Stuart GouldenWe’re keen supporters of the good work undertaken by the volunteers at Carecent at Central Methodist Church on St Saviourgate having written about the invaluable service they provide for York’s homeless on a few occasions. Six days a week, without fail, Carecent offers a welcome respite for those of us who struggle day to day, providing food, clothing, and fellowship in a safe, clean, warm and friendly environment.
Today’s Financial Times contains a great article about the centre and the often hidden side of modern day poverty in York, which is well worth a read. Of course, both poverty and philanthropy are deeply rooted in York’s heritage. In 1901, Seebohm Rowntree, son of chocolate factory owner Joseph, published Poverty: A study of town life, which chartered the lives of the poor in the city and in 400 odd pages simultaneously challenged commonly-held perceptions of the social issue and threw the reader into a new way of thinking about how it could be alleviated – if (according to Rowntree) only society cared enough.
A year later Winston Churchill told an audience, “I have been reading a book which has fairly made my hair stand on end, written by a Mr Rowntree … It is found that the poverty of the people of [York] extends to nearly one-fifth of the population …” The same number (13½ million people, or 22% of the population) are living in households below the low-income threshold across the UK today.
Tracey Simpson-Laing, Labour deputy leader of City of York council, told the Financial Times that people often express disbelief that economic insecurity should continue to exist in the city, amid “all those big Georgian houses and tree-lined streets”.
The article goes on to speak to Julia Unwin, chief executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, who describes how the issue is being compounded by the policies and rhetoric of the coalition government.
Read the full article here.
