Young Voices Were Part of the WPAC Tackling Poverty Assembly
Making youth involvement visible
When we talk about tackling poverty and building stronger communities, young people’s voices must be part of the conversation.
At the Wrexham Poverty Action Collaboration (WPAC) Tackling Poverty Assembly, young people were represented through St Joseph’s School, TCC’s Youth Leaders Programme and Young Carers.
Their involvement is important not simply because young people attended, but because their participation connects directly with the wider approach being developed through TCC’s youth organising work.
Youth voices and lived experience
TCC’s Youth Assemblies programme gives young people opportunities to identify the issues that affect their lives, share their experiences, listen to one another and develop ideas for change.
That work is not separate from the wider work of WPAC.
It is part of the same approach.
At the heart of WPAC is a simple principle: lived experience should help shape the decisions and systems that affect people’s lives.
Young people have their own experiences of poverty, financial pressure, transport, education, housing, mental health and access to opportunities. Ensuring those experiences are heard is therefore an important part of understanding poverty across Wrexham and North East Wales.
The participation of young people at the Tackling Poverty Assembly represents a direct link between TCC’s youth organising work and WPAC’s wider community organising programme.
Recognising the contribution
The Assembly brought together more than 70 people from a wide range of organisations, community groups, people with lived experience, campaigners, elected representatives and partners.
Among those represented were young people from St Joseph’s School, TCC Youth Leaders and Young Carers.
Rather than allowing youth involvement to become an easily missed part of the Assembly story, we want to make it clear that young people were there—and that their participation is part of an ongoing process rather than a one-off contribution. It is also fair to highlight that the majority of participants from Young Carers preferred not to have their pictures taken and published. We honour those requests.
From youth assemblies to community action
TCC’s Youth Assemblies work is particularly relevant to WPAC because it demonstrates how young people’s experiences can move beyond simply being listened to.
Young people identify issues.
They explore those issues together.
They consider what needs to change.
And they begin to think about how they can contribute to making that change happen.
Those principles mirror the wider WPAC approach of gathering lived experience, identifying common themes and turning those experiences into meaningful action.
The Tackling Poverty Assembly was another opportunity to bring those different strands together.
Young people are not simply the community of tomorrow.
They are part of our communities today.
Their experiences, ideas and aspirations should therefore have a place in conversations about poverty, inequality and the future of our communities.
Continuing the conversation
The WPAC Tackling Poverty Assembly was one stage in a much longer process.
The lived experience gathered through the Collaboration, together with the conversations and evidence shared at the Assembly, will continue to inform the development of community-led priorities and future conversations with decision-makers.
Young people’s voices are part of that evidence.
As this work continues, TCC will continue to look for ways to strengthen the connection between youth organising, lived experience and community-led action.
Because if we want to build communities where people can thrive, we need to listen to the people who will live with the consequences of the decisions we make today.
Find out more about the Wrexham Poverty Action Collaboration:
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