Over

Founded in 2022, a different kind of consultancy aimed at eliminating, not just alleviating, poverty.

[Ewan Gurr @EwanGurr]

Christmas Day, a day of hope and joy for many, is for others 24 hours wrapped in blankets, plagued by grief, hamstrung by poverty or aching from hunger.

If anyone but anyone understands, it is the homeless Palestinian refugee after whom the day takes its name… ✝️

[Gordon Matheson @Jedirev]

I don't say this with any festive glee, but @EwanGurr 's Advent Calender of stories of misery keeps me a bit more grounded in this season of faux cheer.

Worth a follow. 🙏

[Funeral Link @funerallinkscot]

Tomorrow, Caledonia Funeral Aid are joined by @PovertyAlliance and Down to Earth tomorrow in an online summit asking the important question: ‘Are existing benefits for bereaved families in Scotland sufficient?’

@CaledoniaCrem | @EndFuneralPov

Register 👉🏼 https://t.co/FIVnX5o9yV

[Over @OverScot]

This is positive news. This time last year, Dundee & Angus was Scotland’s busiest @TrussellTrust foodbank. That is now no longer the case as foodbank use drops by 10%.

@Isla__Glen | @Evening_Tele

[Over @OverScot]

A fortnight ago, @OverScot attended #TheBigConversation in Bellshill with many working on the frontline in @ChurchScotland Priority Areas. What was valuable was the array of experience including from people experiencing poverty who were in attendance. 1/4

[Over @OverScot]

“People experiencing poverty are fed up of well-off folk writing biographies about them from a position of affluence. It is time for a redefinition of poverty rooted in direct experience, not remote assumption.”

@EwanGurr | #TheBigConversation
@ChurchScotland Priority Areas 2/4

[Over @OverScot]

“I am nervous when people segment poverty saying it is only political, or only economic, social, material, or physical, emotional, spiritual or mental. Poverty is rarely singular but almost always multi-faceted.”

@EwanGurr | #TheBigConversation
@ChurchScotland Priority Areas 3/4

[Over @OverScot]

The @ChurchModerator, Rev. Sally Foster-Fulton (@SallyFosterFul1) attended all proceedings, injecting her own wit and wisdom from a life alongside people experiencing hardship but also listening intently. She is currently on a sabbatical provided by @ChristianAidSco. 4/4

[Over @OverScot]

@EwanGurr @churchscotland This time last week, @OverScot attended #TheBigConversation in Bellshill with many working on the frontline in @ChurchScotland Priority Areas. What we valued most was the array of experience from the floor from people experiencing poverty, who were in attendance. 1/4

[Ewan Gurr @EwanGurr]

Looking forward to @ChurchScotland’s #TheBigConversation this Thursday and Friday to discuss ‘Unearthing the Roots of Poverty’ on behalf of @OverScot and spend time with some excellent practitioners working with hard-pressed folk in hard-pressed communities across Scotland.

[Over @OverScot]

Although destitution is rising across the UK, @JRF_UK research shows “Scotland’s relative position has improved.” Our founder, @EwanGurr wrote for @TrussellTrust’s Dundee & Angus Foodbank about how poverty-alleviating levers are being used in Dundee.

https://t.co/AQHVHI2uo5

[Ewan Gurr @EwanGurr]

Whilst @TrussellTrust reports record-breaking foodbank use in Scotland, it is worth remembering that this trend is not exhibited everywhere.

@Isla__Glen’s piece shows Scotland’s busiest foodbank is no longer Scotland’s busiest foodbank due to alternative approaches to hunger.

[Trussell Scotland @TrussellScot]

🧵 🚨 More than 128,000 emergency food parcels were provided by @TrussellScot food banks between April & September. 

This is the highest number of parcels our network has ever distributed in 6 months. 

And it will get worse – unless the UK & Scottish Governments step up. ⤵️

[Over @OverScot]

Although destitution is rising across the UK, @JRF_UK research shows “Scotland’s relative position has improved.” Our founder, @EwanGurr wrote for @TrussellTrust’s Dundee & Angus Foodbank about how poverty-alleviating levers are being used in Dundee.

https://t.co/AQHVHI2uo5

[NEF @NEF]

"The debate so far has been stuck in this binary keep benefits low, keep pressure high - that's just not a very effective way of helping people."

@PollardTom spoke to @CommonsWorkPen about the problems with low levels of social security

[Over @OverScot]

What would you do to support people experiencing poverty if you were Scotland’s First Minister?

@EwanGurr wrote a reflective piece for Scotland’s busiest foodbank one week on from @HumzaYousaf’s Programme for Government pledges at Holyrood.

https://t.co/XWU6PKdSko

[Over @OverScot]

Tremendous @Guardian editorial here:

“Research shows that most people believe benefit claimants should be able to afford haircuts, celebrations and internet connections as well as food and utility bills. The public is not, by and large, out to punish benefit claimants.”

[Patrick Butler @patrickjbutler]

Good @guardian leader on extreme poverty: the law should make essentials affordable https://t.co/XIdadyZe2d

[Ewan Gurr @EwanGurr]

In 2021, Dimuthu moved his family to Dundee from Sri Lanka so his wife could finish a Masters. To sustain her and his 20 m/o son, he does care work but a big team left him last in line for overtime. He wept with gratitude when helped by foodbank volunteers. #FacesBehindTheFigures

[Over @OverScot]

Thank you to the @Daily_Record for highlighting our work alongside a piece
by @S_A_Somerville about support for low-income families provided through @SocSecScot in which @EwanGurr said: “The Scottish Child Payment is the difference between people coming to the foodbank and not.”

[Over @OverScot]

“In June, the foodbank reached its eighteenth birthday and although we value the time entrusted to us by our selfless volunteers and food given by sacrificial donors, we do not celebrate our ongoing existence.”

Thanks to @Isla__Glen & @Evening_Tele.