Manchester Poverty Truth Commission is setting out with this question: What if people who have directly faced poverty were involved in decisions about poverty? 
This is the question the Commission will be exploring when they launch in late spring 2019. You are invited to consider becoming a member of the Commission. All you need is to be able to tell your story, be willing to listen to others, and have the courage to build relationships with people from across the city. If you are interested, there’s a three-stage process for you to join.
1. Initial meeting – The Commission will come to you or meet you somewhere you feel comfortable to talk about the Commission.
2. Meet others – Meet regularly with other potential commissioners.
3. Join the Commission – The Commission starts in late spring 2019.
What to expect
January to March 2019
The Commission team will be out and about meeting new people who have direct experience of poverty. The Commission will be listening to their stories and telling them a bit about the Commission.
March to May 2019
The Commission will be gathering together people they’ve met over the past few months so that they can tell their stories, listen to one another, begin to explore what poverty means in Manchester, and eat together. This will happen once every week. Also during this time, the team will be meeting with civic and business leaders who might want to join the commission.
May 2019
The ‘grassroots’ commissioners (those with direct experience of poverty) and the ‘public life’ commissioners (civic and business leaders) will meet together at a public launch event. It will be an opportunity for stories of poverty to be told. Then all the commissioners will decide what three issues the commission will tackle.
June 2019 to July 2020
Working groups will meet to look at the issues in more depth. These will meet every month, and include both grassroots and public life commissioners. There will also be a number of full gatherings of all the commissioners throughout this period.
Summer 2020
There will be a final event of the Commission where its findings are presented.
Autumn 2020 and onwards
Organisations that have been involved in the Commission will seek to embed its findings within their practice. The Commission is sponsored by Sue Murphy (Deputy Leader of Manchester City Council) and Dr Ruth Bromley (Chair of Manchester Health and Care Commissioning Group) (tbc).
If you have a story to tell about them or are interested in being involved with the Poverty Truth Commission, contact Sinéad O’Connor, on 0755 331 0051 or email: [email protected]