Yesterday saw the launch event of the Derby Poverty Truth Commission .

The Truth Commission, which is part of the independent Derby Poverty Commission, chaired by the Dean of Derby seeks to understand poverty in the City through the sharing of lived experiences of a small group of “Commissioners”. Then, in partnership with Civic and Business Commssioners, strategies and actions will be developed for improvement and change.

It operates under the philosophy that:

“Nothing about Us, without Us, is for Us”

More details can be found through this link

The purpose of the Derby Poverty Commision is to:

• understand the nature of poverty and inequality in Derby;
• scrutinise the scope, range and impact of poverty;
• communicate to stakeholders about the nature of poverty;
• examine the causes of poverty;
• make recommendations and proposals for alleviating poverty.

The Poverty Commission aims to hold to account all key players in the City for anything that is recommended by the Commission.

The Launch Event heard a range of very moving stories from the 7 Commissioners who, bravely, detailed how their personal health circumstances, and life struggles, particularly with the various public institutions had driven them into poverty. These were conveyed through personal accounts, poems, recordings, and performances. Themes were:

• Poor response from Metropolitan Housing Association in resolving a boiler issue
• Difficulties with using on-line services
• Being made homeless through poor management of housing succession
• Insensitive/unhelpful responses from organisations that should have helped
• Asylum seeker’s 10 year wait for resolution of her case.
• Being made to feel like a number not a person.

Learning from the “Truth”, and developing sustainable actions which can be embedded and improve life experiences , is the next, diffcult, phase.

Comment

For some, filling in forms is difficult. For some, doing anything on-line is difficult. For some, simple problems can be overwhelming. Sometimes people need to discuss issues with someone who is sensitive to the needs of the individual, and not to be expected and required to be processed in a standardised way. It is those people who, for whatever reason, cannot connect perfectly into a standardised process, who don’t get the service or support they need, who hit brick walls with no doors or windows – who unfortunately drop out of the “system”, and are at great risk of falling into poverty.

Making positive change, doesn’t have to cost millions, perhaps just some careful thought, and sensitivity might go a long way.

The Derby Poverty Truth Commission has great scope and opportunity to make a real difference to many people in the City.