Child poverty in Liverpool is on the rise.
There are in total around 1.05 million children who are living in poverty in the north of England, with more than 50,000 of them located in and around Liverpool, according to Action for Children.
Historically children in this region have less advantages and opportunities for growth due to the north south divide.
Over time if left unattended, poverty can become generational. Austerity and cuts to local services and benefits have meant that people have had less access to support, and increased the difficulty to escape poverty.
When children grow up in disadvantaged circumstances they develop at a slower rate compared to children in other areas where they are above the poverty line. This means that as adults they have less opportunities in life, meaning that they’re likely to remain in poverty.
They are also at increased risk of developing mental health problems. 75% of mental illness is onset before the age of 18, growing up in a poor household creates factors where anxiety and depression are rife.
Once again, this is not just a problem that will affect people when they are children. People who suffer from longterm mental health issues are twice as likely to lose their job than people who do not suffer mental illness.
To explain more on child poverty in Merseyside, Merseynewslive spoke to Stephen Yip, the founder of KIND.
KIND is a charity based in Liverpool that has been helping children and their families cope with poverty.
By Joseph Zebedee.