Our Norwegian member Kirkens Bymisjon has recently presented its report on child poverty titled “Talk about poverty.” The publication is structured in two sections and includes in-depth interviews with 17 young adults (16 – 29 years old) who grew up in poor surroundings, and 20 social workers from seven municipalities in Norway. The first section concentrates on the children’s stories, which offer insights on how poverty had affected their childhood. The second part focuses on best practices, initiatives and services provided at local level to engage with and support low-income families. To avoid creating stereotypes about child poverty, the participants were recruited from diverse gender, ethnic and geographical groups.
The findings show that growing up in impoverished families affected everyone differently. Some young adults succeeded in building a more financially stable future for themselves through good education and jobs, others experienced health issues and problems at school, work and in their personal lives. Factors such as openness, cross-sectional cooperation, early intervention and dedicated staff were found to reduce shame and increase consciousness about economic inequalities.
“Talk about poverty” is unique because it presents the perspective of low-income family youths which according to UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child are the real ‘experts’ on the issue and have the right to be heard and listened to.
To know more about child poverty in Norway, we encourage you have a look at the full publication in Norwegian.
© Kirkens Bymisjon