Sheffield Poverty Update No 23 December 2012

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Sheffield Poverty Update No.23 December 2012Church Action on Poverty works with church and community groups across the UK to maketackling poverty a priority. Our work involves: educating churches about poverty in the UK;enabling people in poverty to speak for themselves; working for policies to eradicate poverty;promoting reflection and action for social justice

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Luke 10 v27He answered, Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all yourstrength and with all your mind and, Love your neighbor as yourself

Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one he art, though we are notof one opinion? Without all doubt, we may. Herein all the children of God may unite, notwithstandingthese smaller differences.-John Wesley

Crisis loans and community care grants are the ultimate safety net for the most vulnerable insociety. The vulnerable have already been hard hit by emergency measures to preserve the socialfund by reducing crisis loan rates from 75% of Income support basic rate to 60% for householdersand 30% for non householders and to restrict the number of awards in a 12 month rolling period to 3loans except for loans given whilst benefit is being processed. We, Sheffield Church Action onPoverty are therefore deeply concerned at the government's proposals to pass some of thefunding of this provision to local authorities in March 2013 without any statutory obligation toensure they provide emergency support to vulnerable people

A further letter has been written to the council on this issue by Sheffield Church Action on

Poverty and we are awaiting a reply.

However a report appears on the council website and extracts from it are below:

The report provides an estimate of the loss to benefit claimants in Sheffield of the welfare reformchanges and therefore the loss to the local economy when benefit changes take effect that amountsto 180m.per year. It also states that last year in Sheffield there were some 20,000 applications to thesocial fund, of which just over 13,000 were successfull

And the council makes the point

Whilst the Local Assistance Scheme will be used to support financiallydisadvantaged customers, it isnot intended to be used to supplementlosses of benefits experienced as part of the widerWelfare Reform


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Poverty & Homelessness Action Week . Action Week 2013:26 January 3 February 2013 Can you cast the first stone?

Who is to blame for rising levels of poverty and homelessness in the UK today?

Some blame the last government for the high levels of public debt. Some blame the present government for

austerity budgets and welfare benefit cuts. Some blame the bankers, or the Euro, or the global crisis of

capitalism.

What worries us is that many are blaming the victims . Press coverage focuses on benefit cheats and

scroungers. Government spokespeople - including the Prime Minister - set up a false contrast between

those who work hard and do the right thing, and those locked into a benefits culture. Immigrants, not the

economic slump, are blamed for the lack of jobs. From tenants shipped out of their local authority and to

the periphery of cities because their housing benefit does not cover their rent any more, to disabled people

threatened with having their benefit cut if they do not engage in work; from vulnerable women and children

denied support as a result of cuts in local services, to the unemployed and people on benefits vulnerable

people are routinely cast in a negative light.

Were not saying that people in poverty never do bad things. Homeless people can often be their own

harshest critics when they look back on the wrong choices in their lives. But we aresaying that a blame

culture is not the way to make things better. We can pretend that poverty is a matter of failure of

individuals and families, but that wont help.

We need to recognise instead that we are truly all in it together. A persons predicament can be down to

mental distress, economic pressure (e.g. low-paid casual work) or relationship breakdown, as well as

fecklessness or substance abuse. Cuts in benefits, as well as local services to vulnerable groups, cause

many to fall on ever harder times.

Thousands make an honest benefit claim for every dodgy one and yet what news editor puts that on the

front-page?.

Jesus was being tested by the Pharisees when they brought him the woman taken in adultery.

Jesus never said she was blameless. He simply showed that condemnation will not change her

ways. We wont tackle poverty and homelessness by blaming those who are poor and homeless.

Please join us in Poverty & Homelessness Action Week 2013, and call for an end to this blame

Please let us know if your Church Intends to mark this week in any way. If you want us to promote

any event we would be pleased to do so.

Web site for materials http://www.actionweek.org.uk/home.html

Make your Pledge to Close the Gap between rich andpoor. Give, Act and Praywith us to build a more equalsociety. Go tohttp://www.church-poverty.org.uk/

Last week, the Church of England voted overwhelmingly in support of paying church employees a

Living Wage. And the week before, the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales made a similar

move. The Living Wage is currently 8.55 per hour in London, and 7.45 in the rest of the UK.(The National Minimum wage is 6.19 per hour)
http://www.actionweek.org.uk/about.htmlhttp://www.actionweek.org.uk/about.htmlhttp://www.actionweek.org.uk/about.htmlhttp://www.actionweek.org.uk/about.htmlhttp://www.actionweek.org.uk/home.htmlhttp://www.actionweek.org.uk/home.htmlhttp://www.church-poverty.org.uk/http://www.church-poverty.org.uk/http://www.church-poverty.org.uk/http://www.church-poverty.org.uk/http://www.actionweek.org.uk/home.htmlhttp://www.actionweek.org.uk/about.html


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Amy Casbolt from Roundabout spoke to

Pilgrims outside Highfield Trinity on our

recent Pilgrimage.

http://www.roundabouthomeless.org/

Roundabout supports over 150 young

people every day in Sheffield. We turn away

around 1,000 young people each year

because we are full. As the only service in

the Sheffield area that accepts 16 and 17 year

olds on an emergency basis we inevitably find

that most of the young people we work with

are 16 or 17. Most have come to us directly

from their family home, most do have at least

one parent but life with that parent or parentshas become completely unmanageable and

the only option for that young person is to

leave home and come to one of Roundabout's

services.

We believe that when given the opportunity

young people have the ability to make

changes to their lives and the lives of

others. We teach young people how to

manage their money, cook and maintain their

own property. We also help young people get

back into education training and employment

to break the cycle of homelessness and

develop long term independent living skills

Our emergency hostel is in a poor state. Ourtraining room is extremely small with one(broken) computer, some deck chairs and asofa which also doubles up as a bed for themember of staff working nights. Some of the

rooms are also shared, which is unsuitable forvulnerable young people. This year we areexcited to be refurbishing our emergencyhostel, which is based on St Barnabas road,close to the city centre. We have now movedinto temporary accommodation and hope tomove back into our newly refurbished hostelwhich will have more bedrooms (all single anden-suite) and a suitable place for trainingsessions in June 2013. Despite receivingsome funding from South Yorkshire Housing

Association we have a shortfall of 300,000which needs to be raised to ensure the project

can be completed.Unfortunately our profile is still low and wedesperately need the support of our localcommunity.

Tax Justice Bus Our chair spoke at the

Rotherham meeting to which John Healey, the

MP for Wentworth and Dearne, and the

Deputy Mayor and Mayoress of Rotherham

came. David Price spoke at the Sheffield

meeting, with Dereje Alemayehu from

Christian Aid; Sheffield Church Action on

Poverty are to explore ways of developing the

partnership with Christian Aid.

UN INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS DAY. All

are invited to a Film Evening to mark this day -

6.30pm on Tuesday 18 December at the

Quaker Meeting House. Sue Clayton, the

director will introduce her film Hamedullah

about an Afghan boy's experiences in seeking

asylum and 1000 Voices about detention. will

also be shown. Christmas collection forASSIST and for Hamedulla's education.'

Enquiries about the Sheffield group

to:Chair: CanonNicholas P A

Jowett ([email protected])

Secretary: Sarah Baker 0114

[email protected]

Members! Supporters! As always we rely

on you to advise us on where we should be

directing our efforts and on helping us to

do this.

Please contact us if you wish to have more

details about any of the items in this

newsletter, or have suggestions about what

we should be doing, or can offer any help
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

Documents

Sheffield Poverty Update No 23 December 2012