Poverty Awareness Training 1

Poverty Awareness TrainingThe recent first one-day training course on Poverty Awareness was delivered by Mary Maclean, Fas Fallain Manager, who sits on the Poverty Alliance Scotland Board of Directors, and volunteer Eleanor Macleay, ex-Employee Director for NHSWI, who sits on the Poverty Action Group.

The primary aim of the training day was to raise awareness of the nature, prevalence and impact of poverty within the UK and in particular Scotland, while making specific references to the Western Isles as well as identifying key poverty issues and key groups affected by it.

The course enabled participants to identify ways in which they could provide an effective service to people who experience poverty.  The aim of the day was to increase knowledge and understanding of the relationship between poverty and inequality and how it impacts on individuals lives.

The course was well attended. The group came from different organisations and all participants actively participated in the group exercises and group discussions. The existence of hidden poverty on theIslandswas acknowledged as was the need to work around myth busting and stigma. Overall feedback from the group was extremely positive and the course was repeated on 28th February (see above).

The Western Isles Poverty Action Group was formally established in 2012, growing out of an informal network of groups and individuals who attended an NHS funded Poverty Awareness course, which was run by Poverty Alliance Scotland.  Since its conception an Officers Group, under the Community Planning Partnership, has been established and  a localised Poverty Awareness course developed.

For further information please contact: Mary Maclean, Fas Fallain Manager, tel. 01851 762017.