The voices of Hartlepool

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Background

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Despite the tireless work to mitigate the impact of poverty on children and families in Hartlepool, numbers continue to rise at an alarming rate.

Voices of Hartlepool is a local response to positively address the issues that people who are struggling to get by face and improve their lives. It is acknowledged that many difficulties are exacerbated by specific policies and cuts to local funding. This piece of work will develop opportunities to raise awareness relating to national policy and external contributing factors, but its focus will remain local.

Hartlepool’s community voice is intended to:

• Ensure the reality of people’s difficulties remains central to developing appropriate responses. The statistical scale of the issues at hand can be accessed and this group will ensure the lived reality of the statistical data. It will bring invaluable insight and knowledge to inform priority concerns and possible solutions in collaboration with the community.
• Ensure ‘real-time’ responses to issues raised and safeguard the ability to adapt to current changing landscapes, meeting local needs and continually assessing impact.
• Provide opportunities to inform local practice, assess how effective local responses are and if they (a) are meeting the need and/or (b) can be scaled up/replicated in other areas.
• Continually encourage the development of relationships with other organisations and potential stakeholders, preventing duplication of work streams and targeting resources.
• Identifying our civic and business commissioners – who can we work with to address the priority issues?

Some of the issues raised: 

• It’s expensive to be poor in Hartlepool
• Childcare costs are unaffordable – families (particularly grandparents) are filling this gap.
• Local cash points charge to withdraw money
• Costs to move household rubbish (if people don’t drive) and waiting times for goods to be collected.
• The hidden additional costs associated with the school day – trips/uniforms/special days are becoming too difficult to fund and cope with.
• Using corner shops is expensive – transport to supermarkets (which previously was deemed as a cheaper way to shop) is an additional cost and onerous for people with limited mobility or health needs.
• Mental health and wellbeing is becoming more problematic.
• People are worried and anxious about paying bills, getting by and/or surviving.
• Inability to access services.
• Living in inappropriate and poor housing in areas where anti-social behaviour is prevalent is a common theme and is raised more significantly by single people who feel like they have very little choice concerning housing. 

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Lived reality quotes

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At a very local level, we had agreed to tackle the issue of food insecurity. This decision came after several sessions with community members, where everyone had the chance to voice their ideas and thoughts through open debate and discussion.

We have a dedicated core group of people in the West View area of Hartlepool with a long-term vision to create:

• A holistic community shop in West View, offering services chosen by the community and affordable food and provisions.
• To use additional green spaces in West View to grow food.

In the short term, we decided to:

• Develop the Bread-and-Butter service.
• Explore the potential of the West View Advice and Resource Centre community space.
• Establish a town-wide, resident-led voice forum.

Since making these decisions, we’ve been actively volunteering at the Bread-and-Butter service, building relationships with service users, transforming the community garden space, and gathering and capturing the voices of people in the area.

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Work to date

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Community Garden Space

In Hartlepool, Thrive Teesside and the Voices of Hartlepool have been working hard to transform a community garden space in West View since November 2022. They started with a small, neglected patch of land overrun with weeds and nettles. Since then, it’s blossomed into a garden with multiple planters, a pop-up greenhouse, and a shed stocked with tools. They’re even growing potatoes, radishes, carrots, onions, and more, all thriving and flourishing.

Journey of the community garden in photos

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Community Garden Open Day- 12/08/24

Thank you to everyone who joined us at the Voices of Hartlepool Community Garden Open Day on Monday! It was a fantastic success— We met new faces, heard different perspectives from kids and adults, and connected over our shared love for the West View community! We had a full on day showcasing the garden, painting wheel trims for a special project and volunteering for the Bread and Butter Thing.

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Eco Club- West View Primary School

Since June, children from West View Primary School have been joining in the fun, volunteering at the garden weekly. They’ve started tidying up the space, planting new greenery, and are eagerly looking forward to painting and decorating the planters to make the area more child-friendly.

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The Voices of Hartlepool project aims to gather insights from the children about what it’s like living in the West View area and how the community could be improved to better meet their needs. This initiative is not just about creating a garden; it’s about fostering a sense of community, teaching valuable skills, and giving kids a voice in shaping their neighbourhood.

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The Voices of Hartlepool have been connecting with others who live in Hartlepool. They are actively involved in the Hartlepool Poverty Truth Commission and participate in wider initiatives and conversations that aim to address the issues that keep people trapped in poverty.

Keen to ensure Hartlepool residents have a voice, the group are linking with others to think about how best to communicate with the wider community and will be attending the Hartlepool Place Partnership session with Sport England.

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If you would like to find out how to get involved in this initiative, please contact Tracey Herrington at traceyherrington@thrive-teesside.org.uk

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