Hartlepool poverty truth commission

What if people who have directly faced poverty were involved in the decisions relating to addressing issues that keep people trapped in poverty?

This is the question we wanted to explore to establish Hartlepool’s Poverty Truth Commission. 

Developing relationships encourages wisdom to be released. Real solutions to poverty can be found by working together. This approach can have profound and lasting effects on the people involved. The Poverty Truth Commission provides a space for those who play key roles in civic and business life in the Borough to work alongside those whose voices and insights are rarely heard in seeking to find common solutions, over an 18 month period.

What could it do for Hartlepool?


Hartlepool has experienced increasing inequality across the Borough, while the Council has faced huge challenges from continuous and sustained reductions to local authority and wider public sector budgets. At the same time, demand for services and support has continued to rise, putting further pressure on the resources available to local communities.

Poverty continues to have a significant impact on families across Hartlepool. People face difficult choices about heating their homes, paying rent and buying essentials for their children, with the North East experiencing some of the highest levels of child poverty in the country. Rising living costs, changes to National Insurance and inflation have placed further pressure on family incomes.

In recognition of these challenges, Child and Family Poverty in Hartlepool was identified as a critically important, cross-cutting issue. The Commission provided an opportunity to explore what could be done to ensure that the wealth, investment and opportunities coming to the Borough provide real and lasting benefits for people experiencing entrenched poverty.

A key part of this was understanding how people who live with poverty every day could become genuine stakeholders in shaping the future of Hartlepool. Over its first 18 months, the Poverty Truth Commission brought together people with direct experience of poverty and those who play key roles in civic and business life, creating a space to share experiences, challenge assumptions and work towards common solutions.

The History of the Poverty Truth Commission

The Poverty Truth Commission approach was first developed in Scotland, with the first Commission launched in 2009. It grew from a belief that the wisdom, experience and understanding of people who had struggled against poverty were vital in making decisions about poverty. The approach soon spread, with Commissions established in places including Glasgow and Leeds, and communities across the UK asking, “What if we did a Poverty Truth Commission around here?”

Hartlepool’s Poverty Truth Commission began in October 2023, bringing this approach to the Borough. Following months of preparation, the Commission was officially launched in May 2024. Its membership brought together people with direct experience of poverty alongside people in senior civic and business roles, recognising the value of both lived experience and professional expertise. Over its 18-month period, Commissioners built relationships, shared experiences and explored the realities of poverty in Hartlepool, with the aim of creating lasting change in how the Borough understands and responds to poverty and inequality.

The Poverty Truth Commission Network itself grew from the work of Faith in Community Scotland before becoming an independent charity, the Poverty Truth Network, in 2019. Since the first Commission in Scotland, the approach has continued to grow, with more communities developing their own Commissions and putting people with lived experience at the heart of conversations about poverty.

Establishing our commission:

We primarily focused on building relationships and supporting a group of civic and business leaders alongside a group of Hartlepool residents with lived experiences of poverty and disadvantage. The two groups spent time getting to know each other, developing their understanding of the values and components of a Poverty Truth Commission, and preparing for the Commission’s launch. This phase continued for approximately six months.

Our First Meeting

Our first community commission meeting was held in November 2023. This was our first ‘getting to know you’ session and learning more about the Poverty Truth approach. We looked at some of Hartlepool’s statistics around Poverty and began to put a face and some meaning behind them.

Together, it was important for the group to understand how poverty can impact someone. We did a ‘Head, Heart and Hands’ exercise to look at how Poverty can affect someone, including their mental health and physical wellbeing.

The group divided into three groups to focus on different areas of the body:

Our Second Meeting

In December 2023, we held our second community commissioner’s gathering. During this session, we took some time to review our previous meeting, including some of the challenges that individuals living in poverty in Hartlepool are faced with. In this session, we collectively chose three issues to focus on which were bills, food and the cost of living crisis.

In three groups, we explored these issues in more detail, looking at how they might affect people, what people prioritise and how it impacts their lives. From what was discussed, the three groups began to write letters to a person in power i.e. Rishi Sunak or the Managing Director of Hartlepool Borough Council.

Our third meeting- 17th of January.

We have a growing number of people living in Hartlepool, taking the opportunity to use these Poverty Truth Commission meetings to articulate their lived experiences, issues and solutions to poverty and inequality within Hartlepool.

