Saturday 17 October is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. In Consett and Stanley, people who know poverty first hand are sitting down every month with the people who make the decisions, and they are being listened to.
“Nothing about us, without us, is for us” is the ethos of every Poverty Truth Commission (PTC). A PTC uses a relational approach to bring together people with lived experience of poverty (Community Commissioners) and the decision and policy makers in the area (Civic Commissioners). Facilitators support the group to work collaboratively, identify issues and bring about positive and sustainable change. There have so far been more than 40 PTCs across the UK.
Community Commissioners from Consett and Stanley began meeting in September 2025 to build relationships and prepare for their launch event. In March 2026, the Community Commissioners stood on stage in front of more than 80 people and told their truths of poverty. For many, it was the first time they had ever felt listened to.
Since May, Civic Commissioners from Durham County Council, Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, the police, the church, Karbon Homes and the DWP have been meeting monthly with the Community Commissioners to build trust and have deep conversations about the issues people face because of poverty.
The Commission, which is hosted by Durham Community Action, is currently identifying three main issues to focus on and will concentrate on these over the next few months. A public event will be held in spring 2027, where the Commission will share its findings.
Poverty is creative
As part of their launch event, the commissioners created a zine of their own writing. This poem is one of the pieces from it.
Poverty is creative in many ways such as
stretching the same meal for days and days
Finding a new place for hide and seek
every week with the provvy lady who loves to peek
Finding 50p to feed the meter
to make the tea and heat the heater
Sunday baths to save the water, father
then mother then son then daughter
Decorating on a shoestring budget to make a home
With friends and family so she didn’t feel alone
Seeking help for finance, housing, dreams and thoughts
forging a social group turned into support
Anon, from the Consett and Stanley Poverty Truth Commission zine
Find out more
For more information about the Stanley and Consett PTC, or the first Commission in South Durham, visit the County Durham Poverty Truth Commission pages on the Durham Community Action website.
For more information about the relational approach, contact Cathryn Gathercole, Project Coordinator, at cathryn.gathercole@durhamcommunityaction.org.uk, or Julie Gourley, Project Worker, at julie.gourley@durhamcommunityaction.org.uk.
Words by C L Gibson
