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The “devastating” challenge of living in poverty has been highlighted at a conference held by De Montfort University Leicester (ÐßÐßÊÓƵ). 

Experts, charity workers and campaigners gathered on campus for a series of workshops and discussions which laid bare the real and growing financial struggles felt across Leicester. 

In a presentation which gave a full and frank account of the level of poverty in the city Ivan Browne, Professor of Public Health and Social Determinants of Health at ÐßÐßÊÓƵ, said that the issue was most affecting children. 

He said: “More than 50% of Leicester's children are affected by deprivation in Leicester. And while the national average for the number of children under 16 in low-income families is 19.1%, in Leicester it’s 39.5%. 

“But it isn’t necessarily an employment issue. The actual number of people in work in Leicester is quite high but the salaries are not.  

“People are working but their families are still fighting with poverty. Poverty affects how you feel, how you are, where there is hope. You are in a position where the efforts you make to get out makes it even harder.” 

The event drew guests from across Leicester, from organisations like Citizens Advice, Action Homeless and Leicester City Council, along with representatives from some of the city’s schools, like Spinney Hill Primary School. 

It was the first in ÐßÐßÊÓƵ’s refreshed Civic and Community Engagement programme, designed to bring together a wide range of voices: community organisations, schools, businesses, students, and academics, to explore the current picture of poverty in Leicester. 

The event also supports ÐßÐßÊÓƵ’s wider commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – for which ÐßÐßÊÓƵ is the Global Hub Chair - by focusing on how we can make Leicester more inclusive and resilient. 

Along with presentations and break-out sessions, there were several panel discussions, including one chaired by Melissa March, head of income and partnerships at Citizens Advice Leicestershire. 

As part of the panel, Catherine Stretton, Headteacher of Spinney Hill Primary School, highlighted the ways in which people in poverty find it harder to recover from debt than others. 

She said: “The things we don't see are the ways in which it is so hard for families in poverty to access support and challenge their situation. They might not know how to fight like people in more affluent areas of the city know how to fight. Who is their voice? It's so much harder to know what to ask for.” 

Vicki Gutteridge, chief executive of Citizens Advice Leicestershire, said people in poverty were often prejudiced against. 

She said: “It's a stigma - people think poor people are making bad choices but this is not the case. You make each choice because you have to and while money makes money, debt works exactly the same way.”