Do you want to influence the decisions that affect poverty? Then join us and Get Heard

Get Heard Scotland (GHS) helps people affected by poverty get their voices heard on the policies and decisions that most impact their lives. The programme is coordinated by the Poverty Alliance and funded by the Scottish Government as part of its Child Poverty Delivery Plan.
Put simply, it aims to find out what is working, what is not and what people would like to see changed to help reduce poverty. Most importantly, GHS should have a real impact on policy, and on the lives of people living in communities affected by poverty across Scotland.
Who should get involved?
We want to hear as wide a range of voices and experiences of poverty as possible to ensure that local and national responses to poverty reflect the reality on the ground. We are particularly interested to hear from individuals with experience of poverty, national organisations and community-based organisations.
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Individuals with experience of poverty
We want members of any communities affected by poverty – as well as people who work in or with those communities – to get involved in GHS, particularly people from the priority groups identified in the Child Poverty Delivery Plan (families with children under 1; large families; minority ethnic families; families with a disabled child or parent; young mothers, and lone parents).
It is vital to us that the widest and most diverse possible range of voices are heard, and we are particularly keen to ensure that BME groups and organisations, young people, women’s organisations, LGBT+ organisations and disabled people are involved in GHS.
National and regional organisations
Our national and regional partner organisations help us ensure the widest possible reach of the programme. Our partners use their networks to run discussion groups that feed into GHS, and help us promote the programme in order to get a diverse range of voices heard.
Community-based organisations
We want community-based organisations that work with people who are experiencing – or are at risk of experiencing – poverty to help us ensure that the people that they work with have their voices heard. Community-based organisations have the knowledge, networks and know-how and are vital partners in our mission of ensuring people experiencing poverty can have a real and meaningful say in the policies that affect their lives.
We want to hear from you!
Get Heard is all about you organising discussions about what needs to change in your community to help address poverty in Scotland.
Become a partner
We are always looking for more national and regional partners to come onboard and ensure that we have a truly Scotland-wide reach. To discuss becoming a GHS partner email David Reilly, Communities and Networks Manager, at david.reilly@povertyalliance.org
Latest publications from Get Heard
2021/22
March 2022: Full report - Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2022-26: Voices from our communities
March 2022: Briefing - Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2022-26: Voices from our communities
2020/21
August 2021: Weathering the Storm: Get Heard Scotland 2020/21 summary report
February 2021: Briefing: Get Heard Scotland in Inverclyde: An overview of initial discussions
February 2021: Briefing: Get Heard Scotland in Renfrewshire: Voices from the third sector
2019/20
May 2020: Our Lives, Our Solutions: The annual report of the Get Heard Scotland project 2019/2020
May 2020: North Ayrshire Summary Report 2019/20
May 2020: Highland Summary Report 2019/20
May 2020: Midlothian Summary Report 2019/20
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