Programme aims to tackle poverty

from the BBC

A new training programme aimed at helping community groups to tackle poverty in their areas is being launched in Belfast.

The course is free and uses a mixture of face to face training and multi-media resources.

It shows how thousands of low-income families struggle to pay key household bills such as rent, food and clothing.

Frances Dowds, of NI Anti-Poverty Network, said poverty is often beyond a person's control.

"Northern Ireland has some of the worst poverty in the UK," she said.

"Disadvantaged communities have told us they want to become more involved in local level anti-poverty work.

"The Poverty Awareness Programme (PAP) will enable them to do just that, to explore how poverty affects them and their communities and to identify ways of working for change."

At the launch on Monday, participants from the pilot testing will lead party political representatives through some of the exercises to explore the reality of poverty in Northern Ireland.

A multi-media webtour, 'Budgeting for Poverty', will also be unveiled.