Local action changing lives: Community organisations tacking poverty and social exclusion

Community organisations can act as friends and family to people who have none; they can become classrooms, teachers and trainers for those who need them. They are places to meet, eat, play and relax – in short, community organisations are whatever their community needs them to be.

NPC’s report explores how community organisations, usually run by local people for local people, are tackling issues like unemployment and poverty in some of the most deprived areas of the UK.

Did you know?

  • Nearly 4m children in the UK live in families below the poverty line. This places Britain close to the bottom of a European league in terms of child poverty.
  • 7.5m people are too poor to be able to take part in common social activities such as attending weddings, or having celebrations on birthdays.

The report highlights areas where donors can make a difference, including:

  • tackling the root causes of poverty through campaigns to improve the salaries and benefits of people in low-paid jobs
  • providing advice and information on issues such as debt, benefits and careers
  • supporting community centres, such as cafes and drop-in services, which bring people together in the community and operate as social enterprises.

 There has been a lot of talk recently about the breakdown and disappearance of community. Well, we met charities fighting that trend – actually trying to rebuild the relationships and support that make communities tick.

Tris Lumley, report author

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