span class="s7" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">ay Cats song:</span></div>
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<span class="s7" style="font-family: "Liberation Serif"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"></span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYRVuHFP7fM&t=9s"><span class="s8" style="color: blue; font-family: "Liberation Serif"; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYRVuHFP7fM&t=9s</span></a><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></div>
EDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08157303412861922282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337280138115481408.post-11039204323774812112018-11-19T10:31:00.000+00:002018-11-19T17:30:33.538+00:00<br />
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<i><u><span style="font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">In Case You Missed It - launch of Report into effects of two child policy
and benefit assessments on 13 November</span></span></u></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSIYyhm6_zPWLeDcwzlEzRSFGYesi7C_WJZql5pUegCw65DVMCYKlGmDqxPCFaJR9f9sPI95B_QFYoUUsSgTqIpql_kLtxApK4VDCk5-nNwWgl_jBGVG_NNO9yU0s-h84yOfA10S6e6YI/s1600/child+poverty+library+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKJOq_qS08VBRVos-1wP54IuVMJILwIrshBA0HpvT06Yvw1YpKWVrtENul7qT8MnmX4ggFUNl6G01_eCWc3owMZiEXgdC3dZuUcsdeUUREeMYCuiT-kCaZrHuXP_WZGu6m2BkyAbyr9gg/s1600/but_you_don_t_look_disabled_-_Google_Search.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="338" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKJOq_qS08VBRVos-1wP54IuVMJILwIrshBA0HpvT06Yvw1YpKWVrtENul7qT8MnmX4ggFUNl6G01_eCWc3owMZiEXgdC3dZuUcsdeUUREeMYCuiT-kCaZrHuXP_WZGu6m2BkyAbyr9gg/s320/but_you_don_t_look_disabled_-_Google_Search.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><o:p>click on link here for Stories From The Benefits Front Line Report</o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><o:p><a href="http://www.faithincommunityscotland.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Stories-From-The-Benefits-Front-Line.pdf">http://www.faithincommunityscotland.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Stories-From-The-Benefits-Front-Line.pdf</a></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
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<i><u><span style="font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Battling for
Fairness and Dignity<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">A common theme of the stories that the Poverty Truth
Commission, in Scotland, hears from individuals and families who have a lived
experience of poverty is that of having to fight for fairness in a welfare
benefits system that often deprives them of dignity and treats them with
disbelief. Children inevitably suffer and as one of our testifiers put it <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“…
the poor and innocents should not be the first people penalised with these
immoral cuts.”<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-no-proof: yes;"> </span></i></b></span><i><span style="font-size: 20pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> The
Poverty Truth Commissioners believe that what is needed instead is a benefits
system that starts from the premise that all of us may need support from
benefits at some point (s) in our lives and that therefore we have a shared
interest in ensuring that benefit applicants are treated with dignity and
respect. Thus, our Commissioners seek an approach that fully and meaningfully
recognises people as individuals who are in possession of <i>rights </i>as
well as<i> responsibilities. </i>Indeed, rights and responsibilities are
critical to creating a dignified system of social security as opposed to a
demeaning system of 'welfare.'<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Today</span></i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> the Poverty Truth Commission’s Cuts and
Assessments working group publish their Report titled<b><i> 'Stories from
The Benefits Front Line - Battling for Fairness and Dignity'</i></b>. It makes several
recommendations arising from research that includes stories/testimonies
gathered by members of the group. The focus of its research was
two-fold, namely the two-child policy and the long assessment process for
disability benefits for young people transitioning to adult benefits. One PTC
Commissioner summarized this traumatic process by saying <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I have never come up against
anything as complicated, frustrating and stressful as I have with the whole
