Solidarity With the Poor

Tuesday January 14 2014

At the end of this month, the seventh annual Poverty and Homelessness Action Week will see churches across the UK giving, acting and praying in solidarity with people who are pushed to the edge of our society.

Running from 25 January to 2 February, the week includes Homelessness Sunday and Poverty Action Sunday, which have been marked by UK churches for many years. The week challenges Christians to take notice of the poverty, exclusion and injustice around them - and to speak out. It supports the work of three Christian charities: Church Action on Poverty, Housing Justice, and Scottish Churches Housing Action.

Churches can get involved by using free resources available on the website. The materials highlight stories from the work of the three partner organisations - including challenging stigmatisation, organising night shelters, and providing affordable homes - and encourage churches to tackle poverty and homelessness in their own communities.

Niall Cooper, Director of Church Action on Poverty, says: “Channel 4’s Benefits Street programme shows why we need to stand alongside people in poverty. The storm of abuse it has whipped up is based on prejudice, on the part of both TV commissioners and the general public. Churches are part of the communities where benefit recipients and homeless people live, and know the realities behind sensationalist media coverage. Action Week is a chance for us to make those voices heard.”

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