Fw: Poverty & Homelessness Action Week: a new direction

 

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From: Church Action on Poverty communications

Thanks again for helping to make Poverty & Homelessness Action Week 2014 such a success. All kinds of creative and powerful events took place across the UK. We've prepared a report which highlights some of the most inspiring events, and the impact they had.

 Click here to download and read This Was Poverty & Homelessness Action Week 2014.

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Announcing a new direction

Church Action on Poverty, Housing Justice and Scottish Churches Housing Action are sad to announce that we have decided to bring the Action Week partnership to an end. Action Week 2014 was the final year of operation. The partners thank everyone who has contributed to the work – supporters, churches, friends and sponsors.

Poverty & Homelessness Action Week was established in 2008, linking Homelessness Sunday with Poverty Action Sunday. Over the seven exciting years of activity, there have been significant achievements. However, it has proved impossible to cover the costs of coordinating Action Week, and the partners are no longer in a position to subsidise this activity.

Our themes have been: 'Opening Doors, Opening Hearts'; 'Voices from the Edge'; 'Enough for All'; 'Who Counts?'; 'Breaking Barriers'; 'Can You Cast the First Stone?'; and 'Standing With People in Crisis'. Through these themes, we have successfully:

• Linked the issues of homelessness and poverty, and raised their public profile
• Delivered worship materials and children's resources
• Developed a prayer calendar, with a daily reflection through the week
• Engaged grassroots churches and community organisations
• Demonstrated successful partnership working
• Opened hearts and minds to people experiencing exclusion through these issues.

All this has been done on a shoestring. The partner organisations have decided that we will now each focus on our own fundraising. Relationships remain strong, and we will work jointly as appropriate. The worship resources will remain available to download at the Action Week website for anyone who wishes to use them – sadly, it looks as if they will remain relevant for some years to come.

We thank all who have been with us on our journey, and invite you to continue standing with us in our shared vision of justice for people on the edges of our society. In 2015, Homelessness Sunday will be on 18 January, and Poverty Action Sunday on 15 February. We hope as many Action Week supporters as possible will  take part in both. 

You will not receive any further emails from Poverty & Homelessness Action Week. Each of the Action Week partners will contact you shortly, inviting you to continue supporting our work through the special Sundays or in other ways. At that point, you will have an opportunity to opt out of receiving future messages from any of us.

Thanks again for your support.

The Poverty & Homelessness Action Week partners