Members of our Mentoring Scheme meet to review the pilot

 

 

Earlier this week people who have experience of living in poverty and civil servants from policy areas that deal with Community Justice, Public Health and Public Service reform met together to evaluate and review a mentoring scheme which they have been involved in over the last 6 months.

People from both groups were paired together and have been meeting together regularly both in local communities and in Government offices to talk about each other’s lives and work. The meeting this week was a chance to reflect on the time that those involved took out of their busy lives to get to know more about each other. The initial aim for the scheme was that the pairings would meet 6 times over 6 months which was difficult in practise but was a good aim.

The group thought that the process had helped them to get to know someone new and that real relationships developed with real people which otherwise they might not have met. The process purposely did not have a set agenda, only a sheet of suggestions of where to meet and ideas that they could consider. This worked well for those involved, allowing them to find a way of meeting which suited them. There was also a consensus that it was good to meet each other in their ‘home’ patch which also gave those involved a chance to meet other people from communities or colleagues. Being introduced to folk by local people made a big difference to the relationships formed.

Liz* and Julie* were both very nervous in the lead up to their first meeting however once they got to know one another this changed. In their meetings they went on walkabout tours, visited Bridging the Gap (a drop in which Liz is involved in), visited the Government offices in Edinburgh and met with the Ministers private secretary and local community police. Liz was challenged by the way Julie worked and meeting with her regularly helped her feel much more confident and connected to the political process. Julie very much appreciated the opportunity to get to know people as herself rather than as a civil servant and welcomed the chance to learn by getting a feel for things rather than through research.

There has been much to take away from the process:

• Learning, about how Government works and that civil servants are people and approachable;
• Confidence;
• A reminder that society is made up of individuals and the policies made in Government impacts on those individuals;
• and how important it is not just to spend time behind a desk, but to broaden horizons by meeting with people directly.

Isabelle* from the PTC, who was involved in the scheme, said “I got involved as the idea of it sounded good. I liked the chance to work with civil servants rather than MSPs; the people that write the policies and don’t just want your vote. Being involved has helped me to meet someone new that has a different outlook on life and made me think more about the pressures civil servants go through. I hope to continue friendship we have formed.”

A number of recommendations were made and it is hoped that another group of people will undertake the scheme in the New Year.

*Names have been changed.

 

Commissioners share their experiences of the Poverty Truth Commission with the Scottish Leaders Forum

 

It was heartening that the Scottish Leaders Forum decided to devote one of its conferences to "Supporting resilient communities" and the Poverty Truth Commission were very happy to be invited to be a part of the event.  The audience comprised of chief executives from local government, top civil servants and leaders of major charities and government agencies.  Over two workshops we addressed some 50 delegates stimulating lively discussion at each session.

Commissioner Anne Marie Peffer, from Buttle UK, spoke with great panache and humour introducing the work of of the Poverty Truth Commission, highlighting achievements and future challenges in work with the media, reducing crime, kinship care and empowering people in poverty to get into direct discussion with politicians, top officials and policy makers. Fellow commissioner Jean Forrester moved the workshops with her personal account of being a kinship carer and the work she is doing to obtain proper recognition for the job they do. Another commissioner, Ghazala Hakeem, spoke about her work on behalf of the Commission, how it had developed her confidence all round and especially in her ability to influence change. Finally commissioner Bob Winter, former Lord Provost of Glasgow City Council, wound up by linking what had been said to the wider subject of the conference. Bob commented "It was clear from questions discussion and comments after the workshop that we had made a considerable impact." 

 

About her experiences of being a part of the event Anne Marie commented "it was a real pleasure to work with colleagues Bob, Ghazala and Jean again.  On this occasion quite a few of the audience had actually heard of the Poverty Truth Commission, but had not experienced the powerful presentations such as those made by Jean and Ghazala. Once again, the "truth" about poverty made a big impact and people were clearly moved.  Discussion was to the point and constructive.  I am always surprised at the number of service providers who have never considered involving service users in the planning of those services and was glad to note that a number of those present will now be reconsidering their strategy."

Ghazala commented "The Scottish Leaders Forum was an exciting and inspiring event for both the PTC commissioners and the attending delegates. The delegates were interested and positive about our presentation. Many approached us at the end to invite us to their respective organisation to speak to their staff. It is crucial for those who are experiencing poverty to be acknowledged and hears. As Nothing About Us, Without Us, Is For Us."

The workshops led by our commissioners had great feedback and in a letter of thanks Sir Peter Housden, Permanent Secretary of the Scottish Government, commented "Your workshop in particular was commended for the speakers’ amazingly powerful presentations. You completely captured the reality of community empowerment and co-production with lessons on how to engage those communities and get the best from people who already want to be the solution as well as from those who may previously have felt they had nothing to give."

The Scottish Governments Community Empowerment and Renewal Bill

 

Over the last few weeks a number of our commissioners have been involved in responding to the Scottish Government’s consultation on its proposed Community Empowerment & Renewal Bill.

·         On the 12^th September Martin Johnstone attended the first meeting of the Bill’s Reference Group (which the Poverty Truth Commission has been invited to be a member of) along with 40 plus other folks. It was an interesting couple of hours with a lot of enthusiasm expressed for some of the aspirations expressed in the consultation. Martin sought to highlight the Commission’s enthusiasm for Participatory Budgeting and to emphasise that whilst talk about who owns buildings is interesting we all need to remember that it is people, not buildings, which are our greatest asset.

