Poverty

The Cliff Edge Coalition NI relaunched its campaign last week. A lot has changed since 2018, almost none of it good, and the cliff edge faced by much of society has grown much higher.

Distribution of wealth should a headline talking point of economic discourse, alongside GDP, employment levels and inflation.

New research reaffirms an old oddity – Northern Ireland has the lowest rate of poverty of any UK region. However, that’s not the whole story.

Two new pieces of research lay out two sides of the cost-of-living crisis: poor mental health, and communities rising to meet the problems we all face.

Distribution of the £600 home energy payment has begun. However, for some older people in Northern Ireland, huge challenges remain as they struggle both with the cost of living and the risk of loneliness.

Whenever we discuss how to improve health we invariably neglect the biggest factor of all in making us ill: poverty.

With support from NICVA, The Scaffolding Project have launched a briefing document examining 'The experience of poverty and community responses in East Belfast.'

"Poverty is when a person’s resources are well below their minimum needs, including the need to take part in society." Joseph Rowntree Foundation