I'm really grateful to the speakers who will bring their direct experience of growing up in poverty and the impact this can have on your life.Kirsten Robb
With 30% of children in the UK now born into poverty and with around one in five children in East Kilbride living in poverty (1), organisers of a free talk (2) are hosting an event with some top speakers to explore the issue and what else can be done.
All are welcome to join Darren McGarvey (3), author of Poverty Safari, and the Poverty Alliance's Get Heard project (4), to discuss the impact of child poverty and what more can be done to address it, including helping more people with lived experience of the issue speak to those making decisions on it. Attendees will also be able to meet other groups working on child poverty locally, discuss opportunities to work together and explore new action to make a difference. The event on Thursday 14th June, 730-9pm, at the Village Centre, Maxwell Drive is free but please book by entering 'child poverty east kilbride' in an www.eventbrite.com search - tickets are going quickly.
The East Kilbride group of South Lanarkshire Greens have organised the event, it is open to all and all about promoting debate about what works, sharing and working together. To contribute to the debate, the Scottish Greens have identified 10 priorities which will help to address child poverty (5).
Local Green activist, Kirsten Robb, said about the event, "I'm really grateful to the speakers who will bring their direct experience of growing up in poverty and the impact this can have on your life. As child poverty is increasing, I'm really keen that we come together to learn more about the issue and ask ourselves what else can we do as individuals and groups. All are welcome and organisations working on poverty locally have been invited."
FOOTNOTES:
(1) In 2015, one council ward in EK had 1 in 4 children living in poverty, three wards had 1 in 5, and only one had less than 1 in 10. http://www.endchildpoverty.org.uk/poverty-in-your-area-2018/
(2) Booking for the event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/child-poverty-darren-mcgarvey-poverty-alliance-east-kilbride-tickets-45918515516.
(3)Poverty Safari: a Scottish rapper’s stirring polemic about deprivation: https://www.ft.com/content/bbf8d83e-e00b-11e7-a8a4-0a1e63a52f9c ( Subscription required)
(4) Get Heard Project: http://www.povertyalliance.org/article/scottish_govt_poverty_plan
(5)The Scottish Green Party's 10 priorities to address child povery https://greens.scot/news/our-10-priorities-for-tackling-child-poverty