Nothing about us, without us, is for us

Hull Poverty Truth Commission

Project summary

The Challenge

The HPTC seeks to answer the question, ‘What if people who struggled against poverty were involved in making decisions about tackling poverty?’

The Approach

Connecting people experiencing poverty with civic leaders and building trusted long-term relationships to address poverty.

The Outcome

Sharing power is creating transformative change for systems, policies and practices, making a difference in the lives of people experiencing poverty.

Lead academics

Funded by

Project partners

Poverty Truth Network

Community Commissioners

TJ, JD, Julie, Kirsti, Sarah, John and Dena.

Civic Commissioners

Mike and Julia, Hull City Council; Erica, Public Health; Paul, Humber Trust; Jenny, Mind; Julian, Freedom Centre; Dave, Department for Work and Pensions and Debbie, Changing Futures.

Consortium of 13 VCSE organisations, including the Hull Poverty Truth Commission facilitators

Pippa, Forum; Kate, Timebank; Karen, Groundwork Yorkshire and formerly Andy, Citizens Advice Bureau.

Y-Pern

The Challenge

We’re only vulnerable if you choose to make us vulnerable.

Community commissioner

The challenge was how to tackle experiences of poverty in the city of Hull. In Poverty Truth Commission models, the story of poverty may arise out of an individual experience, but that experience is often shared with others, and as such, addressing the issue will benefit multiple people. 

After research through an advisory group, initially made up of Hull City Council, Public Health and the University of Hull, the Poverty Truth Commission model was chosen because they are set up for the community commissioners to identify the critical issues that create or compound experiences of poverty.

In 2019 when our journey began Hull was ranked the fourth most deprived local authority in England (out of 317) in the Multiple Deprivation 2019 (IMD).

In 2021 when the HPTC began to develop Hull had one of the highest proportions of child poverty in the country, with 33.4% of children living in relative poverty, as compared to only 5% of local authorities identified as having a child poverty rate of over 30% (DWP 2021). 

Hull Poverty Truth Commission evaluation

The Approach

The first Hull Poverty Truth Commission (HPTC) identified new pioneers, the community commissioners, who called for change in systems that did not meet their needs. They worked with their newfound unexpected allies, the civic commissioners, the people with some power and influence in decision-making who also saw the need for change. This process was supported by the facilitators, people from the voluntary sector consortium whose commitment, skills and experience created collaborative engagement between the two sets of commissioners to build trusted relationships to identify solutions.

Monthly meetings were held over two years, convened by the facilitators. Initially, community commissioners shared how they encountered stigma and unhelpful systems. During this time it became clear that civic commissioners were often frustrated by the constraints they felt when wanting to make changes. 

During the project, the group met, shared, chatted, and built long-term relationships based on trust, commitment, and mutual respect between the community and civic commissioners, facilitators and us as evaluators, valuing everyone’s unique perspectives and contributions.

The results and changes were seen at all levels, individual, community, organisational, policy and system.

The themes

The community commissioners chose three themes before the civic commissioners joined the discussions:

  • navigating services and systems, including attitudes, cultures, criteria with a movement towards more compassion and less stigma.
  • cost of living, including working poverty, food, housing, transport, and other essentials. 
  • access to healthcare including mental health and how that provision should look. 

Dr Gill Hughes and Dr Juan Pablo Winter evaluated the unique two-year-long journey using Transformative Participatory Evaluation, built on the values of Participatory Action Research. Its foundations align with the ethos of the HPTC to amplify often unheard voices. Based on the approach of the HPTC and the Ideas Fund which operate a ‘flipped university model’ (Hughes and Knight 2023), with more equitable community-led approaches, the evaluators began to conceptualise how the elements fuse to create needs-led participatory practices, which shift power and work towards transformative systems change.

The Impact

The Hull Poverty Truth Commission led to improvements in:

Cost of living.

  • Local authority housing tenancy agreements were reviewed. As a result, good carpets and floor coverings will not be removed at the end of tenancies therefore new tenants will not have to purchase new carpets, exacerbating experiences of poverty.
  • The tone of letters including letters from the supported housing team, was amended. Schedules of work will be provided so that tenants know what is happening.
  • A review of direct payments will take place through task groups.

Access to healthcare, specifically mental health.

  • There is better communication between  Mind and the mental health crisis team through the establishment of a new direct line so that Mind has easier access to crisis practitioners.
  • Due to increased funding, there is a higher number of Mind staff members to answer the phone calls. 
  • A mental health working group is established and will host an event to promote a better understanding of mental health services, specifically around how to access them and what is available.

Navigating systems and services.

  • Community commissioners stated how difficult it is to know what is on offer to alleviate poverty, such as fuel vouchers and navigating services. Therefore, a booklet was developed containing details about many organisations in the city offering support.
  • Forum CIO will host a lived experience worker. The worker will amplify the voices of those seldom heard to develop good practice in co-production.
  • A Kindness Charter is being developed to ensure people who use services and those who provide them, work to be kind and understanding in encounters. 

The University of Hull evaluators identified the major achievement was culture change, which unfolded throughout the process with a commitment to collaborative working. At the beginning of the HPTC process community commissioners spoke about the stigma they encountered from experiencing poverty and feeling unheard. By the end of the process, the community commissioners expressed that they experienced trust and felt heard in the process, which was part of this major cultural change.

This is an important turning point for addressing issues and jointly identifying solutions that work for both people experiencing poverty and address systemic issues within organisations. The key focal point is recognising that the process is as important as the product.

Commitments have been made towards system change, which required power to be shifted to ensure that people who experience poverty will be part of the decision-making process to challenge and change the current situation. Some of the changes relate directly to the residents of Hull, others and/or organisational, policy and system change, and some across the range.

The evaluation of the first Hull Poverty Truth Commission included a report, a co-produced animated film, a filmed account of the Awakening event in July 2024, and an exhibition in Hull city centre, curated by the community commissioners.

The future

  •  HPTC commissioners' message for future commissioners is to take time to build relationships and be open to change.
  • The first HPTC was completed in July 2024 however, the commissioners and facilitators feel that this is just the beginning. The project has inspired a major cultural shift to ensure that people who experience the impact of decisions should be part of the decision-making process.
  • The University of Hull evaluation shows how a ‘new business as usual’ is unfolding and speaks to the statement that the Poverty Truth Network embraced: "Nothing about us, without us, is for us. The changes are unfolding as part of a longer-term process.
Top