Children's experiences of poverty - Housing

Last summer Children North East invited 1,200 children and young people, 100 in each North East Local Authority, to photograph their lives and what poverty looked like where they live. They took over 11,000 photographs on disposable cameras.

We asked each group to tell us about their pictures and what they meant to them and group them into themes. 

There were more photographs about housing than any other theme.

The children and young people said their homes had thin walls so you could hear what was going on next door. Their homes were small and many had to share a bedroom with siblings or parents. Most of them felt too embarrassed to invite friends back home, so they spent much of their time outdoors.

The photographs from the project will be the central focus of a national conference about child poverty at the Sage, Gateshead on 23rd November hosted by Children North East and the Webb Memorial Trust. The pictures will then tour the region.

The project was funded by the Webb Memorial Trust and managed by Children North East. The purpose of the project is to bring children and young people’s experiences to the regional debate about what should be done for the 144,000 children (1 in 4) living in families below the official poverty line in the North East.