·         On the 15^th September, Martin & Donna Barrowcliffe attended a meeting hosted by Glasgow City Council to help local groups to respond to the consultation. Another interesting event with strong support for more effective community empowerment and a deep sense that it was time for governments to move beyond good words into genuine actions which show that they believe that local people have the wisdom that pass others by.

The Commission will be submitting its response to the consultation over the coming week, drawn from the experience of some of our Commissioners. You can view the consultation documentation on their website and the consultation period runs until 26th September 2012

Commissioners helping with training of Civil Servants

THE Poverty Truth Commission has been invited to lead sessions about our work for Civil Servants from the Scottish Government as part of their 'Policy Environment in Scotland' Training. Over the past year, a number of our commissioners have participated in this training, sharing their experiences of being involved in the Commission and encouraging officials to involve people affected by the policies being made in policy making processes.

Commissioner Maureen McGinn commented "We had been invited to participate because civil servants are interested in knowing about our way of working. Although this was the last slot in a long day, there was a warm welcome and lively participation in the opening exercise, designed to break down barriers and formal roles.  Carol and I spoke about our experiences as members of the PTC, answered questions and discussed ways to go beyond normal outreach and consultation processes so that people living in poverty are involved fully in developing policy solutions and their voices are heard. The invitation to be part of this training demonstrates the Scottish Government's support for the PTC. If invited to do this again, the main change Carol and I would make would be to show a short extract of the PTC opening event, so that even more commissioners can be heard."

We are very excited to have this opportunity to share our model with those from the Scottish Government and will continue to offer our story to their training programme.

One Year On - Hopes for the future - Working with Organisations

LAST week we shared our hopes for the future work of the Poverty Truth Commission with people living in poverty. In our 'One year on' report we have also set out our plans for our future work with organisations. To read the report, and other reports and articles about the Poverty Truth Commission, please visit our website.

A major area of work which we will develop over the next year is to continue and expand our support for organisations that would like to work in a similar way to the Poverty Truth Commission.

We recognise that our involvement with organisations will vary – some wanting a lot of support whilst others might need a shorter term involvement.

Since last year's Closing Gathering in April 2011 Commission members have continued to work closely with a number organisations who pledged to carry on specific elements of our legacy work to make sure that these pledges are delivered effectively. As the Commission starts to work in a new direction we continue to work closely with some of these organisations as well as working with some new ones including: Buttle UK, Just Fair and the Scottish Government.

Miriam Rose, Researcher for the Commission and the person leading in this area of work commented "The Poverty Truth Commission has demonstrated a unique way of working together that has the potential to radically improve the situation for people in poverty. We are keen to increasingly involve the real experts on poverty in policy making at government level, designing and evaluating services at local authority level and campaigning on poverty in the third sector."



One Year On - Hopes for the future - Working with People

RECENTLY the  Poverty Truth Commission published our 'One year on' report which looks back at the work that has been done over the last year since the 'Findings of the Commission' were published at its closing gathering in April 2011 and also sets out our plans for the future. To read the report, and other reports and articles about the Poverty Truth Commission, please visit our website. As part of the report we set out our hopes for future work as the original members of the Commission have decided that there is still much for the Commission to do using our unique experience.

One area of work we will develop over the next year is to continue and expand our support for people living in poverty to have the confidence to speak out about their experience and realise their expertise. We have already started meeting with new commissioners to help them to develop their story and to look at the issues they would like to explore.

At the same time we hope to work with a number of people in positions of power who would like to have develop skills in listening to the realities of poverty and in turn use that knowledge to impact on their area of work. We hope then to bring the two groups of people together in the same way as the first group of commissioners to hear from one another and hopefully find a way of working together to make lasting change.

This work is already happening within the Mentoring Scheme which is currently being piloted with the Scottish Government, where Civil Servants from policy areas that deal with Community Justice, Public Health and Public Service reform are being mentored by people drawn from communities that have a direct experience of poverty and inequality.

Elaine Downie, Development Worker for the Poverty Truth Commission, is leading on this area of work. She commented "too often, people living with the reality of poverty feel they have nothing of importance to say, or no-one to listen seriously to them without pity or blame.  We believe and have experienced the opposite.  

Meeting people who know best the struggles of poverty in their own communities we listen and listen again to the stories they have to tell us, encouraging them to recognise the importance of their opinions and ideas and to see how they feed into policies that are being created at local and national levels. 

We then bring them together with some of the people who create and shape these policies in true conversation. As relationships develop, change blooms. People living with the reality of poverty have much to say, often with great creativity and eloquence. Watch out for our latest films and blog posts, or visit our facebook page for the change to be part of the conversation."

Nothing About Us Without Us is For Us @ Edinburgh Castle

TWO weeks ago Darren McGarvey, a member of the Poverty Truth Commission, was amongst the speakers at the launch of the STV 2012 Appeal at Edinburgh Castle.


Speaking alongside First Minister Alex Salmond, Sir Tom Hunter and STV Chief Executive Rob Woodward, Darren spoke of his own life of struggle but also about what he has helped to achieve through the work of Volition – the music-based project he has developed in Govan.


At the heart of his message was the fact that the great and good can be determined to eradicate poverty but they will not succeed until those who have direct experience of it are able to be part of the solution and not blamed for the problem. It is changing the way that we do things, and not charity, which will bring about real change.