How we are tackling child poverty in Bromley by Bow
16 October 2008
The Campaign to End Child Poverty has published a report mapping the level of child poverty across the UK. It estimated that more than three quarters of children living near to the Bromley by Bow Centre live in low income families - not a direct measurement of child poverty, but a good indication. This is exactly the reason we place so much emphasis on helping families in this community.
The report contains data for every parliamentary constituency in the UK. In Poplar & Canning Town, the constituency that covers Bromley by Bow, the percentage of children living in low income families is put at a very high 77%. In neighbouring Bethnal Green & Bow, the figure is even worse, at 79%.
Child poverty sadly remains an everyday reality in Bromley by Bow. Child poverty in the UK has been linked to families’ low income which can be caused by ill-health, lack of education or social exclusion. As the Campaign to End Child Poverty have noted, poverty experienced during childhood can have lasting impacts and often sets in motion a deepening spiral of social exclusion, creating problems with education, employment, mental and physical health and social interaction.
The Bromley by Bow Centre has focused on helping families to escape poverty from the very beginning. One of our first projects was a nursery, offering local parents an affordable, quality childcare option, without which they would be unable to find work.
Nowadays, our work with families covers a huge range of areas, from health & wellbeing to advice and learning. This work is co-ordinated by our Children's Centre, working in close co-operation with the Health Centre and other colleagues.
For example, we offer emergency grants to families in poverty who need an item they cannot pay for, such as a fridge. Our welfare and benefits team helps people to access financial help they are entitled to, and work out employment options that could benefit them and leave their family better off. And our Family Learning project helps pre-school children and their parents learn together - vital in a community where literacy rates are below average.
This broad range of services means we can offer families the help they need, when they need it.
