120,000 children in Northern Ireland currently live in abject poverty, which is double the rate compared to Great Britain. This figure is set to reach a shocking 127,000 (one in four)* by 2020. Social affairs magazine VIEWdigital’s 31st issue on child poverty in Northern Ireland will be launched at an event at Stormont on Monday 22 June (2-4pm) to sound the alarm and urge the Assembly to stop more children spiraling into poverty.
Through human stories and policy analyses, the themed publication paints the gruesome reality of children we see every day but never notice. View Digital publisher Una Murphy said: “No-one wants to imagine that some children in Northern Ireland do not have enough food, warm clothes, and do not even own a toothbrush. The solution is not about wringing our hands in collective despair and passing the buck to local charities, it is about taking effective, fast, pro-active legislative action to give our children a fighting chance for a positive future.”
Single mum Colette Ansell, 28, explains how after leaving her job in the Territorial Army in 2009 to have her son Kurtis, she fell into poverty, with nearly only charities and food banks to rely on. From escorting convoys from Iraq and Kuwait during her nine years in service, Colette found herself moving into a hostel and accumulating moderate debts with no hope in sight. Agreeing to be featured in View, she said: (Without) “Gingerbread NI and Christians Against Poverty I would not have been able to afford to return to part-time education in order to build a better life for me and my son. (…) I have now been debt-free for around 2 weeks, which is amazing.”
Launch host Steven Agnew, MLA, Green Party, added: “I find it unacceptable that children and their families are living in poverty in Northern Ireland. I believe there is an opportunity to improve how children’s services are currently delivered, to help children reach their full potential, and that is why I am seeking to introduce the Children’s Bill, to create a statutory duty to co-operate across all government departments.
E-magazine available from viewdigital.org
All children should receive the services they need to reach their full potential. We must ensure that their basic needs are met and their rights protected, and this Bill will improve outcomes for children ,ensuring that children’s services are integrated and bring about positive outcomes.”
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