Lewisham is a great place to live, with a strong and diverse community. Yet, despite being situated in the heart of London, on the doorsteps of one of the wealthiest cities in the world, tens of thousands of Lewisham residents live in poverty.
There is a wealth of evidence of the damage poverty does. We know child poverty is associated with lower educational achievement, and it prevents kids from fulfilling their potential. We know poverty is linked to poor physical and mental health, and to shorter life expectancy. We know poverty is often inter-generational, with people growing up poor being more likely to suffer from poverty later in life. And we know that high levels of inequality; with significant wealth alongside poverty, is a cause of significant social ills. A fundamentally unequal society can never be a good society.
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