Employment and Support Allowance process. My mental health suffered. I really
didn’t need this on top of caring for my son.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></b>To seriously begin addressing these
issues, the Report recommends:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
<br />
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Unfreezing benefits
and uprating them annually, at least in line with inflation as measured by
the Consumer Prices Index (CPI).<o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">The immediate
abolition of the entire Two Child Policy for Child Tax Credits and
Universal Credit.<o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">A
more holistic understanding within government of disability and its
impact on the financial, social and health needs of benefit claimants
applying for Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and/or Employment
Support Allowance (ESA).<o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">A major reduction
in the current minimum benefits assessment period of 13 weeks for
ESA.<o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">The back payment of
eligible benefits to the date of first application. <o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Alongside this
call for action we have written to the <b><i>Secretary of State for Work and
Pensions to invite her to meet us </i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">in order</span><b> </b>to discuss
our Report and the recommendations that flow from it. We know that
this is a <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">challenge</span> to current
thinking and policy on Benefits for the Secretary of
State. Nevertheless, we hope that many people and organisations will
want to support us as we invite Ms Rudd and the DWP to a
mutually respectful dialogue about our recommendations. <em><strong>We will let you know how the DWP responds to our request for a meeting.</strong></em></span></span></div>
David Milliganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15670643908258345374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337280138115481408.post-16647576437886633102018-11-13T17:35:00.003+00:002018-11-14T12:46:25.095+00:00<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">COMMISSIONER BLOG </span></span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span></span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b> </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Stories From The
Benefits Frontline<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtjZ2prvPSzt_xdbLOw2uogFGzkR0c626-DtXbadBdWZKR9cPsxMp-cBTDQBp317QkuHVhh_2KE9cScJMSS7-QphUy935GLizUgkoRe8IzeKSMqV1VkkkObKiXnMqmnTXuOIdYh0h4Dno/s1600/Frontcover%252C+Stories+from+the+Benefits+Front+Line.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="618" data-original-width="484" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtjZ2prvPSzt_xdbLOw2uogFGzkR0c626-DtXbadBdWZKR9cPsxMp-cBTDQBp317QkuHVhh_2KE9cScJMSS7-QphUy935GLizUgkoRe8IzeKSMqV1VkkkObKiXnMqmnTXuOIdYh0h4Dno/s400/Frontcover%252C+Stories+from+the+Benefits+Front+Line.png" width="312" /></a></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">By Jane Fowler<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">When we first met as a group
to work on the broad topic of cuts and assessments, we needed to find a focus
for our research.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">There were so many issues
that provoked despair and bewilderment – and the anger that comes from being at
the sharp end of a benefits system which many feel is uncaring.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">I asked a question.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Which, of all the cuts, and
the assessments that go with them, is the most iniquitous?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">There was a short pause and
then stories were shared from first-hand experience on one particular area: the
impact of the various elements of Universal Credit on families, and thereby, on
children.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">It was from the personal
experience of those within the group, and their knowledge of others who had
encountered similar problems, that we decided to focus on disability benefit
processes, as they affect children moving from one benefit to another as they
enter adulthood at the age of 16, and the 2 child policy, which limits benefits
to only two children, regardless of the circumstances of a mother or
family. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Statistics may be dismissed
as ‘damned lies’ but when gathered with rigour, they can offer a stark truth.
