The CoalitionWorking together
ATD Fourth World
Latest News: ATD Fourth World and Community Links ran a series of workshops with a number of people who experience extreme persistant poverty. We looked at a number of areas including the welfare system, employment and the informal economy. These discussions helped shape the Need NOT Greed campaign strategy. You can download a copy here.
Our vision is to have a society free from poverty where human rights for all people are respected.
Our mission is to work alongside people living in poverty to support them in their refusal to accept poverty as a fact of life and find the solutions to eradicate it together.
Our aims: To empower people experiencing poverty to access and exercise their fundamental rights, to have their voice heard and so lead to fulfilling their potential.
Method: Involving people in poverty in planning and carrying out projects. Developing and building partnerships and links with other organisations and individuals
Poverty is a very quiet word; people are ashamed to use the word
Family member of ATD Fourth WorldWhat’s really stopping people from working is not irresponsibility. It is more complex than what we can see through statistics, wider than what numbers represent. When someone is forced to work 'off the books' because they don’t have all the papers needed to work legally; when fear and lack of confidence have become so deep; despite all of the effort to make both ends meet; getting into work can be impossible.
ATD Fourth World, UK
"The 17th October is about speaking out about what poverty is, not behind closed doors"
Find out more about the History of 17th October
Read Voices for a Change Report
ATD recognises that people need to come together, openly talk about poverty and be active in our attempts to eradicate it. Everybody has the responsibility to fight poverty.
Family members are speaking at the UN about their experiences of poverty in the UK.
In Europe the UK is considered a leading example on how to reduce unemployment. On the 17th we contributed to round table discussions about poverty and social exclusion in France. We addressed poverty and the current barriers to formal work which can lead to people working cash-in-hand as a way to survive. We put forth long term solutions and addressed the psychological effect of sanctions and other deterrence propaganda. (Download Marilyn’s report )
In London ATD volunteers and families attended the TUC conference Challenging Povertism, which looked at the negative descriptions of people living in poverty in this country that are common in newspapers, TV programmes and films. We also looked at how politicians talk about people in poverty.
ATD Fourth World highlights the detrimental effects of the current DWP advertising campaign on benefit fraud. The consequences of stigmitisation and the effects of Povertyism. Read the Effects of Discrimination on Families in the Fight to End Child Poverty which explains how people are "forced to scheme to keep their heads above water"
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