In the harsh winter of 2018, a heart-rending event transpired in the life of Steph Capewell, a Sunderland-based social worker. A moment of joy turned into a poignant memory when her newborn daughter, Amelia, passed away merely after 12 minutes of birth. This exceptionally distressing happening, however, led to an act of charity that significantly aids impoverished young mothers residing in northeastern England.
Steph met another new mother in the hospital who was completely unprepared for her child’s arrival as she had not known she was pregnant. Struck by the woman’s lack of preparation, Steph decided to pass on the items she had initially procured for her own daughter, Amelia. From this generous action was born ‘Love, Amelia,’ a charity dedicated to supporting families living in poverty. With remarkable impact, it has provided assistance to 6,000 underprivileged children in the last year alone.
Capewell expressed the importance of each of these children’s lives, advocating that eliminating child poverty should remain a perennial goal for whichever party comes to power. However, it seems the political parties don’t share the same urgency. The Conservative party promised five voter-centric changes, and Labour published five key ‘missions’ and six pledges. Although these promises touch on burning issues such as immigration, there’s no mention of combating poverty.
In regions far flung from Westminster, like the north east, the repercussions of prevalent poverty are evident and deep-rooted. Recent research for the End Child Poverty Coalition laid bare that a minimum of 25% of children in 90% of the constituencies in the northeast live in poverty. Moreover, in areas like Newcastle Central, over 40% of children live in poverty. These figures provoked campaigners to call for the government meeting after July 4th UK’s general elections, to abandon the two-child benefits limit constricted by the Tories.
Even though Labour asserted that it doesn’t have the financial feasibility to terminate the cap, which would require £1.8 billion (€2.1 billion), lifting it would help 300,000 children escape the clutches of poverty.
The Tyne and Wear region is home to the football-passionate cities of Newcastle and Sunderland, as well as the sizeable towns of Gateshead and South Shields with the latter being one of the most impoverished in the UK. Various areas across Newcastle, including Arthur’s Hill and Kenton, are plagued by poverty. Interestingly, these deprived areas are often juxtaposed with the city centre’s sophisticated avenues such as Grainger Town, renowned for its chic Theatre Royal and trendy indoor market.
The neighbouring city, Gateshead, located across the Tyne river, shows indicators of struggle with an obvious commercial presence of pawnshops and shops like Cash Converters. Recently, a notable amount of pawned jewellery was on display for sale at H&T Pawnbroking, including two sizeable men’s rings inscribed with “Mum”.
The Barnardo’s charity operates a programme called Pause in the area with Kirsty Spencer at the helm. The initiative aids vulnerable mothers who have recurrent engagement with child services and have had multiple children taken into care. These women’s difficulties often encompass abuse, addiction, trauma, and financial hardship.
However, according to Spencer, securing funding for service provision is a significant issue. Initially, the Pause programme catered to 40 women across four regional local authorities, but now it only supports 17 women across six authorities. The workforce for Pause and the related Barnardo’s programme, Stepwell, has downsized considerably from 12 to merely three. Spencer acknowledges their services are critical, but the availability of assistance seems to depend on geographical location or “postcode lottery”.
Sunderland, a half-hour journey on the Tyne and Wear Metro, is where the majority of women Spencer assists live. The extent of poverty here is even more visible than in Gateshead. Despite last week’s international food festival adding vibrancy to the city’s dilapidated centre, signs of homelessness and public inebriation were evident around Market Square. The contrasting scenes were clearly apparent on High Street West, where one end attracted crowds for the food festival, while the other drew homeless men to Sunderland Community Soup Kitchen.
At Bridges Shopping Centre, a rugged, seemingly drunken man lumbered towards the counter of Esquire’s coffee shop. He courteously enquired of the manager if they “could do something for a homeless person”. The manager responded with gentleness, providing him with a comforting latte, a sandwich, and advised him where he could seek further assistance. The indicators of want in Hendon, a mere 15-minute walk from the town centre, were exceptionally pronounced as seen by the shuttered houses.
The correlation between impoverishment and other societal problems such as criminal acts is well-documented. The massive mobile metallic figure, Knife Angel, composed of 100,000 confiscated knives serving as a testament against violence, was showcased in Sunderland the previous week. A woman adorned in a conspicuous fluorescent vest was guiding a boisterous group of local school students around the imposing statue.
The woman was Tanya Brown, mourning the loss of her 18-year-old son Connor who fell victim to a knife attack in Sunderland in 2019. She highlighted the efforts of the trust established in honour of Connor that actively warns children, specifically those hailing from poverty-stricken areas, of the perils of knife crime.
Having already endured the worst imaginable suffering, she expressed her inability to aid her lost son. Yet, she affirmed her determination to protect the children currently under her care.