Bridges out of Poverty helps organisations working with people in poverty facilitate their understanding of the resources needed to transition out of poverty.

Staff from ng homes have recently received training and taken part in a workshop delivered by the charity that offers a unique understanding of economic diversity and can give individuals, families, and communities new ways of solving problems.

Bridges out of Poverty’s hope is that in the not-to-distant future poverty will no longer be viewed as economically inevitable. Their vision is to develop communities where every person can develop their own future story and be actively engaged in making it a reality.

Their work deals with the causes of poverty by transforming people’s lives as well as tackling issues of human exploitation, the absence of human and social capital and the current political and economic structures.

Amreeta Kaur, executive director of Bridges out of Poverty, said: “We are extremely passionate about the work that we are doing and are excited when other organisations are open to looking at the issue of poverty through a different lens.

“We truly believe that bringing people together across class lines creates energy for change. Changes take place at the individual, organisational, and community levels.

“Once people form relationships of mutual respect, they are much less likely to abandon each other. Organisations that utilise the Bridges model are accountable to their customers.

“Communities that utilise the Bridges model are committed to building social capital and prosperous, healthy communities for all. To this end it was fantastic working with ng homes on the day.”

Tony Sweeney, head of organisational development for ng homes, said: “It was great for our staff to have the opportunity to learn more about the Bridges model and to hear first-hand stories from people who have been personally affected by poverty and who are doing something positive about it ably assisted by Bridges out of Poverty - it was both powerful and moving.

“The workshop gave us the opportunity to come together to explore a really challenging subject and to learn about tools and techniques that we can use to support us to make a positive difference in our community.”

Also in attendance at the training day was John Fury, chairperson of ng homes, who said: “We often see people affected by poverty in our community and by working with Bridges out of Poverty to train staff and board members we can develop new approaches to tackle the issue.”

@ng_homes