New group to tackle poverty and debt in Mid and East Antrim

Community groups, charities and organisations from across Mid and East Antrim have come together to tackle poverty.
Katrina Morgan, councils director of community and Hugh Nelson, Northern Health and Social Care TrustKatrina Morgan, councils director of community and Hugh Nelson, Northern Health and Social Care Trust
Katrina Morgan, councils director of community and Hugh Nelson, Northern Health and Social Care Trust

A conference was held in Larne recently to discuss the ongoing work that is being carried out across the borough.

There are approximately 370,000 people living in poverty in Northern Ireland, 110,000 of these are children and 40,000 pensioners.

A report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation last year defined poverty as “when a person’s resources are well below their minimum needs”.

The ‘Tackling Poverty Together’ Symposium heard talks from Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, The Northern Health and Social Care Trust and Mid and East Antrim Community Advice Services.

Katrina Morgan, council’s director of community, said: “It’s been great to see such a wide range of stakeholders getting together to tackle such an important issue. This is Community Planning at its best and truly shows Mid and East Antrim is ‘Putting People First’.

“Community planning is about the public, private and voluntary organisations in the borough working together with communities to plan and deliver better services which make a real difference to people’s lives and benefit the area.

“This event has done just that, by getting key partners around the table to talk about real issues, affecting real people, even if they are sometimes uncomfortable to hear.

“One of the positives from this conference is that a delivery group has now been set up to tackle poverty and debt in Mid and East Antrim.”