Challenge Poverty Week: supporting households across the North-East

Supporting residents at Empower Aberdeen

One of the highlights of the week was attending Empower Aberdeen, a city-wide advice and support event that brought together around 60 organisations under one roof.

The event gave local people the chance to speak directly with organisations offering support on a range of issues, including energy, housing, money, health and wellbeing.

Our team spoke with more than 50 residents about ways to reduce energy bills, make homes more energy efficient and access financial support. These conversations showed just how important it is that advice and support are easy to find and easy to access.

Events like Empower Aberdeen also create opportunities for organisations to work together, helping ensure people are connected with the right support when they need it.

Taking part in the Community Conversation on Poverty

We also attended the Community Conversation on Poverty, organised by the Perth & Kinross Anti-Poverty Taskforce.

The event brought together organisations from across the public, private and third sectors to discuss local experiences of poverty and explore ways of improving support for people who need it.

Our Home Energy Scotland North East advice centre manager delivered a presentation on fuel poverty and some of the challenges people face when accessing support. This included raising awareness of the additional barriers experienced by people living in rural communities, where higher travel costs, limited services and harder-to-heat homes can make managing energy costs more difficult.

The event gave us a valuable opportunity to share knowledge, learn from partner organisations and discuss how stronger referral pathways can help people access support sooner.

Michael Marley, Advice Centre Manager at Home Energy Scotland North East, said:

"Challenge Poverty Week highlighted the importance of organisations working together to support households facing financial hardship. By strengthening partnerships and improving referral pathways, we can help more people access the support available to them and make a bigger difference in our communities."

Looking ahead

While Challenge Poverty Week has ended, the issues discussed throughout the week remain a reality for many householders across the North East.

At Home Energy Scotland, we will continue providing free, impartial advice to help people reduce energy costs, improve home comfort and access available support. We will also continue working with local and national partners to help tackle fuel poverty and make sure householders know where to turn for help.

We would like to thank everyone who spoke with us during the week, including residents, community groups and partner organisations. By working together, we can help more people access the support they need and build stronger, more resilient communities.

If you're an organisation supporting householders and would like to find out more about working with us, get in touch with your local Home Energy Scotland partnership team.