The Child Poverty Action Group estimate that 200 000 children will be pulled
into poverty by the two-child limit in the next two or three years.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">That is a horrendous
figure. And this, in one of the wealthiest countries in the world.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">There have been ongoing cuts
to Universal Credit since its introduction in 2013. These may be
invisible to those lucky enough not to claim benefit.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">But the figures, again from Child Poverty Action, reveal that couples with
children who need benefits will be £960 worse off </span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">in 2020 compared with the income they could have
expected in the absence of cuts to universal credit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Single </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">parents will be £2380 worse off.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">This is the crucial
fact.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Families with children lose out
more under Universal Credit than any other group.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Universal Credit was supposed to reduce
poverty – and yet this is its consequence.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Personal stories based on
experience are at the heart of the Poverty Truth Commission.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Statistics can offer
context. (They can, of course, be fashioned by some to bolster a
political argument.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Personal stories offer the
truth of people’s lives.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">They take us to the heart of
the matter.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" />
</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">2/<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Our group sought the personal
testimonies of those with children.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">As Barbara describes, her
disabled son has always needed, and will always need, 1 to 1 care.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">She had to give up full time
employment to care for him and left a high pressured, well paid job to do so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When her son approached 16, she had to apply
for the Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) that marks the move from child
to adult services. As soon as you apply, your Child Tax Credits and Child
Benefit Stop.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">The assessment period is 13
weeks, so you’re looking at a huge loss of money.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">In her job, Barbara had
managed stressful situations on a daily basis. But her comment on the
experience of trying to navigate the process on behalf of her son speaks for
many.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">‘I have never come up against
anything as complicated, frustrating and stressful as I have with the whole ESA
process. My mental health suffered. I didn’t really need this on
top of caring for my son.’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Another story stays in my
mind. Amy has had ME for 7 years which causes her great pain and fatigue
as well as cognitive impairment. She came to speak to us and described
how the questioning during her Appeal tribunal had been extremely leading and
framed in terms of challenging her claim to be ill, asking her to <i>prove</i>
that she was ill. She was asked what grade she had gained in the Higher
exam she took the previous year. It was a good grade, and the reply was
to the effect, ‘Well, there you are then’.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">End of story. Proof
positive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Guilty. Not ill.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Her mum thought to herself,
‘A person could do the West Highland Way on their hands and knees over the
course of a year. Just because they’ve done the West Highland Way doesn’t
mean they aren’t disabled.’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Amy had a relapse after the
tribunal and had to drop out of college.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She feels that the stress of the tribunal contributed to her relapse.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">A culture of disbelief.
A system that is dehumanising. And as Jackie says in her forward to our
report, no sense that children have natural rights that do not depend on
income.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Our recommendations are at
the end of our report. I hope you might find time to read them. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They matter. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">link to Stories From The Benefits Front Line report</span><br />
<a href="http://www.faithincommunityscotland.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Stories-From-The-Benefits-Front-Line.pdf">http://www.faithincommunityscotland.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Stories-From-The-Benefits-Front-Line.pdf</a><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><strong>#inviteEsther</strong></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p></span></div>
David Milliganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15670643908258345374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337280138115481408.post-26932498566957894942018-02-02T12:12:00.000+00:002018-02-02T12:12:19.123+00:00Book Review - 'Poverty Safari' by Darren McGarvey<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOJbSsedSzU9v7rAg-9IowWFdG0d08wtslvU21mMC7iWGDXE6QvYb9QNhE7CHX7tUkxHFNvsg_OIl9S7ixSUONCFkbEwnBklpAAEDA005di8SLjceZxGH9gVcD351B2E31W-kWhJ6zTtU/s1600/poverty+safari.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOJbSsedSzU9v7rAg-9IowWFdG0d08wtslvU21mMC7iWGDXE6QvYb9QNhE7CHX7tUkxHFNvsg_OIl9S7ixSUONCFkbEwnBklpAAEDA005di8SLjceZxGH9gVcD351B2E31W-kWhJ6zTtU/s320/poverty+safari.jpg" width="240" /></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Ex-PTC commissioner Darren McGarvey has found his voice. The
book is a series of personal memoirs and reflections, often controversial, that
sometimes link and often go off at tangents. His mother’s early death from
alcohol and drug abuse is the framework on which he hangs a contrasting account
of the changes he has made in his own life, overcoming addictions and an
attitude of blaming everybody else. It’s a moving story and he tells with great
honesty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">But what makes the book compelling is his often angry
perspective on how the world looks from where he grew up in a troubled family
