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We’re now less than two weeks away from official springtime, and only three short weeks away from a post-7pm sunset. Addington Square’s spring bulbs will be blossoming with even greater vigour in the coming months, and I am sure we are all looking forward to thawing a little as winter’s frost subsides.
But while we indulge in the excitement of impending warm weather, let’s also celebrate all that we’ve done these past few frosty months. Much has happened since our last newsletter, so here’s the highlight reel.
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Some highlights from our website:
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If you’re familiar with our work here in the UK, you will have heard of Frimhurst Family House: an emerald green Eden in Surrey that, as part of our “Getting Away From It” project, offers well-being breaks to families experiencing poverty. But you might not have heard of La Bise. For more than thirty years, La Bise has been running a similar project offering holiday breaks in Arbois, France to families experiencing deep poverty. What connects Frimhurst and La Bise is the conviction that no one should be left behind. These projects create the conditions for families to get away from the daily pressures of life, which is fundamental to the well-being of those we work beside. You can read more about La Bise, Frimhurst, and the right to a holiday here.
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People in poverty make choices every day to look out for one another and defend the inalienable dignity of all. Their efforts can be boosted by support from people of all walks of life. To mark International Volunteer Day in December, Celia Consolini shared her experience of volunteering with us from September 2022 to October 2023. You can read her interview here.
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In this article, discover how ATD Fourth World provides love and support for individuals and families facing poverty through pampering activities during well-being days. Rooted in founder Joseph Wresinski's belief in the transformative power of self-care, these activities offer respite for participants who, despite being initially hesitant, now eagerly embrace the therapeutic practices.
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On 11 December 2023, the British Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) marked Human Rights Day and the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the House of Lords. There, Kaydence Drayak, Aurelia Drayak, and Tiegan Boyens — representing ATD Fourth World’s “Youth Voices” project — shared their advocacy journey. Drawing on their lived experience, they highlighted the urgent need for accessible resources to empower all and, in particular, vulnerable groups like children and young people. After a long process of collaboration between the young people of “Youth Voices” and the BIHR, this resource has now been released. You can find it here. See also a blog post about the event here from the perspective of Lyle Barker, an economic, social, and cultural rights researcher at the University of Essex Human Rights Centre.
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Hartlepool is a post-industrial, northern coastal town, steeped in rich history. In this article, Ruth Knibbs and Caitlin Sibthorpe of ATD Fourth World UK speak to Darren Leighton — a resident, and a communications and connections worker at Hartlepool Action Lab — to discuss changing landscapes, the impacts of the pandemic and pollution, and community strength.
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Two allies of ATD Fourth World UK, Jane Tunstill — Emeritus Professor of Social Work at Royal Holloway, University of London — and James Blewett — director of Making Research Count at King’s College London — have written about the urgent need for poverty-aware practice in social work for the Professional Social Work magazine. In the article, they discuss the importance of in-house, poverty-aware continuing professional development training for social workers. They look specifically at ATD’s expert-by-experience parent activist training course, and evaluate outputs, learning outcomes, and implications of this input for future policy and social work. They “highlight the urgent need of sustained training to further develop social workers’ conceptual abilities […] and practical skills” so as to mitigate the risks of social work “ending up as part of the problem and not part of the solution”. You can read their research here, on page 24-25.
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As part of our series of study groups on poverty, social work and the right to family life, we organised a session about different ways that stigmatisation and discrimination affect families in poverty. Issues raised included:
- Families in poverty have unequal access to resources;
- Some procedures and practices are discriminatory;
- The perception of social norms can lead to judgements and stereotypes;
- People receive unequal treatment;
- Top-down design doesn’t work;
- Power imbalances impact people’s experiences of racism.
Some participants also made recommendations: social work assessments should include poverty; champion the change-makers; think of greenhouses not warehouses; work with the media to undo stereotyping; and local authorities can have a culture of values that supports fragile families. To read the article, please click here.
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In our last newsletter we wrote about a conference held at ATD Fourth World's International Centre in France. It was there that a diverse array of participants came together to discuss the report titled “Poverty, Child Protection, and the Right to Protection and Assistance to the Family in England”. The work was the conclusion of ATD Fourth World’s three-year European Family Advocacy project, and professionals, activists, and concerned individuals came together to address the key points of the report.
And here's something new: Lyle Barker and Dr Koldo Casla have since reflected on that conference. Their thoughts and descriptions can be found in this article.
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We cordially invite you to participate in the 11 April online launch of the Action Research journal’s (ARJ) special issue on Action Research for Transforming the Poverty Field. The articles reflect on projects that took place in Canada, Tanzania, Uganda, the United States, the UK and other countries.
Key points from the articles in the special issue will be discussed by people who have experienced both poverty and participatory research processes. Afterwards, all participants will focus on obstacles to participatory and transformative research, and ways to overcome them.
As a special bonus, the event will include a poetry reading by Patricia Bailey, activist of ATD UK.
You must sign up by 21 March 2024 by writing to:
action.research.j.poverty@atd-fourthworld.org
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Online event.
11 April 2024
3:00 to 5:30 pm UK time
For more information, please click here.
We hope to see you there!
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We’ve started doing “Well-being Wednesday” posts on Instagram at the end of every month, and a whole lot of other cool stuff too. We even made our own “Well-Being Wrapped” at the end of last year. Here’s a taster, but, for the full experience, you should really follow us!
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And that’s all folks! We hope you enjoyed this latest iteration of our quarterly newsletter. Keep your eyes peeled for our next email blast: we’re preparing something special in honour of Women’s Day, and we can’t wait to share it with you. 💛
Talk soon!
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Now more than ever, your donation means everything. Please consider donating to us here.
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