The inter-agency meetings bring together community organisations from across the city with the aim of improving communication between service providers.

Jane Greig from the Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association of NSW raised the issue of poverty, asking how poverty could be reduced in the community.

Barbara Penninga, a coordinator with Griffith Neighbourhood House Community Centre, wanted to create more awareness about poverty in Griffith, reduce stigma and explain what poverty actually looked like.

“At Neighbourhood House we deal with poverty a lot, especially with Carevan,” Ms Penninga said.

“It’s a very big issue, we see more and more of it in Griffith.”

Ms Penninga described a culture of poverty which people become trapped in and children are born into. 

“You can’t just eradicate poverty. it’s not just ‘not having food’ or ‘not having school shoes’.

“Poverty is also in your mind, in the language that you use.

“For me, it is important to educate my daughter so she can achieve, which leads to a job and money, that’s important for our whole family.

“What’s important for people in poverty and generational poverty, is relationships. They all rely upon relationships.”

The cornerstone of the poverty culture was an emphasis on relationships with family and the community and a common reliance, whereas mainstream culture was more likely to place greater value on achievement than relationships. This fundamental difference was believed to account for why breaking the poverty cycle was so difficult, and why it needed more than a financial approach. 

“There’s no one quick fix for people who want to get out of it,” Ms Penninga said.

“I attended a Bridges Out of Poverty workshop a month ago and it was really interesting.

“There were loads of teachers there and they have a really different view about poverty than housing does, or community services does, or doctors have, so everybody has their bit to see what poverty does but there’s no holistic approach.”

Poverty will be an agenda item for the next three inter-agency meetings leading up to Anti-Poverty Week in October.