in Pollok. He suggests that child abuse and domestic violence, even if they are
not at the root of poverty, play a role in holding it in place. He describes
the stress of living in poverty, naming it as “the connective tissue between
social problems such as addiction, violence and chronic illness, as well as the
multiple crises in our public services”. There’s plenty to take in from the
perspective of the schemes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">So why Poverty Safari? I understand this to be Darren’s
interpretation of what middle class people are doing when they are paid to
“regenerate” working class areas. The well-meaning middle class folk are
parachuted in with middle class values and alien agendas prepared by remote
institutions. In a chapter called “The Outsiders” he illustrates the
discrepancy between government rhetoric and what is delivered on the ground,
and the consistent failure to meet local needs. PTC Commissioners should read
this chapter, even if they skip the rest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">It’s lucid and articulate, and a great read. I recommend it.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 120%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Patrick Boase</span></div>
EDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08157303412861922282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337280138115481408.post-80687210350886273112017-10-23T12:25:00.000+01:002017-10-23T12:25:04.297+01:00Jane's Blog October 2017<div class="MsoNormal">
The comments the Conservative MP Jacob Rees Mogg made on
food banks hit the headlines immediately.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And little wonder.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
According to this potential Tory leader, the voluntary
support given to food banks is ‘rather uplifting’.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It shows ‘what a compassionate country we are’.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The only reason for the rise in the use of foodbanks is
‘that people know that they are there.’<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
His conclusion?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
‘Inevitably, the state can’t do everything, so I think there
is good within food banks.’<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The welfare state created at the end of World War Two was
designed to look after its citizens from cradle to grave, to protect their
social and economic well-being. Food, and having enough to eat every day
of life, is clearly the most basic of needs.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not some luxury extra. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most people give money or volunteer their time to the Trust
organising food banks not out of ‘compassion’ but out of shame and anger that
food banks should be necessary in a country as wealthy as Britain.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Food banks are necessary. They should not be
necessary, certainly not on the current scale, and it is within our power to
change that.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Citizens Advice Scotland have been monitoring the number of
requests they have received from people who have reached crisis point.
Between 2012/13 and 2014/15, the number of people seeking advice on
Crisis Grants has increased<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
134 per cent (compared to advice regarding the former
scheme, Crisis Loans).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
134 per cent.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
More worryingly are the number of people who come to
Citizens Advice bureaux having not eaten for a number of days.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Days. Plural.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We know that already. But the objective, official data
makes it stark, in black and white.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Undeniable and unacceptable.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At our last meeting, the need to make allies was
raised. To work across political boundaries to fight poverty.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To join together to create a wave of opposition that cannot
be ignored.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To fight against a system that no longer offers a safety
net, especially in crisis – and we can all fall into crisis.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To look at the bigger issues. In work poverty.
Zero hour contracts. The real cost of living compared to the benefits
offered.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What it takes to lift individuals and families out of
poverty.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Working together.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is galvanising to be part of the Poverty Truth Commission
as we endeavour to do this from our different walks of life, finding new
allies.<o:p></o:p></div>
EDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08157303412861922282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337280138115481408.post-82077346478637008902017-08-11T11:20:00.003+01:002017-08-11T11:20:58.157+01:00Jane's Blog August 2017<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Jane and Sadia, two of our Commissioners will be blogging each month, sharing their thoughts, experiences and what it means to be a Poverty Truth Commissioner. </span></i></span></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 17.0775px;"><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i><br style="text-align: center;" /></i></span><span style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In the seventh of the series, Jane shares her thoughts on children, childhood<span id="goog_929652865"></span><span id="goog_929652866"></span> and the Working Group on Cuts and Assessments.</span></i></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 17.0775px;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;"><br /></i></span></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">It’s funny the things that stick from childhood.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">My family moved around a lot when I was young, from Blantyre in Malawi to Carnoustie to Solihull to Aberdeen.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">I remember one primary school very clearly.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Each morning we were given a text from the bible. Just a few words.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">And the one I remember most clearly is,</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fdfeff;">‘Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven’.