During this session, we started thinking about our Poverty Truth Commission launch event, what that would look like and how our members want to be represented. Members voiced that they want to make a lasting impact and impression on those who attend and want to show that people in Hartlepool are bigger than their poverty. We started thinking about unique and creative ways to represent lived experience voices and stories, including ideas like live music, theatrical performances and powerful testimonies. Commissioners want to utilise local talent and showcase the knowledge, skills and expertise that local people possess.

The hope is that this event is the start of lasting and meaningful partnerships between civic and business leaders and our community commissioners, to work together to look at local solutions to identified issues.

Over the first few months of 2024, the Hartlepool Poverty Truth Commissioners worked hard to plan and rehearse the official launch of the Hartlepool Poverty Truth Commission, which took place on the 15th of May 12-2:30pm at Ye Old Durham’s Social Club, St Aidans Street TS25 1SN. Commissioners were eager and excited to showcase their own stories and the realities of living in Hartlepool and struggling to get by. 

Commissioners spent time working on telling their stories in a creative and unique way, they wanted to make an impact and show civic and business leaders that they are more than their poverty, they have skills, knowledge, expertise, they are hardworking, dedicated, and active members of society, who keep Hartlepool going. 

The launch featured special performances, sketches, music, and art to highlight the stigmas surrounding Poverty, the lived experiences of living in Hartlepool and how people in the community can work alongside those with power and influence to start making positive changes in the borough. 

Hartlepool Poverty Truth Commission: The Official Launch Event

On the 15th of May, Wednesday, we hosted the launch event for the Hartlepool Poverty Truth Commission. After six months of planning, dedicated Hartlepool community commissioners produced the launch to shed light on the realities of life in Hartlepool and the challenges faced by those living in poverty.

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Civic and business leaders within Hartlepool were invited to the launch. This collective gathering was an opportunity to hear about their expectations, answer any questions regarding the Poverty Truth approach and think about what they can offer the Commission.

There was a willingness to work collectively with people who have direct experiences of poverty within the town and together embark on a journey to fully understand the nature of poverty, gain a clearer understanding of some of the underlying issues that create poverty and explore creative ways of addressing them.

There was an interest in developing their understanding about how local responses to the issues faced can impact people’s lives and there was an appetite to work with people in the community to ensure local decisions have a positive impact.

Thrive facilitated an initial meeting to identify areas of work and establish working group arrangements. From April 2024 to April 2025, monthly commissioners’ meetings were held to build relationships, support working groups, encourage one-to-one meetings, and plan a closing event. The goal is to embed the Poverty Truth approach.

Our first full gathering 10/07/24

The Hartlepool community came together in a display of solidarity and determination to address the pressing issue of poverty in our borough. Civic and business leaders, including council members and headteachers, worked alongside community commissioners with direct experience of poverty at our first full commissioners gathering, creating an inspiring atmosphere of collaboration and shared purpose.

The session was organised to allow attendees to get to know each other, find common ground, and identify three key areas of focus for the Poverty Truth Commission moving forward. Participants were divided into seven groups, each dedicated to a critical area: housing, community spaces, universal credit, council tax and debt deductions, crime and anti-social behaviour, accessing services and mental health, and food insecurity.

Each group pitched why their area should be prioritised, showcasing the understanding, passion and commitment of our community members. The discussions were rich with insights, highlighting the diverse challenges faced by our residents and the innovative solutions we can work towards together.

We extend a huge thanks to everyone who attended and contributed their voices, experiences, and ideas. Your participation is vital in driving meaningful change in Hartlepool. Together, we are stronger, and together, we will create a brighter future for all.

Working Groups

It was decided between the commission that Housing, Accessing Services and Community Spaces were the key priorities that Hartlepool Poverty Truth Commission would take forward, in three separate sub groups.

Our working groups

The Commission initially focused its work across three key areas: Accessing Services, Community Spaces and Housing. While housing remains an important issue for Hartlepool, work in this area was placed on the back burner initially, as government policies and legislation made it difficult to tackle many housing issues at a local level, allowing the Commission to focus its efforts on Accessing Services and Community Spaces.

Community Spaces

The group explored the importance of safe, welcoming community and green spaces where people can meet, connect and feel part of their neighbourhood. Members looked at neglected spaces and considered how they could be improved to benefit local people and strengthen communities.

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Accessing Services

The group explored the barriers people face when accessing local services, from complex processes and communication to feeling unheard or misunderstood. Members used their own experiences to identify where services could work differently and more effectively for the people who rely on them.

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