Poverty Truth Commission Peterborough

What is a Poverty Truth Commission?

‘Nothing about us, without us, is for us,’ is the ethos of every Poverty Truth Commission. The idea is simple: that lasting social change only happens when those who experience the struggle participate in generating that change.

A Poverty Truth Commission begins by putting those with direct experience of poverty first, and asking them to share their knowledge about what’s truly needed to make change. These people are known as Community Empowerers who build strong connections with Civic Empowerers, who are local leaders in the city on many of the services and decisions which affect people’s lives.

Why is it important?

Because it is important to hear from those people who have direct experience of poverty, whose voices are not always heard.

How can people get involved?

If you’d like to be involved or learn more about the Peterborough Poverty Truth Commission, please contact James at 07760 702430 or [email protected], or Cheryl McGuire at [email protected]. They’d love to hear from you.

Taking part in the Peterborough Poverty Truth is voluntary, but as the Poverty Truth motto says, ‘There’s no meeting without eating.’ They always provide food at their gatherings, and can pay for associated costs such as transport, child care, or respite care.

What happens next?

The facilitators and the Community Empowerers are currently getting together regularly to build friendships and start sharing experiences with each other. Over the next couple of months, they’ll be working on creative ways to present everyone’s stories, leading up to the launch in November. Next year the full commission of both community and civic empowerers will begin meeting.

Who are the Peterborough Poverty Truth Commission? 

The Peterborough Poverty Truth Commission is hosted by PCVS, supported by the Poverty Truth Network, and funded by the National Lottery through the VCS Recovery Project.

PCVS have two great members of the team, making the vision of having a Poverty Truth Commission here in Peterborough a reality:

Cheryl Mcguire – Civic and Business Facilitator

James Farson – Community Facilitator

Need more Information?

Check out their latest PTC Newsletter.

Check out their PTC flyer.

Check out the latest PTC blog.

You can also visit the Poverty Truth Commission website.

Or please contact their friendly team on either of the details below:

James can be reached at [email protected] or 07760702430

Cheryl can be reached at [email protected]