"my children inheriting my poverty" - "every agency wanting the same papers. And more photocopies every time" - "days without bread are the longest days" - "constant pressure. It wears you down. Nobody prepared me for living in such harsh conditions" - "being old and living alone. I am sick. I am afraid of loneliness … I cry a lot but try to look calm and collected when I go out." - "stealing our future by keeping us out of touch with the knowledge-based society" - "what really wears homeless people out is time. Always waiting, always being on the go…" - "hard to talk about, but when I did start to talk to others I felt no different from them and I wasn’t embarrassed" - "waking up in bad housing conditions which saps the will to do anything" - "being undocumented, so for you I don’t exist" - "being paid regularly, but my debts still mounting up anyway" - "working full-time, but … not earning enough to make a decent living"

What we WANT

Shared political message

In order to build a Europe for all and end poverty we need political action NOW! The members of the NGO coalition are calling for

  1. A public debate on the causes of poverty and social exclusion (read more)
  2. Enhanced dialogue with people in poverty and anti-poverty NGOs (read more)
  3. A strong political legacy from 2010 (read more)
  4. Funding to match the EU Commitments to fight poverty and social exclusion (read more)

Read the Coalition’s demands for the outcome of 2010 in English - French

Specific demands

NGOs have also developed specific demands for the outcomes of the year in their specialised area. See the Coalition’s page.

Voices of People experiencing Poverty
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