31st january - 8 February 2009
PHAW is a unique, annual opportunity for churches, church groups as well as other groups, to raise the profile of poverty, housing and homelessness related issues within local churches and the wider community, including rural communities, towns and cities across the UK.
After the first ever Poverty & Homelessness Action Week in January 2008, the three partners behind the project - Church Action on Poverty, Scottish Churches Housing Action and Housing Justice - have been busy laying the foundations of PHAW 2009.
Our theme for PHAW 2009 is 'Voices from the Edge', in which a range of 'Poverty Monologues' directly drawn from stories by homeless people will be made available to participating groups, for them to adapt in theatrical productions.
In order to make it easier for participating groups to obtain the various resources required to run an event, the partnership has created a dedicated website, which we will use in future editions of PHAW.
Here is the link to the PHAW website
Please note that, at the time of writing - late August 2009 - the website is still under construction. We expect the resources to be available on the website by mid September.
Events for your Action Week could include:
a local poverty hearing hosted by a church or community project or a full day town/city hearing organised by several organisations.
The event could be stand-alone or part of a church service. Some Churches Together groups may wish to take the lead. The aim of the events will be to enable people living in poverty the opportunity to tell their stories, though advisers and intermediaries might also contribute.