Mind The Gap was formed in response to calls for local level anti-poverty work in the border areas from NIAPN & EAPN Ireland members. (NIAPN & EAPN ireland Lisnaskea Cross Border Policy Roundtable 2002). Mind the Gap uses a bottom up approach based on community work principles of equality, empowerment and participation. We seek to establish a collective approach to anti-poverty work.

We seek to:

• Enable and support people experiencing poverty and groups working against poverty and social exclusion to maximise their skills and support them in influencing policy and decision-making in the North of Ireland, the Southern border counties and beyond.
• Bring people from different marginalised communities together to develop collective strategies.
• Promote the development of a cross-border Anti-Poverty Forum to address poverty and social inclusion, and to engage with relevant structures, processes and bodies on an all-island basis.
  

We are committed to developing this approach throughout the border and to date have…

• Supported the development of a North West Anti-Poverty Group
• Built on our contacts in the Central Border region and supported the development of a Central area Anti-Poverty Group
• Facilitated 4 Cross Border Seminars over the last 12 months on the issues of Poverty & Social Exclusion, Health and Fuel Poverty
  

Our recent conference in the North West entitled “Closing the Gap”. This event was held in Radisson SAS Roe Park Hotel, This cross border event and heard directly from people experiencing poverty and it will address the issues of fuel poverty and consumer debt.

According to High Frazer there are many reasons for strengthening the voices of the marginalised:

"The sixth reason for encouraging cross border community development work is to strengthen the voice of the marginalised in cross border policy making.  We've already heard how the two governments have been pursuing a certain amount of separate development coming up to the border and stopping but there has also been an increasing amount of links between government departments and agencies; between local authorities; between health boards on a cross border basis and I think that will increase and it will begin to determine the policies that happen. In that policy making process the voice of the marginalised needs to be in there and influencing the sorts of things that happen on a cross border basis.  It will not happen unless there is effective cross border community development already going on.”

Hugh Frazer – Derry September 1997 source: “A Shared Vision of the North West” Conference 1997 Donegal CWC and NW Community Network