Local Churches Tackling Poverty Together

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Thursday, 11 December 2014

Benefits Street and lifestyle choices

 

Our new Poverty Media Unit has exciting plans to challenge the stigmatisation and exclusion attached to poverty. The Unit Coordinator, Jackie Cox, explains.




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Wednesday, 10 December 2014

No one turned away.... Crisis research.....Please consider signing this petition...

 
Please circulate around homeless forums and projects
 
 

To investigate the scale of the problem, Crisis recently sent undercover researchers to 16 councils across England to test the support that is offered to homeless people. In 50 out of 87 council visits, they received little or no help at all. Across the country, this is likely to mean thousands of homeless people are asking for help and getting nothing.

In response, Crisis has launched No One Turned Away, a campaign calling for politicians to review the help single homeless people in England get under the law, so no one is forced to sleep rough.

To support the campaign, please sign the petition on the right of this page.

Read our Turned Away research

Turned Away

Eight undercover researchers visited 16 local authorities across England to examine the quality of assistance single homeless people receive from Housing Options and homelessness services. The report reveals that at the majority of visits the undercover researchers

 
Shalom

Greg Smith

Development Co-ordinator Together Lancashire / Preston Christian Action Network




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Monday, 8 December 2014

THE MYTH OF THE UNDESERVING POOR ... Book review


 
If you are stuck for a Christmas present for your Christian friends, vicar or minister I can recommend this book I've just been reading.
 
It's an excellent account by two charismatic evangelicals of poverty in Britain today and attitudes towards the poor. It grounds the study in real life experience which emerges when churches and community projects set out to meet local needs, in the history of Welfare provision in the UK, in analysis of popular media portrayals of poverty and in a survey of Christians' perceptions and attitudes towards  the poor. Sadly but perhaps unsurprisingly these seem to correlate more closely with the newspaper people read than with the Biblical narratives. The authors set out a "biblical case for radical mercy" dips into the extensive Biblical material (concentrating on the gospel accounts of Jesus) and ends with a call to action involving simplicity, generosity, proximity, community, strategy and expectancy in prayer and faith for the miraculous.  It's a short book of just over 100 pages and if there is a weakness it is that it does not grasp the nettle of engaging in political action and whether or how poor communities can get organised to struggle for their voices to be heard and to establish justice for their communities. Nonetheless it's really good to see this level of understanding and engagement with the people and the issues from this section of the church and should be on every Christian's reading list.
 
 
 

If you would rather or also hear a podcast of a seminar by one of the authors (Natalie Williams)  follow this link
 
 
 

A Christian response to poverty in Britain today 


When you think of poverty in Britain today, do you picture innocent children going without food or scroungers lounging on the sofa all day watching TV and cheating on benefits claims?

For Christians, what we think about the poor in our nation needs to be shaped by biblical values, but can so often be framed by the dominant narratives of the day, which affect our attitudes and actions.

Have we fallen for the myth of the undeserving poor?

Book Facts:  
TITLE: The Myth Of The Undeserving Poor
AUTHORS: Martin Charlesworth & Natalie Williams
PUBLISHER: Jubilee+ Ltd
TYPESET & PRINTED: Grosvenor House Publishing Limited
PUBLICATION DATE: October 2014
RETAIL PRICE: £7 for book. £5 for e-book
ISBN: 978-1-78148-875-1
e-ISBN: 978-1-78148-320-6
PAGES: 113
 
 



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What are the rules about serving food at events? Guidance here

Lots of folks who run community events worry about whether or not they're allowed to serve food at community events. Do you need a license? Are there health and safety issues you need to be aware of?

Turns out, the rules aren't as complicated as you might think. This guide has advice for providing food in a village hall or other community setting for volunteers and charity groups and should separate the fact from the fiction.

You are leaving Just ActCatering advice for charity and community groups providing food
- See more at: http://www.justact.org.uk/2014/10/24/what-are-the-rules-about-serving-food-at-events/#sthash.F8o1n2LS.dpuf

Lots of folks who run community events worry about whether or not they're allowed to serve food at community events. Do you need a license? Are there health and safety issues you need to be aware of?

Turns out, the rules aren't as complicated as you might think. This guide has advice for providing food in a village hall or other community setting for volunteers and charity groups and should separate the fact from the fiction.

- See more at: http://www.justact.org.uk/2014/10/24/what-are-the-rules-about-serving-food-at-events/#sthash.F8o1n2LS.dpuf
Catering advice for charity and community groups providing food - See more at: http://www.justact.org.uk/2014/10/24/what-are-the-rules-about-serving-food-at-events/#sthash.F8o1n2LS.dpuf
 

Lots of folks who run community events worry about whether or not they're allowed to serve food at community events. Do you need a license? Are there health and safety issues you need to be aware of?

Turns out, the rules aren't as complicated as you might think. This guide has advice for providing food in a village hall or other community setting for volunteers and charity groups and should separate the fact from the fiction.

- See more at: http://www.justact.org.uk/2014/10/24/what-are-the-rules-about-serving-food-at-events/#sthash.F8o1n2LS.dpuf

Lots of folks who run community events worry about whether or not they're allowed to serve food at community events. Do you need a license? Are there health and safety issues you need to be aware of?

Turns out, the rules aren't as complicated as you might think. This guide has advice for providing food in a village hall or other community setting for volunteers and charity groups and should separate the fact from the fiction.




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Coverage and response to the the publication of the All Party Parliamentary Inquiry into Food Poverty and Hunger

 
A digest (or prehaps given the topic an indigest ;-) ) of some early reaction to the Food poverty report.
 
Keith Hebden... a detailed critical response here
 
 

Guardian coverage www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/dec/08/tories-avert-rift-church-food-bank-report

++ Justin in the Mail   http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2863784/State-food-banks-says-Welby-Archbishop-Canterbury-steps-austerity-row-radical-report.htm

Niall Cooper... Church action on poverty http://niallcooper.wordpress.com/2014/12/08/feeding-britain/

 

Retweeted Chris Baker (@DrChrisRBaker):

We must ensure Hungry Britain report focuses on structural and political issues & not simply recycling unwanted food http://t.co/b5lHO9vaG0

Andy Turner

"A clear moral case to address the shortcomings that exist in our ‪#‎welfare‬ system."

Martin Johnstone

If we really want to deal with the issue of ‪#‎foodpoverty‬ we actually need to deal with the issue of ‪#‎corporategreed‬. ‪#‎FeedingBritain‬

and published earlier http://cos.churchofscotland.org.uk/blogs/priority_areas/2014/08/14/food-poverty-its-time-to-get-angry/

Retweeted Ben Phillips (@benphillips76):

When the Sun & the Guardian front pages both highlight the new all-party church-backed report on hunger in Britain... http://t.co/nNoSQzz6eB

 

 




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