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fdfeff;">Or as it’s sometimes written now,</span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fdfeff;">‘Let the little children come to me, and stop keeping them away, because the kingdom from heaven belongs to people like these’ </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">It is the most magical text.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Children as the most important people, no matter what else is going on.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">It’s been much in my mind as we have been working out what to focus on in our group looking at Cuts and Assessments.</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4avOkpKOgMDNGdaoqX0owh4RTlptd8WXdN-zud6Lh98w5QsjEIZ5O0tsGHLnLQnxfzIPKDFLsi0fliliKrroI7nGq7_uo-jHiO93EZE-VGKmo_iBbW18hQhw5DZEiwJ5daIUHVU4L8ik/s1600/IMG_5348.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4avOkpKOgMDNGdaoqX0owh4RTlptd8WXdN-zud6Lh98w5QsjEIZ5O0tsGHLnLQnxfzIPKDFLsi0fliliKrroI7nGq7_uo-jHiO93EZE-VGKmo_iBbW18hQhw5DZEiwJ5daIUHVU4L8ik/s320/IMG_5348.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Outside the commission, I have a friend, who I’ve just got to know recently.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">She has 4 children. She was married but her husband left. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The youngest two are twin boys, one fully healthy and enjoying every aspect of life as he reaches 16.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The other has serious learning difficulties with physical problems too.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">My friend is full of fun with a great sparkle and an enthusiasm for every day of life.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">A while back, she mentioned that she tends to go to bed early.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Why, I asked?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Her son with learning difficulties never sleeps for more than an hour. He never has. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Only it’s better now that he isn’t crying when he wakes.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">And that was the first of how I learnt quite how challenging her life is.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Our group has decided to focus on children and young people, in particular the impact of cuts on Child Tax Credits and on children with special needs as they move to adult services.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">I am so glad to be part of this group.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The late MP Tam Dalyell was always forthright in his views.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">When a journalist colleague turned up at Tam’s house to record an interview,</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Tam walked straight over to my colleague’s car. There was a baby seat in the back.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">‘Ah! Said Tam. ‘Children! Children! Children are the salt of the earth!’</span></span></span></div>
EDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08157303412861922282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337280138115481408.post-67471305948371600712017-07-10T12:47:00.005+01:002017-07-10T12:47:52.397+01:00<span style="color: purple;">Sadia's Blog July 2017</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px;"><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Jane and Sadia, two of our new Commissioners will be blogging each month, sharing their thoughts, experiences and what it means to be a Poverty Truth Commissioner. </span></i></span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.0775px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><i><br style="text-align: center;" /></i></span><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">In the sixth of the series, Sadia shares her thoughts and the thoughts of others on the impact of poverty on families seeking asylum.</i></span></span></b></span></div>
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I have done so much thinking about poverty and how it’s
affecting many families in my community of which most of them are single
mothers. I had a chance to discuss my thoughts and also hear the women
discussing how there is a lot of fear, worries and frustrations just to think
of how to meet the demands of holidays. For instance, things like their peers
getting a break and them not able to get away for even one night. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieH74_QLYWrkvlc4xiR53HiEdXC3ucn3SegqQqf-D8rGNqwc2vmRcEJuFvliQpgrB__SbPX6y5O55BhbUjByBh7DholB5BZpyPS_1o0Cg5pEJZe2d-8UOAefYxXNAPmXAf1do0tCSiBHY/s1600/download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="161" data-original-width="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieH74_QLYWrkvlc4xiR53HiEdXC3ucn3SegqQqf-D8rGNqwc2vmRcEJuFvliQpgrB__SbPX6y5O55BhbUjByBh7DholB5BZpyPS_1o0Cg5pEJZe2d-8UOAefYxXNAPmXAf1do0tCSiBHY/s1600/download.jpg" /></a>The women discussed how things like this affect the moods in
the house, children demanding and mums not being able to give them what they
want because they cannot afford the money and also that to most families on low
income, events and activities doesn’t come as a priority to them. All the mums want
is to make sure the little money they get is going to most basic needs of which
is very hard for the children to understand. Why their families can’t afford
and yet their friends can? It’s hard to explain to children the complications
of benefits, Jobcentre and how hard it is to do the job you want with Jobcentre
demands and sanctions. My community
group at Saheliya also expressed concerns over how expensive character clothing
are priced. You cannot afford to spend £10-£15 on one-character clothing, and
what if you have 3 young children? <o:p></o:p></div>
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There were a lot of questions and concerns discussed between
us with no answers, what is the solution to end this poverty within our
communities? How about the holidays coming? Children discuss holidays in
schools and wish they could go to holidays local or abroad too. Some of us can’t
even afford holiday even in the beautiful boarders of Scotland. Could they be
considerable discount for holiday packages for some low income venerable
families living in poverty? Poverty is
real and it is affecting most of families in our communities.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I want to continue to raise my voice and our voice with the
Poverty Truth Commission. We need to continue meeting, discussing and looking
to keep going, to take things forward. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The three working groups reflect how people are suffering:
cuts, mental illness and asylum. More
cuts mean more suffering and more people in poverty and having mental illness.
