The ARC NWC CoREN (Community Research and Engagement Network) held an online, lunchtime seminar in February, led by Citizens Advice, Blackpool, looking at the Cost of Living crisis through the voices of the residents of Blackpool.

The session was led by Tracy Hopkins, CEO of Citizens Advice and Conal Land and Helen Gwilliam who work in research and campaigns for the organisation. They presented their recent work surveying and interviewing some of their clients about their experiences of living through the cost-of-living crisis.

The presentation offered a real insight into the stark reality of struggling with finances, and how this can have a devastating impact on both mental and physical health. Almost 100 people from across the North West coast region attended from a wide variety of organisations.

Claire Selby, Stakeholder Research and Engagement Network Manager for ARC NWC, said: “The fantastic work of Citizens Advice Blackpool shows how important it is for communities to be able to influence, create and be involved in research which will have a direct impact on their lives. The presentation today will hopefully make everyone who attended think about how they can work with their local communities further to help shape any work and services which they are involved with.”

Tracy Hopkins said “The voice of our clients is often seldom heard, so putting them at the heart of this research is very important for us. Being able to track their experience over time and really get beneath the underlying issues has provided us with evidence of how people are experiencing poverty.  Understanding how a cycle of persistent poverty has been exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis and poor health means we can advocate for our clients and develop services that provide the support they need.  Being part of the COREN has helped us communicate the findings of this research and given us further incentive to develop community-based research with our clients”

The reception to the event was incredibly positive while recognising the massive issues behind the research. One attendee to the event stated it would help them “raise awareness of some of the challenges people in our community are experiencing and enable us to be part of a collective ‘voice’”. Another attendee stated “absolutely devastating research and superbly presented” while another reported that it was “brilliant work – a real insight into the impact on people’s lives which can only be gained through this type of work. This tells us the reality behind the headlines.”

For more information on the work of Citizens Advice, visit https://www.blackpoolcab.org.uk/

Get involved with the CoREN by visiting their webpage here https://arc-nwc.nihr.ac.uk/get-involved/coren/