RSS Press releases

Dumfries and Galloway Council and the regionwide Dumfries and Galloway Poverty and Inequalities Partnership are supporting Challenge Poverty Week 2024 – the annual national awareness raising week led by Poverty Alliance Scotland.

Challenge Poverty Week runs from Monday 7 to Sunday 13 October.

The aims of the week are:

• to raise a unified voice against poverty and show that we all want to live in a more just and equal Scotland
• to build awareness of and support for solutions to poverty
• to change the conversation around poverty and help end the stigma of living on a low income

Together with the Poverty Alliance, Dumfries and Galloway Council and the Dumfries and Galloway Poverty and Inequalities Partnership are coming together to produce a week-long programme of videos, downloadable information and events around this year’s key themes:

• Monday 7  October – housing
• Tuesday 8 October – transport
• Wednesday 9 October – adequate incomes
• Thursday 10 October – food
• Friday 11 October – communities and volunteers
• Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 October – reflection

Leader of Dumfries and Galloway Council, Councillor Gail Macgregor, said: “Our council continues to reinforce our commitment to tackling poverty and inequalities throughout our region by once again delivering a range of support mechanisms to support Challenge Poverty Week. On each day during Challenge Poverty Week 2024, we will focus on a different theme and these each have accompanying key messages that will be made available online and we encourage everyone to log onto our new Challenge Poverty Week website each day to find out about all the help and assistance available to those experiencing poverty.  All of the solutions offered are designed to help people to increase their incomes and reduce their costs, which we know is the quickest way to escape from poverty.

"In March of this year, our council committed £1,827,000 of policy development funding to tackle poverty and inequalities within our region.  This funding is being used to support a wide range of projects which focus on tackling poverty and inequalities across our region. Examples of these projects include the following – we allocated funding towards holiday food fund payments to children in nurseries and for families during the school holiday periods, along with funding for the continuation of the Emergency Energy Payment Assistance Programme which provides emergency fuel vouchers along with additional dedicated support to reduce and eradicate fuel poverty throughout our region. Our taxi-card project was also again supported to enable residents with no access to transport the ability to travel to essential appointments which they would otherwise be unable to attend.

"We also allocated funding for the continuation of the Fareshare project which provides surplus food to 19 organisations throughout Dumfries and Galloway for onward distribution to those most in need along with funding to continue the Free Back to School Uniform Events, our 10 permanent school uniform collection and donation points and free warm winter clothes events which are held throughout our region. In addition, we also allocated funding for the continuation of our invaluable Welfare and Housing Options Support Team who help some of the most vulnerable residents within our region to retain their tenancies in the face of various crisis which they have encountered through no fault of their own.”

Nick Hopkins, Chair of the Dumfries and Galloway Poverty and Inequalities Partnership said: “Challenge Poverty Week is an opportunity for organisations across Dumfries and Galloway to take stock of the work that they do on poverty in the region, to engage with the general public- increasing their understanding of poverty and encouraging their contribution to actions to tackle it, and to increase the awareness of people living in poverty about the services there to help them.  It’s also a chance for people to bring new ideas to the table, particularly at some of the events we are holding.

"As we go into winter, one of our big pushes will be around winter warmth for older and disabled people, but our partners’ work touches people of all ages and in every community in the region. We believe that whatever is happening in Scotland, in the UK and in the wider world, we have the power to change lives for the better locally, and invite everyone to join us in doing so.”

To access all of the support and information available during Challenge Poverty Week, visit: dumgal.gov.uk/poverty

For more information on the Poverty Alliance and the national Challenge Poverty Week Events and activities, visit: www.povertyalliance.org

For more information on tackling poverty and inequalities in Dumfries and Galloway, contact: challenge.poverty@dumgal.gov.uk


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