Of course the poorest people in the UK are people with children. But I
don't think the poverty Kids Co describe is what I would call absolute
poverty. Most of these kids have a TV. They have a bed and meals. But
they can see that others have much more than they have. That is the
problem. The problem is affluence, not poverty.
Martin Rathfelder
Director
Socialist Health Association
22 Blair Road
Manchester
M16 8NS
0161 286 1926
www.sochealth.co.uk
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Tony Greenfield wrote:
> Martin Rathfelder wrote
>
>
>> There are very few people in the UK who suffer from absolute poverty.
>> Mostly failed asylum seekers who are subject to an official
>> destitution policy - and won't appear on any statistics. Some people
>> with mental illness.
>
> Here is a recent Kids Company report:
>
> Key Facts
> a.. 4 million children are living in poverty in the UK (after housing
> costs)
> b.. The proportion of children living in poverty grew from 1 in 10 in
> 1979 to 1 in 3 in 1998. Today, 30 per cent of children in Britain are
> living in poverty.
> c.. Since 1999, when the current Government pledged to end child
> poverty, 500,000 children have been lifted out of poverty.
> d.. The UK has one of the worst rates of child poverty in the
> industrialised world
> e.. The majority (59 per cent) of poor children live in a household
> where at least one adult works.
> f.. 40 per cent of poor children live in a household headed by a lone
> parent. The majority of poor children (57 per cent) live in a
> household headed by a couple.
> g.. 38% of children in poverty are from families with 3 or more
> children.
> Kids Company
> More than 95% of the children and young people we support come to us
> seeking help, or are referred by their peers; 97% say that Kids
> Company is effective. Research shows that young people coming to Kids
> Company face the following difficulties:
>
> a.. 84% - homelessness - a deeply traumatic and destabilizing
> experience.
> b.. 82% - substance misuse - this is often a reaction to emotional
> distress and can indicate a child's vulnerability to being drawn into
> the criminal world of drug dealing and taking.
> c.. 81% - criminal involvement, often to feed and clothe younger
> siblings.
> d.. 83% - sustained, complex trauma during childhood.
> e.. 87% - emotional difficulties and mental health problems.
> f.. 39% - young carers struggling to cope.
> Kids' achievements
> The University of London's 2008 study found that Kids Company had helped:
>
> a.. 95% improved their relationships
> b.. 81% reintegrated into education, training or employment
> c.. 86% engaged in work experience
> d.. 90% reduced their involvement in criminal activity
> e.. 94% reduced their level of substance misuse
> f.. 89% moved away from crime.
> Research by University of London, 2008
>
> At Kids Company in 2008
> a.. 12,000 children and young people accessed our services
> b.. 5000 volunteers gave us their time, including 4292 corporate
> volunteers from 91 companies.
> c.. 1800 children and young people with nowhere else to go came to
> our centre on Christmas day.
>
>
>
>
>
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