Challenge the unfair barriers in UK society!
The gap between the richest and poorest in Britain is growing, and Poverty & Homelessness Action Week 2012 will challenge the barriers of misunderstanding, stigma and injustice that result. Barriers created by unfair benefits rules and inadequate wages, by the stigma attached to being poor or homeless, and by the growing gap between the richest and poorest people in our society.
The week runs from Saturday 28 January 2012, through to Sunday 5 February, and includes both Homelessness Sunday and Poverty Action Sunday.
The Action Week partners, Church Action on Poverty, Scottish Churches Housing Action and Housing Justice, have developed a resource pack which includes worship guides for holding a special church service, materials for work with children and young people, and other materials, along with a map of events across the UK.
Why not use the resource pack to run a service or event in your own church?
Every year, local supporters use the resources to organise over 200 events in communities across the UK. As well as dozens of church services, creative events take place to tackle poverty and homelessness directly. For example, in 2011, Holy Cross College in Bury collected toiletries which were donated to the Mustard Tree, a Manchester-based charity committed to providing life support for the homeless, marginalised and vulnerable across Greater Manchester. Another event that is always popular is a ‘Sleep-Out’ to highlight the problems of rough sleeping - with participants raising sponsorship for local projects and the Action Week partners in exchange for a night spent sleeping outside. Organisers also hold coffee mornings or ‘Cup-of-Tea’ events, with a small charge being made for refreshments to gather funds for a poverty or homelessness charity - you could make the Action Week materials available for people to browse whilst enjoying their drink or invite along a speaker.
Action Week is also an excellent opportunity to build links between churches and local community projects that go beyond a short-term relationship. St Peter’s Church in Wrockwardine invited a number of people from a local drop-in centre for the homeless to a Sunday service to explain the centre’s work- the service raised enough money to fund the running costs of the centre for a month and the Rev. Dr. David Chantrey noted that he hoped it would mark ‘the beginning of a new phase of activity and involvement.’
Church Action on Poverty National Coordinator, Niall Cooper, says: “Poverty and Homelessness Action Week will provide a timely opportunity for churches to reflect on one of the pressing topical issues of the day, namely: How can we break down the barriers between rich and poor; how can we start to break the barriers between those with wealth, money and power in society and those without?”
Churches and community projects can challenge prejudice, enable excluded people to live full lives, and build a fairer world - work with us in Action Week 2012 to break the barriers that trap people in poverty and homelessness.
The resource pack is downloadable free at www.actionweek.org.uk or printed materials are available using the order form on the website.
For further enquiries contact one of the Action Week partners or email david@church-poverty.org.uk
