Unity Is Strength with Poverty2Solutions

On the face of it, Patricia Bailey, Ruth Patrick and Dan Farley don’t have much in common.

One works at a train station in London, the second lectures in Social Policy at the University of York, and the third is a graphic designer in Stockport. Five years ago, however, they came together, united by their passion for social justice and their desire to put people experiencing poverty at the heart of decisions affecting them. Together with a handful of others, they embarked on a adventurous journey to create Poverty2Solutions, an ambitious funded project aiming to design solutions to poverty. Never did they imagine that Poverty2Solutions would still be alive and kicking nearly half a decade later. In an interview with Patricia,Ruth and Dan looked back at how the journey began and where they are now. This article is based on that interview.

In 2016, Ruth says she “hadn’t long finished my PhD. I had been in a long-standing relation with Dole Animators and had been inspired by work done by ATD Fourth World and Thrive Teesside”. She approached these three groups and, together with Dan, they started sharing their ideas about how to solve poverty: Poverty2Solutions was born. Later, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation got involved and the coalition gained impetus. Ruth and Dan believe that different ingredients made the recipe for Poverty2Solutions successful.

First, as already mentioned, is their commonalities: they share the same vision and common ambition to create a fairer society. They believe that in many ways, the existing structure, “the government and different schemes don't do what they are supposed to do—or they make things worse”. Not the least deterred by challenges, Poverty2Solutions is committed to trying and ultimately get rid of poverty and completely change the way institutions work. 

Second is their diversity. Members are really different and bring different things. They don't always agree, but their shared values motivate them to be open and straight with each other and overcome disagreements. Over time they have built a relationship of trust to the point where “it feels like three families coming together as an extended family sometimes, where people who may not have lived experience of poverty but have got similar values and have a specialism to offer are sort of cousins”. These relationships make them stronger.

Third is their drive, readiness and determination. Dan, Ruth, and all the activists involved invest their time in Poverty2Solutions because they are passionate about the cause and believe in what they are trying to do. That drive and determination always pushes them forward and often emboldens them to be more ambitious.

Fourth is their willingness to tap into each other’s expertise. They learnt that they have different skills and that they can achieve a lot when they draw on one another's strengths. 

Last but not least is their camaraderie and sense of humour. They have got to know one another's idiosyncrasies, which helps appreciate the other, love their personality and know what will help each person feel most welcome.  Having a laugh together while working hard definitely helped them get on with each other and overcome hurdles.

Of course, external and internal challenges remain, and the size of the task ahead is daunting.  Poverty2Solutions is “trying to do really hard stuff and there's lot of headaches and heads scratching of how to move forward all together, making sure everybody can input how they want to input”. Remaining barriers include the challenge for people with lived experience of poverty to make their voices heard in policy debates. The abrupt transition to virtual meetings due to the Covid-19 pandemic has also been difficult to negotiate including being faced with the digital divide. But thanks to their common goals, diversity and energy, Poverty2Solutions is always up for a challenge and eager to forge ahead. 

The current work with Poverty2Solutions includes aiming to ensure that debt deductions from Universal Credit and legacy benefits are not drivers of hardship and destitution as a way to demonstrate that its possible and necessary to have lived experience at the heart of policy making. 

Due to time constraints and other commitments, Ruth and Dan are less active while continuing to be engaged with this innovative work with Poverty2Solutions. Ruth still supports in the background with facilitation and writing with her expertise in social policy. She also acts as an advocate for the coalition. Dan remains a key resource on the design front providing creative ways to engage everyone to fully participate and . Both are proud of what Poverty2Solutions has achieved. They continue to learn a lot and this inspires them in other areas of their work.  

Gwennaelle Horlait - ATD Fourth World and Poverty2Solutions