Greater Manchester Poverty Action (GMPA) believes that responses to poverty should focus on getting more money into people’s pockets. That’s why one of their strategic priorities is to support local 
efforts to boost household income and financial resilience.
For many frontline organisations helping people dealing with poverty, information on where to refer people for appropriate support and advice is not always easy to find. The Money Advice Referral Tools (MARTs) aims to help these organisations and professionals by simplifying the process and putting the key information at their fingertips.
The MARTs do this by guiding you through a conversation with a person about their financial difficulties so that you can confidently:
- Refer them onto an organisation which can help them maximise their income, and/or
- Refer them to an organisation that can provide advice/help on issues that may have caused their financial difficulties, or made those difficulties worse (such as their mental health)
Money Advice Referral Tools have now been developed for six boroughs in Greater Manchester: Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan.
These have been created in partnership with local councils, foodbanks, other voluntary groups and people with lived experience of poverty. While the MARTs are aimed primarily for use by organisations and professionals, you are also free to access and use these as an individual.