End Poverty Edinburgh
Holding the Baton
End Poverty Edinburgh is an independent group of citizens formed in 2020 to raise awareness of poverty in Edinburgh, influence decision-making and hold the city to account. It was formed during the latter stages of the Edinburgh Poverty Commission as a legacy group to hold the baton in a movement to end poverty in Edinburgh.
End Poverty Edinburgh has three core aims:
- Engaging with the Council, the Edinburgh Partnership and others, from the outset to share their wealth of experience.
- Holding those who have the power to account by influencing decision-making and providing advice and guidance.
- Working with other groups and organisations working to tackle poverty in the city to lend our support and share their experiences.
About Us
End Poverty Edinburgh includes people with a diverse range of experiences including people with lived experience of living in poverty and citizens who care about poverty across the city. We have around 12 members who share a common goal that in order to make change, citizens must be involved and listened to from the outset.
What we do
End Poverty Edinburgh has an important role in helping the City of Edinburgh Council and other partners to direct their focus and provide feedback on decisions that are made. Independently, the group meets once a month and are currently focused on engaging with key partners in the city to influence policy and practice change. Our areas of focus come from our experiences in the city including the importance of accessible information and advice, fair employment and changes in food insecurity responses, to name a few.
Why we matter
We are a small group of individuals who believe in participatory democracy – being involved in and influencing the political decisions that can potentially affect the lives of thousands of Edinburgh citizens. We don’t claim to have all the knowledge or lived experiences but we can see the very real and negative impact that poverty is having on the lives of people in Edinburgh and want to help to change this for the better.
How we are supported
The Poverty Alliance supports the End Poverty Edinburgh group by acting as a critical friend and chairing End Poverty Edinburgh meetings. The Poverty Alliance also acts a key link between the group and the Poverty and Prevention Team and the City of Edinburgh Council who support the group by attending meetings and through providing information and opportunities for sharing our work.
How you can help
Individuals: We would welcome contributions from anyone who wants to have an input into making Edinburgh a fairer, more inclusive city for all. You don’t have to have experienced it to see/know that poverty exists and is impacting on growing numbers of Edinburgh citizens.
Community Groups, businesses & organisations: Let’s work together to make our voices and opinions heard and our ideas for improvements and delivery turned into reality to help those who really need it.
Contact us
If you have any questions about End Poverty Edinburgh including how to get involved and ways to support the group, please get in touch with Steven Drew and David Reilly at the Poverty Alliance.