Poverty creates tension in families. This tension and poverty can lead to addiction,
to homelessness, to poor prospects. The cuts are making people ill and sick.
The fear the cuts bring is leading to mental illness. A lot of people are
affected by this. The behaviour of young people is affected by growing up in
poverty.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Yet still I live with hope that things can change.<o:p></o:p></div>
EDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08157303412861922282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337280138115481408.post-7330105587475544732017-06-02T11:37:00.000+01:002017-06-02T11:37:00.176+01:00Jane's Blog June 2017<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px;"><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Jane and Sadia, two of our new Commissioners will be blogging each month, sharing their thoughts, experiences and what it means to be a Poverty Truth Commissioner. </span></i></span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.0775px;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><i><br style="text-align: center;" /></i></span><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">In the fifth of the series, Jane talks about the 3 Working Groups looking at Mental Health, Asylum and Cuts and Assessments that have been set up. </i></span></span></b></span></div>
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"Now we move into 3 groups, each of which focuses on a particular
issue.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I have chosen the group that will look at cuts and
assessments.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNuz4UFNg0z1tES5PT21_zrUow0SabA-u_hZwoo2LyfROEaVQEKszC4woWWur0dv-CN_uzgRA-_iFARw36TsnXqXWVTC3XNWINAv4XW14kAhDPh6U_xDb1i4s0F5d9l8UOfPo51kdEua8/s1600/18902155_10154698183377794_2082405748_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNuz4UFNg0z1tES5PT21_zrUow0SabA-u_hZwoo2LyfROEaVQEKszC4woWWur0dv-CN_uzgRA-_iFARw36TsnXqXWVTC3XNWINAv4XW14kAhDPh6U_xDb1i4s0F5d9l8UOfPo51kdEua8/s320/18902155_10154698183377794_2082405748_n.jpg" width="240" /></a>This is something that really matters to me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I have seen friends and family fearful, anxious and
extremely worried at the prospect not just of losing their benefits<o:p></o:p></div>
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but of the process of being ‘assessed’. What a cold,
frightening word.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And what exactly are the criteria for that assessment?
