Poverty Truth Commissions have been held within the UK for over a decade. Over these years we have been able to understand and articulate a ‘Poverty Truth’ way of working. It has three key distinctives that the Network seeks to harness. All three are inter-related and combine to form our approach.
- Poverty Truth starts with the direct experience of people who know what it means to struggle against poverty. It is these experiences that initiate the conversation and concerns that set the agenda. Through this wisdom, the important issues are articulated. Crucially, these concerns, experiences and wisdom remain throughout all Poverty Truth work.
- Poverty Truth builds powerful relationships between those who have experienced the struggle and decision-makers. Difficult conversations only happen when trust is built, and relationships are the soil in which trust grows. So, poverty truth insists that we take time to pay attention to one another. We listen deeply with our hearts and our heads rather than rushing to fix problems.
- Poverty Truth seeks to humanise people and systems. We meet one another as human beings not merely professionals or service users. As we do this, we will see more clearly the causes of poverty recognising that whilst they are systemic, we can find long-term solutions where we all flourish.
