The Methodist Church in the South West Tyneside Circuit have been exploring the possibility of establishing a Poverty Truth Commission for the West of Gateshead and we now have the majority of the funds needed to employ someone to work with us to help this become a reality.

If you have not heard of the Poverty Truth Commission before here is a brief summary. The basic idea is that we bring together people who have, or are experiencing, poverty with those who can open the door to
change. Those experiencing poverty share their stories with those such as Local Councillors, MPs, DWP, Housing companies and so on. We then try and enable those two groups to work together on things changing in the future. The aim is to bring people together with a common commission: to explore, expose and confront the consequences of poverty in all its forms and to imagine and promote change.

As churches we often meet people who are those experiencing poverty and we can feel the frustration of their experiences remaining unchanged and are aware that their voices are seldom heard. We know that Jesus had a heart for the poor and told us to do what we could to eleviate their poverty. This feels a constructive way to do that.

We are holding an information afternoon to hear from Martin Johnston who set up the first Poverty Truth Commission in the UK on Wednesday 31st January 2018 at 1:30pm at Strathmore Road Methodist Church where there is good parking. Martin will share their experiences but also the process of setting one up and the impact they have had all over the UK.

If you would like more information please contact Deacon Tracey Hume.