About Us

The Past

In April 2011 the Poverty Truth Commission presented its Findings to a packed audience of 400 people in Glasgow City Chambers. For two years previously, the Commission had brought together some of Scotland’s senior civic leaders with people living at the sharp end of poverty, believing that just as women’s rights would never have been won without women at the helm, poverty will never be truly addressed until those who experience it first-hand are at the heart of the process.Over that period the Commission focused its attention on: the unjust plight facing children in Kinship Care; the development of positive alternatives to violence; and challenging the stereotypes of people living in poverty often portrayed in the media. We also developed a unique and valuable participatory model for decision making and organising on issues of poverty.

Due to the timing of the Poverty Truth Commission Closing Gathering, shortly before the Scottish Government elections, the Commission received much attention and accolades across politics and the media. Questions about implications of the Commission’s findings for Government were asked in Parliament and the work was referenced several times during parliamentary business. The Commission attracted considerable media coverage and a number of articles are available to read on our reports and articles page.

In its Findings, which can be found on our reports and articles page, the Commission issued a set of challenges to the governments at UK, Scottish and local authority levels, to community and voluntary sector organisations and to Scottish society. At the heart of the Commission’s work lies the understanding that the issues of poverty will never be adequately addressed until the people experiencing it first-hand are involved in the development, delivery and evaluation of solutions, not seen as the source of the problem.

“Nothing about us without us is for us”

As a result of the work of the Commission 15 different organisations, including the Scottish Government, the UK Government, Glasgow City Council, the Violence Reduction Unit and Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector, agreed to take forward the specific elements of the Commission’s work in their own spheres of responsibility. These pledges can be read in our findings on pages 19 and 20.

The last year

Although the Commission concluded at its formal meeting in April 2011, all members of the Commission felt that we have created a special participatory model and have a very important message to spread. The Commission has spent the last 12 months in an important ‘legacy stage’; in which it is sought to embed the challenges it presented and to work with the agencies that committed to taking the work forward. Read more about this work on Our Legacy Page.

The Future

As a result of the connections made and the interest in the work of the Poverty Truth Commission the original members of the Commission have decided that there is future work still to be done - albeit with a different focus and direction. You can read more about this work on our Get Involved page.