Pathways out of pandemic

The Coronavirus outbreak and measures to control it have transformed many people’s everyday lives.  Schools were closed and examinations were cancelled. People were instructed to stay at home, not even venturing out for food or medicines. And some people lost their jobs or had a pay cut, just as costs were going up.

Aims

The project aims to develop practical solutions to support people and communities which have been hard hit by measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.  They include:

• People who were advised to ‘shield’ and are now re-engaging with everyday life;
• People on low incomes.

What we will do

The project involves a mix of desk research, interviews with people affected by the pandemic and round table discussions.

Outputs

Project outputs include:

• Reducing the impact of Coronavirus on Poverty in Wales
• Lessons from lockdown: the experience of shielding

Impact

Our reports have had extensive media coverage appearing on BBC Radio Cymru and ITV Wales.

The reports have also been discussed in the Senedd and we are pleased to see that the Welsh Government have already taken on some of our recommendations, for example expanding the support provided to digitally excluded learners and committing to a benefit take up campaign.

Our work on shielding was also referenced in the draft Budget for 2021/22

The project is kindly funded by The National Lottery Community Fund.