<o:p></o:p></div>
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As for the forms involved, I have never met a single person
who understood how the form should be answered.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And all of us know the feeling of trying to complete a form
you don’t understand. You feel sick, stupid and very vulnerable.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If you try to explain how a condition can vary from day to
day, and that’s the truth of many chronic conditions, you’re likely to lose in
what seems like a game of snakes and ladders – except this particular board
game has only snakes, spiralling down. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Our role in the new group is to gather evidence. We,
as the commissioners, are the evidence. So personal stories are what we
will gather.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m aware that what we pull together and how we focus this
is of huge importance. It feels exciting to be underway with this work
but again, I need to keep listening to others.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now that we can reveal our roles and jobs outside the
commission, I can own up to being that thing called - a journalist!<o:p></o:p></div>
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I have worked for many years in broadcasting and as a
freelance writer. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So I will hope to find ways of drawing attention in the
media to the work we do over the next months.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Outside the Commission, I am continuing to volunteer with
the Welcoming Charity in Edinburgh.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It welcomes asylum seekers, refugees and economic migrants
to Scotland, offering classes in English, outings, musical events - you
name it, they try to arrange it. This month a beginner’s group for joggers
began. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I volunteer at the weekly conversation café, where anyone
with a bit of English can come along. Each time I go, I am overwhelmed by
the enthusiasm and commitment of those who are learning English.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I watch them launching into sentences on all sorts of
subjects as if they were leaping off the top diving board – plunging in, so
keen to try.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I spoke to one young man from Cadiz who had trained as a
social worker. I said that I thought the unemployment rate in Madrid was
around 25 per cent. He replied, ‘In Madrid, yes. But where I live,
in the south, or in the rural areas, it’s nearer 65 per cent. I will
never work as a social worker where I am from. I have to learn English
and speak it fluently to find another job. I want to become bilingual.’<o:p></o:p></div>
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He’s working as a kitchen porter and loves being in
Scotland. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It reminds me of a conversation I had with one of my fellow
commissioners a while back, who arrived in Scotland as an asylum seeker from
Somalia. She was offered classes in English when she arrived but wants
further classes to be offered for those in her community.<o:p></o:p></div>
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To make real progress in the job market, you need to be
fluent in English.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There is so much to be done and I am looking forward to the
next meetings with the Commission."</div>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
EDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08157303412861922282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337280138115481408.post-19115189627098634812017-04-24T12:48:00.002+01:002017-04-24T12:49:06.770+01:00Sadia's Blog - April 2017<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Jane and Sadia, two of our new Commissioners will be blogging each month, sharing their thoughts, experiences and what it means to be a Poverty Truth Commissioner.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></i></span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b><i><br style="color: #333333; text-align: center;" /></i></b></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">In the fourth of the series, Sadia reflects on stories she has heard within the Commission and others within her own community.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for image worry" height="200" src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5229fc53e4b0dbbcb4a8c283/522a01d6e4b054f0e1861816/53fb5c46e4b06aa2bfc70cc5/1421150879434/Worry+Box+-+Things+That+Worry+Me+1+%28PME%29.jpg?format=500w" width="200" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I have found being part of
the Commission fantastic and inspiring. I am learning a lot from listening to
everyone’s stories.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I have been touched by
hearing about how one commissioner lost his job due to ill health and spiraled
down into poverty. I also was moved by another commissioner’s story of how
poverty affected their mental health.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Listening to the issues in
my community I am aware that many are ashamed of using food banks. Brexit and
the uncertainty it has brought has made people terrified. They are afraid that
they will lose their jobs that companies will go elsewhere in Europe to find
workers. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">How will Scotland suffer?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Benefit cuts are affecting
families: mothers walking further with children looking for food banks.
Worrying about cuts, terrified. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I wish I could help them but
I can’t, I fight to look for a way. This poverty is not going away; it is
getting bad – more families getting poorer. People worrying, and getting mental
health problems.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Worry, worry. Counting tins
in cupboards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We have to fight. Fight for
poverty to go away. The poor are just looking for their daily bread, no
luxuries. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I tell women: if you are
ashamed (of using food banks) those children are going hungry. Feed them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One woman I know who was pregnant
got asylum here. She had to move from furnished temporary accommodation into a
flat with nothing in it. Completely bare: she went into labour and when she
came out of hospital she could not stay in her flat. It had completely nothing
in it. No cooker, no fridge, no carpets, no bed, nothing. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">A friend moved her daughter
into her bedroom so that the woman and her child could have a bed when they got
out of hospital. She had to stay there for a month.</span></div>
EDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08157303412861922282noreply@blogger.com0