Poverty in the UK: The Lived Experience

Poverty is a root cause and effect of many social inequalities in the UK, due to the disproportionate impact on those living in poverty of their access to basic resources, services and opportunities. This important book covers a wide range of experiences relating to the everyday realities of living in poverty, providing timely and relevant insights for all areas of social work practice. Written by those with lived experience of poverty, each chapter dives into a key topic related to poverty in the UK, including parenting, schooling, housing and homelessness, mental health, cancer, disability, trauma and addiction, as well as discussions related to being in prison, a refugee, a carer, or care experienced. Taken together, these insights will help readers to develop and inform their appreciation of the challenges and potential solutions required to advocate for those in poverty. Offering bitesize formal knowledge on UK legislation and policy, alongside reflective activities which foster criticality and transformative learning, this book will be of great interest to professionals, academics and students in the fields of social work, social care, health, education, police work and media, as well as students and academics of sociology and the social sciences more broadly.