People describe living in poverty in Barrow

Those are the words of Hayley Stevens, a 35-year-old who is a full-time carer for her dad and lives in poverty in Barrow. 

She is one of a group of 'community commissioners' who spoke to an audience of people from the council, education providers, the NHS and BAE about the prevalence of poverty in the town. 

The new project called the Barrow Borough Poverty Truth Commission brings people living in poverty into contact with stakeholders in positions of power and influence in Barrow. 

Gaia Bale is one of the people who spoke at the event (Image: Kate Love)

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 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. 

The event is a chance for people on low incomes to speak to people in positions of power and influence in Barrow (Image: Kate Love)

23-year-old Gaia Bale is homeless and is trying to get a social house.

Her battle with mental health is something that is a common thread among people living on very low incomes and means that she cannot find work.

She said: "It is not just about money. It can affect people’s mental health really bad. I tried to take my life quite a few times because of it - luckily I am still powering through it all. It would mean a lot if people didn’t judge.

"I know a lot of people who are in poverty. Maybe there isn’t enough job opportunities for people. Just not enough resources to get proper information for what to do. At first, I didn’t even know I was in poverty. It is also my father and my mother who were going through poverty and that is the reason we moved to Barrow because that is a cheaper place to live." 

A large audience came to The Forum to hear stories from the community commissioners (Image: Kate Love)

Ms Stevens agreed with Gaia: "A lot of people are looked down on because of mental health. People shouldn’t be having to survive. 

"There are people living outside shops and that is not something I remember. Poverty isn’t a life choice. To me, it is personal trauma starting from childhood. Once you get into it you can't find a way out of it at all. People with mental health issues are probably the ones who suffer the most."

READ MORE: Barrow Poverty Truth Commission launched this week

Sue Bradley, 48, is a volunteer worker at the St Mary's Hospice on Dalton Road and cares for her husband. 

She said: "We lived on £40 a fortnight after food and keeping a roof over our heads. We haven’t got the money to do what we wanted to do. You can’t afford to buy that, you can’t afford to buy this. Most of us on the Poverty Truth Commission are in the same situation.

"There is absolutely no way of getting people out of poverty. There is nothing around. It has gone downhill. Look at all the empty shops that are in town."