50 ways to fight poverty at the local level

1. Combined micro-credit with debt advice - see case study
2. Centre for self-belief – development of a training course for advisers/influencers to understand how self-belief can overcome all barriers to employment and enterprise
3. Affordable housing schemes
4. Internet trading scheme to generate income in deprived communities - see case study
5. Employment training programmes
6. Mentoring schemes and programmes for young people
7. Motivational trainings to encourage young people onto employment
8. Establish local credit union
9. Lessons on self-confidence and motivation for children
10. Literacy trainings for children in deprived areas
11. Scheme to improve employment opportunities for disabled people
12. Participation programme to encourage disaffected youths to become positively involved in their community
13. Research on engaging Job Centre Plus with third sector employment support providers
14. Community warden schemes
15. Develop business models for core poverty reduction activities
16. Childcare social enterprise
17. Volunteering programmes
18. Back to work grants
19. Research programme addressing barriers to employment and issues around transition to work
20. Benefits advice programme
21. Social enterprise support (e.g. business planning, organizational development etc.)
22. Focus on children in small pockets of rural deprivation
23. Fresh Fruit and Vegetable stall (social enterprise) outside schools
24. Community based well-being centre to address the links between mental well-being and employment
25. Time banking
26. Community projects to help build youth engagement and education
27. A community car wash enterprise employing young people from low income households, pays them wages and gives them opportunities to earn vouchers for driving lessons so that they can get jobs and access new opportunities
28. Use of private sector expertise to improve opportunities for the people in the areas they work in
29. Small business set up fund
30. Sustainable loan fund
31. Day centre for homeless and destitute people
32. Design a process for mapping poverty in a given area, to find out who are the groups / individuals that are most affected by disadvantage, inequality, illiteracy, unemployment, disability, etc.
33. Develop models of participation, and antipoverty approaches based on international development experience
34. Benefits advice for older people
35. Document examples of good practice
36. Design a toolkit/process for measuring the impact of anti-poverty action
37. Grow ‘local leaders’ in very ‘hard to reach’ estates
38. Develop local strategies for keeping money within the local community
39. Develop the local economy to bring more wealth to the local area
40. Look at indicators of local poverty, including life expectancy for different groups
41. Carry out research on neighbourhood churn
42. Look at ways of challenging negative images of deprived neighbourhoods
43. Set up a local laundry service as a social enterprise
44. Locally-run transport service for older people employing local unemployed
45. Run a campaign to identify and promote the role of political champions at local and national level
46. Look at procurement agenda to find ways of making it more directly relevant to anti-poverty action; particularly in terms of stretching the target area and making the most of procurement to develop local; resources and skills
47. Help long term unemployed people set up their own business
48. Focus on minority groups that are most affected by poverty and disadvantage and promote positive role models of young women in work and education
49. Develop access to the arts and culture for young people in deprived areas

Are there other specific activities or roles that community organisations can take on to address disadvantage in their area? Tell us about your experiences: