About the project

Covid Realities was a research project which looked into the experiences of parents and carers on low incomes during the pandemic.

From February 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe, causing suffering for millions. Here in the UK, we have had one of the highest death tolls in the World.

But it’s not just the virus that’s the problem.

Lockdowns saw the closure of businesses, local services and schools, causing serious economic hardship and stress. This crisis affected everyone, but some more than others.

We know that people in low-income communities are more likely to become unwell.

We know that BAME communities have a higher risk of becoming seriously ill or dying from COVID-19.

And we also know that families living with children, and carers of children, face particular challenges, especially when they are trying to get by on low incomes.

But there is still more we need to find out – especially about how families living on a low income will manage.

Covid Realities project was led by a research team from the universities of York and Birmingham, working in partnership with the Child Poverty Action Group.We wanted to better understand the struggles of daily life for low-income families, and help policymakers make the right decisions.

We also looked to help other researchers with their work in this important field, bringing together findings from a number of related studies and helping share key research messages.

We published our findings in our book 'A Year Like No Other: Life on a Low Income during COVID-19' available online

We worked closely with Child Poverty Action Group to track the social security response

The benefits system changed considerably in response to the pandemic. But the system was also under new scrutiny because of the rapid escalation of new benefit claims. Working with the CPAG's database of contact with welfare rights advisers, CPAG have published regular briefings setting out key issues on the social security response.

We established a collective of 14 research projects with a focus on poverty and families

All of whom generated data which has a bearing on experiences of poverty during the pandemic. These 14 research groups met monthly and worked together to synthesise and collate findings, and to share experiences of researching during the pandemic

Broader support for the research community at a remarkable time for us all

We wanted to provide a supportive space for researchers of poverty during the pandemic, and to create opportunities to explore difficult ethical and methodological questions. This was facilitated by a popular webinar and blog series.

We conducted economic modelling

Working with economists at CPAG we drew out findings from our participatory work to see how they map onto the larger population, exploring the changing depth of poverty for families during this time.

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