A national event aiming to help strengthen the rural voice on poverty across the country is due to take place online later this spring.

Church Action on Poverty members have organised the online event Connecting & strengthening rural voices on poverty for May 21 at 10.30am to discuss ‘church and community approaches to rural poverty and build connections between communities’.

The Diocese of Truro funded the recently released ‘Pretty Poverty Report: Cornwall Rurality Matters’ document, an 18-month long research project led by Professor Tanya Ovenden-Hope, with researchers Victoria Brown and Elpida Achtaridou.A cross on a hill with blue sky behind

Paul Phillips, Diocese of Truro’s Social Responsibility Officer, will be attending the event along with others around the country including Churches Together in Cumbria,  South Lakes Poverty Truth Commission, and Dr Stephanie Denning of Coventry University, whose Hidden Hardship research explores hardship in the Cotswolds.

This will follow with group discussions and a chance to network and make connections to help strengthen voices of those experiencing rural poverty.

Paul Phillips said: “This is an opportunity to share and make connections across the country. We in Cornwall are not the only ones experiencing rural poverty. There are lots of other places around the country too. It is a national event and we want to connect those rural voices.

“It is going to be exciting. It is open to everyone and I would love to see many people attending.

“It is an opportunity to start connecting with other places in the country and share ideas, thoughts and resources.”

The Pretty Poverty report was taken to Westminster in November 2025 where Cornwall’s MPs were invited to share it with others representing rural communities.

The Pretty Poverty report can be found on the Diocese of Truro’s website here.

Connecting & Strengthening Rural Voices on Poverty is a free event and people can book here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/connecting-strengthening-rural-voices-on-poverty-tickets-1981728001800

A Hidden Hardship Devotional Study Guide has been created for Christians across the UK to engage with the issue of hardship. It comes from the research project ‘Hidden Hardship’ which examined rural hardship in the North Cotswolds but is written for Christians living in both rural and urban areas.