The Mission Fair ended with a "Cost of Living Summit" chaired by the Reverend George Mwaura. George reminded us of a quote from Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who said "There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in."
We started by trying to find out more about why people might be drowning... We heard from Fola Komolafe, the President of the Milton Keynes Community Foundation who told some helpful stories about people who are struggling as things get more difficult. We also heard from Ranjit Singh about the Vital Signs report, which is about the be launched. Katelyn Burns, a Mental Health Worker told us about the impact of poverty on mental health.
We then shifted attention to the question of what people are doing to "pull people out". Councillor Emily Darlington talked about what the Borough Council is trying to do. Ian Anderson, the Centre Manager for MK Money Lifeline talked about the important work that they are doing as a charity.
We also started a conversation about how we might go "upstream" to make a difference in the long term. Kevin Vickers, from Milton Keynes People’s Assembly Against Austerity, talked about politics and activism. Tom Bulman, who is a Citizen:UK organiser, spoke briefly about community organising, and how civil society might work productively together.
Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of time for questions, but we did record the session. David Chapman, who organised the event, is keen to put together a follow-up, so please watch this space...