Coping with poverty

THE Dorset Echo has recently highlighted the significant numbers of local families living in poverty.

This is no surprise, except to visitors to the area who see only an apparently prosperous place.

When Dorchester Poverty Action Group (DPAG) was set up by Churches Together in Dorchester almost 20 years ago, it was because so few local people realised that there was real poverty in their midst.

Since the millennium, poverty is spoken of freely and the great efforts made by charitable agencies, campaigners and, more recently, government action, began to make a difference.

But it has been impossible to keep ahead of the fast-changing economy.

The media is full of the financial crisis worldwide and is generating anxiety about mortgages, rents, savings, the cost of fuel and food.

The big issue is suddenly not: 'how can we help those on low incomes?' but 'how will we manage when our costs are so high?' In other words, our individual fear is growing and we are starting to believe that things can only get worse and however hard we try we will all become poor.

Right now we should not panic but consider altering lifestyle: manage with less, budget for each essential cost, stop waste, share with others and stop borrowing.

If we do these things, we will help ourselves and have less reason to fear the future.

Many people have never learnt how to budget their money to ensure that bills can be prioritised and paid and there is a need for teaching what is now called 'Financial Literacy'.

DPAG is organising a short seminar in January to find out what is being done here and what still needs to be done.

The solutions may sound simple but how hard we each find it to wean ourselves away from our material-filled lives.

Those who know how must start to make changes now and help others to learn how to do so, too.

This will help not only ourselves as individuals but the local community too.

When small changes are made with concern and care, they join together until the effect is amazing.