Categories: uncategorized
Date: 07 July 2011 09:25:50
Wonderful yet depressingly true quote yesterday in the Methodist Conference debate on poverty and how to respond to the Big Society, "The easiest way to get into poverty is being born into it and the most common way out of it is to die". If you're not born into it becoming ill/ disabled or becoming a single parent are other common routes. Poverty is not a choice for most Mr. Cameron!
Yesterday I posted a bit about the Rowntree report about how much people needed to meet the standard minimum income stadard.Within it I noted that I had some experience of this and I would post some ideas relating to how to maintain your choices and to empower others having choices. I have decided to do this in a systematic way. Regular readers will be familiar with some of the stuff I'm going to say - some of it will be a repeat of what I've put over the years - but I hope that I will put it in a way which is interest to people both inside and outside the church.
Today I want to start with getting away from it. By this I mean a temporary escape, totally getting out of something you're trapped in is much more complicated and something which I think is as much based on luck as it is anything else. In what I am about to write I understand that choices are involved and yes I have sometimes decided to forgo what some might consider necessities in order to keep myself vaguely sane in the mist of poverty. I also understand poverty is relative and that my poverty is "middle class" in many ways and not as accute as the absolute poverty many suffer. I also appreciate I have had middle class friends and family to help me out at various points in life, people with slightly more resources sometimes. Anyway all the caveats out the way here I go.
1. Become an expert on public travel tickets and whatever happens keep your family railcard in date. If you are in the South East also get a Network SouthEast card so you can travel alone at a discounted rate. Learn the way zones and day tickets in your local area work. This type of info could be something that community noticeboards might be able to have or info that community workers may be able to keep hold of to share with people.
2. If anybody asks what you want for Christmas or birthday and you have a real love of art get them to club together and get something like Tate membership. For me getting this each year was one of my tickets to sanity. I knew if it got really bad if I could scrape the £13 quid together for a day ticket I could go and lose myself in the Tate Modern. I have used this as an example but English Heritage is another one which can be good. Get that as a Chrimbo prezzie or whatever and you are sorted on what to do with the kids sometimes if you fancy a day out. The good thing with English Heritage is if you have friends come and visit you have something to do with them that won't cost you extra money you can ill afford. Perhaps organisations in areas with lots of these types of things could provide weekly savings type things to allow people to spread the cost of these memberships and then run a series of trips for people including families, singles and older people through the year. Perhaps a group packed lunch could be put together to reduce the cost to each person on food for the day.
3. In terms of festivals and conferences and stuff there are a few different things:
a) as mentioned yesterday organisers of group trips could include ways to serve/ work and get your ticket for free in with the info
b) work out who you know who is going. You may be able to get a lift and if they know your situation and are going anyway they are likely to ask for minimal petrol money, if any. Alternatvely if you're doing public transport but know others are travelling from your area but don't have room for you see if i) they can take your child or luggage in their car and ii) if you can camp near them, (if appropriate), and share catering with them. This will cut down food costs for everybody.
c) If it's a conference where people are staying in hotels or something see if you can get some crash accomodation in the area. This can be done in various ways: 1) work out who you know in the area, 2) ask around if friends or family know anybody in the area or 3) get in touch with the organisers to see if anybody is offering crash accomodation to participants. If organising a group booking perhaps you could get info of crash accomodation as well as the usual hotel or b&b info.
d) If the group regularly goes to festivals where camping is an option how about asking people to donate their old tents (if still waterproof/ not got broken poles, etc) when they upgrade to the latest thing.
4) Remember restricted view seats are dead cheap and often actually give a quite reasonable view. Also group booking is your friend. Sometimes it's buy so many and get a ticket free, rather than using this ticket for the organiser or whatever what about giving it to somebody living below the MIS or reducing the cost on this basis.