Two women from Thrive Teesside, a grassroots organisation dedicated to tackling poverty and inequality, are amplifying their communities’ voices on a global stage.
Julie Easley, poet and facilitator of the Thriving Women group, and Tracey Herrington, Thrive Teesside Manager, have travelled to Geneva, Switzerland to present powerful testimony and incredibly important GRIPP (Growing Rights Instead of Poverty Partnership) submission at the United Nations as part of the 2025 UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) review of the UK.
Julie and Tracey are on a mission to make sure the voices of people facing poverty, especially in Teesside, are heard by decision-makers around the world. They are presenting findings from a new report created by GRIPP, highlighting the harsh realities of inequality and the urgent need for policy change.
Thrive Teesside specifically raised issues related to the Right to Social Security within the GRIPP coalition report, providing an in-depth analysis of how barriers continue to worsen poverty in Teesside and across the UK.
“Teesside has lost much of its industrial heritage since the 1980s and continues to struggle with meaningful employment. The Social Metrics Commission Report 2024 states that the rate of poverty in the UK is now higher than at any point in the 21st century, with nearly one in four (24%) people judged to be in poverty. In the Northeast, the average is even higher at 25.4%.”
Julie Easley, whose poignant poetry captures the raw truth of living in poverty, will share creative testimony at CESCR 2025 meetings and events in Geneva. Thrive Teesside’s submission also includes poetry from Thriving Women members, featuring pieces such as When Will Humanity Win? which explore themes of exclusion, judgment, resilience, and systemic inequality.
“From Teesside to Geneva, and Poverty to Solutions. We are getting a grip on utilising the insight of the realities of people who are adversely affected by hostile policies. We are punching well above our weight and keeping Thriving women on the map. We are ready to speak out about the injustice of austere UK government policies” – Julie Easley.
Mandy Winter, from GRIPP and Thriving Women, also shares a message to the UN #CESCR2005 Review about the reality of living in Poverty in the UK.
The journey to Geneva marks a significant moment for Thrive, a charity that has spent years advocating for the voices of lived experience to be included in decision-making processes.
“We are excited about representing Teesside at the United Nations, being the voice for the lived reality of poverty and the sharp end of punitive social security policies. We hope we can hold the UK government to account and that they reverse the upcoming benefit reforms, remove the child benefit cap, and reinstate the winter fuel allowance.” – Tracey Herrington.
This trip to the UN represents many years of activism, relationship and partnership building, and campaigning on both a local and national level— a defining moment that puts Teesside’s struggles and resilience firmly in front of the world’s decision-makers.
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