Experts join in #povertyforum twitter conference

The Press teamed up with fellow media outlets Radio York, The York Mix and One&Other York yesterday, to host the #povertyforum on twitter.

Hundreds followed the conversation or took part and at one point the hashtag was among the most-used on twitter in the UK, trending nationally.

Researchers from the York-based Joseph Rowntree Foundation provided expert analysis and input, City of York Council and senior politicians contributed to the debate, and scores of residents and charity workers added their ideas and opinions.

Issues discussed included stigma, housing supply, the welfare system, the Living Wage, destitution, and living costs. The Press is now talking to the city council and other local media with a view to organising a public event to debate and discuss the key issues surrounding poverty in and around York and to look at potential approaches.

The Press launched its Stamp Out Poverty campaign late last year, to raise awareness of poverty in the city and region, to tackle the attached stigma, and to help those most in need or working with front-line charities and projects.

Selected tweets from the online forum

@ClaireVinent
So much interesting debate coming out of #povertyforum this morning. Worth following, especially if you're York-based.

@rhididdy_
So unhelpful to frame debate in a comparative “poverty then” and “poverty now” context #povertyforum

@PedmondsonJones
@ChildSocPol estimates extending free school meal provision would lift 100,000 children out of poverty http://ow.ly/iQe97

@Kevin_Blount
#povertyforum it is vital we address educational and health poverty as well as financial so next generation have different chances

@cllrtraceysl
#povertyforum Claiming for #freeschoolmeals is a must for those eligible and on low incomes. Please claim as child nutrition important

@GavAitchison
#povertyforum Many claim poverty's not as bad as yesteryear, belittling it. Unhelpful. Nobody belittles major health issues, just because they're less drastic than 100 yrs ago, do they?

@jmalexander1982
You can't combat poverty without reducing cost of living + in York this means we need more homes #povertyforum

@HullRePublic
#Poverty often measured in financial terms, this misses social, psychological & emotional impacts, plus reduced opportunities #povertyforum

@OneAndOtherYork
Research shows that between 2003 and 2010 the number of homes affected by the rising cost of fuel prices has tripled #povertyforum

@Sam_Tyndall
We mustn't confuse the symptoms of poverty as causes, which the media can be quick to do. #povertyforum

@ProbGambler
#povertyforum Government must build more houses, shortage is desperate! Home ownership should not be about making money!

@sharr78
Don't know how to go about it but I would get involved in getting a Food Bank started in Ryedale. #povertyforum #foodbankneededryedale

@theyorkmix
My experience as a York primary school governor: some kids sent to school coatless and with crisps for breakfast #povertyforum

@AlanGurbutt
#povertyforum schools/academies could use the pupil premium to attract teachers to deprived areas.

@rebeccajenkins
Would love to see a rent cap to help those on low incomes in private rented accommodation #povertyforum

@FRNUK
#povertyforum we need to first dispel the myths and stigma surrounding poverty and address the issue of social exclusion

@Helen_Barnard
Real challenge with childcare: making it affordable but paying staff well and increasing qualifications. Vital to sort out. #povertyforum

@JohnDLewis54
@yorkpress #povertyforum is what ALL newspapers should be doing, and finding a way of monetizing for survival. WELL DONE to all involved!!

@AbigailSPaul
What is living in poverty actually like? Watch and listen to these stories http://www.jrf.org.uk/film-gallery/poverty-film-gallery … #povertyforum

@RestoreYork
Most people in poverty aren't lazy - they're trapped by low incomes, illness, dependencies, disability, poor housing etc. #povertyforum

@failingtofollow
Great stuff coming out of the #povertyforum discusssion – showing up how paltry the national political & media poverty conversation is.

@CityOfYork
CYC has an incentive scheme that provides eligible tenants with up to £2,500 to downsize #povertyforum #yorkpoverty

@richardbridge7
Do people feel foodbanks help state to hide #ukpoverty - surely moves to US style of charity help w/ behavioural connotations #povertyforum
 

We must keep up the momentum

THE statistics around poverty are stark and worrying.

The York-based Joseph Rowntree Foundation said by 2020 one in four UK families will be in poverty. Lone-parent poverty is expected to rise from 27 per cent to 41 per cent, and, as reported in The Press yesterday, the city's rich-poor health gap is widening.

It is no use pretending there are easy solutions. Clearly there are not. But it would be wrong to ignore the problems and view them as too inevitable and too big to tackle, for they are neither.

York is among the more affluent cities in England, but it is not without its problems.

Last year, this newspaper launched the Stamp Out Poverty campaign and we remain committed to taking a leading role in the fight against poverty, stigma and inaction.

Yesterday, we teamed up with other local media to stage a unique digital conference on twitter, discussing poverty and inequality and looking at ways of tackling it. Hundreds followed the conversation or took part, adding valuable ideas, opinions and first-hand stories.

Talking about these issues is vital, not to apportion blame, but to ensure matters are not sidelined, nor vulnerable people overlooked, and to end the stigma and abuse which so often accompany poverty.

Yesterday’s good ideas must be supported by more action and more resolve, to make our society fairer and more compassionate. As the Archbishop of York said in this newspaper last week, “We should care, support and encourage those in need - not shut the door in their face.”