EFFORTS to reduce the number of people living in poverty in Barrow are being ramped up.

The first meeting between people living in poverty in Barrow and major business, education and local government stakeholders took place at The Forum. 

The Barrow Borough Poverty Truth Commission is a new project that aims to share the voices of people living on very low incomes with people in positions of power and influence. 

The people in the audience were named 'civic and business commissioners.' The people sharing their stories were called 'community commissioners' who have lived experience of poverty. 

The Mail: There was a large audience in The ForumThere was a large audience in The Forum (Image: Kate Love)

In September 2020, Barrow Borough Council declared a poverty emergency in the town. According to the estimates from the Office for National Statistics, there are an estimated 12,890 people living in poverty in private households in Barrow as of March 2021.

Figures from the 2021 Census show there were 67,400 people living in the local authority area, meaning around one in five people in Barrow are living in poverty. 

Poverty is defined as living in a household with an equivalised net household income, after housing costs, of less than 60 per cent of the median income.

In attendance were people such as Sam Plum (chief executive of Westmorland and Furness Council), Jane Scattergood (director of health and care integration at Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board), Helen Robinson (deputy head of Furness Academy) and leaders from BAE. 

READ MORE: A fifth of children in Barrow living in relative poverty

Coordinator of the project Kate Love said: "Over the past year I have been meeting with a group of nine people living in quite significant poverty in Barrow. We all get on with one another and we share our stories. They share their stories of poverty and how it has affected their lives."

She said that the community commissioners are speaking to 'people with power and money and influence to make change'.

She said: "They will all meet regularly for a year and work together to come up with ways to address poverty and its effects."

Many of the people who spoke volunteer to support others through charitable work.

Ms Love said: "That was blowing me away how much they are willing to give their time and help others when they are going through such hardship.

"One couple talked about living on £40 a week for 5 months while waiting for their Personal Independence Payment to be agreed."

Ms Love said that the scheme has worked successfully in other places such as Lancaster and Leeds.