Partnerships

Lived Insights were a founding member of this group from 2023, adding/bringing our insights and knowledge/experience of challenges our cities residents are facing and where its more marginalised citizens are finding access to support even more difficult in these challenging times

This organisation showcases wider perspectives outside of the UK as well as within the UK to reflect, contrast issues facing people experiencing poverty.

Their international work is such a rich source of seeking similarities, not differences to those people facing challenges which allows research to re-imagine a different way to approach issues.

We value their knowledge and international insights that we cant currently reach out to

We have collaborated with this organisation over a few years now, helping to deliver workshops, assisting in running events and attending a number of All-Party Parliamentary Groups.

We enjoy linking up with them, especially their media guru, Gavin, who helped us to co-create and frame our ‘Unheard Voices’ series of published stories with YorkMix, where we shared ‘system stories’ through the lens of individuals we have supported, rather than their personal stories which are sometimes dismissed by places as one of incidents rather than systemic failure which is more the reality of peoples struggles at points in their lives

This new approach we are continually developing will hopefully, in time, showcase how media currently communicates narratives through to ‘how it should’ which is essential in our view as they currently influence public opinions in a very stereotypical, negative framework that’s simply untrue of many peoples situations where they’re seen as the problem/issue

We’ve worked as one of the partners of this Collective around Poverty on issues since 2022, producing workshops, delivering at conferences, assisting and supporting regular campaigns for change to a host of Government policies and seeking improvements for better outcomes for people experiencing poverty.

Based all across the UK, this wide reaching group of organisations and individuals shine up every space they touch, from bringing humility, dignity and often laughter to the Houses of Parliament when attending All Party Parliamentary Groups(APPG’S) through to grassroots activism, they deliver insights that amaze people who might think they understand issues around poverty, yet once they’ve listened, then their attitudes shift quickly.

Proud to have supported the Collective to become an independent Charity(CIO) and have a peer led trustee Governance model after a year of upskilling/training new trustees from the in house organisations

WE are proud to be a partner whilst its going through a transitional period in 2026

We collaborated with Groundswell as part of their Listen Up project in 2023/4 to produce a Comic Relief supported film around homelessness which was showcased at their Annual TV spectacular.

This including a four minute precis of the work Groundswell were funded to deliver ,including podcast clips of our Lived Insights co-founder, Miles, interviewing Prince William on his vision for his Homewards Royal Foundation project.

The lead up to the live event included spending time filming on location in London with the BBC, meeting one of the founders of Comic Relief, Richard Curtis to discuss our work, through to getting VIP backstage passes a few months later for the live TV broadcast event and Miles even meeting Dr Who who was co-hosting the night!

A special thank you to BBC producer Catherine from Miles for her unwavering help from day one of this process through to nurturing our very nervous interviewer, Miles, when he met the future King for the afternoon of private discussions around his vision for Homelessness

A working partner with us through the APLE Collective partnership across the UK – a true lived experienced peer led organisation whom we collaborate with around poverty and associated themes

One of our early collaborations , we supported them in a project into DWP research, helping bring content together to inform Government and policy leads on some of the barriers and situations people face when accessing ongoing welfare help or for the first time.

This early piece of support actually gave us the appetite to delve deeper into Welfare reforms, and in Summer 2025, we were personally invited to join one of the five DWP collaboration committees looking at Disability reforms for 2026 onwards, led by RH Stephen Timms – the only lived experience led organisation in North Yorkshire invited to engage due to our depth of knowledge and community led research

Our committee – ‘The Right to Try work’ findings and suggestions were fed into the wider proposals presented to the House of Commons in 2026 _ which confirmed that the PIP(Personal Independence Payment) scheme was deemed unfit for purpose – so there is much work to continue to do and we are ready to support that in whatever format we can

Our original mentors, when we were a fag packet idea in heads through to where we sit today in 2026, we are grateful and value Kenny’s support.

Through connecting us into spaces, right the way through to us firmly establishing ourselves in the city as a leading lived experience led organisation, always seeking new opportunities and connecting with people we co produce with the Good Organisation on initiatives where possible to bring value to each others work

Being a critical soundboard for our ideas, some great, some awful, through to collaborating on numerous early days projects, like ‘A Place for me’,to us contributing research content towards the development of the online presence ‘Outside Influence’.
A significant highlight for us in particular was writing, collaborating and co-producing the ground breaking ‘HomelessBound’ publication – showing a new perspective on how homelessness should be viewed through the media and public lens.

A Lived Insights founder became a reporter for their Comic Relief funded ‘Listen Up Project’ for three years, reporting back on local issues and reflections from people experiencing homelessness and associated challenges.

Being able to connect up regularly with UK reporters from London, Scotland, Coventry, Manchester this was a brilliant way to share everyone’s valuable insights and peoples perceptions on how to address homelessness and was instrumental in how we collectively formed impactful, powerful articles, media pieces, audio links to a UK wide audience.

Working in this collaborative way taught Lived Insights some valuable learning for our own development in how to inform changes to those that hold the levers of power and influence to begin the reduction of people facing housing crisis, intervention to truly support those facing them.

This opportunity also allowed for personal growth for Miles, re energising his love for writing creatively, bringing creative visual art ideas in, collage, poetry, to demonstrate feelings of desperation for those drowning in the darkness as a pose to dry written content which very few digest in the same way.

An outstanding organisation we’re proud to to have supported in the way we did.

Miles has been invited back to support a National Homelessness Event in October 2026 and to be a key part of the delivery team

Miles from Lived Insights worked with Groundswell from 2021-2024 as a regional reporter on issues around homelessness. He was selected, alongside another reporter, to invite Prince William to a private podcast event in London in 2023 where the day was spent informally chatting about experiences and situational circumstances on homelessness, to support the development of the vision Prince William had to create his own Organisation – Homewards.
The day was a brilliant opportunity to truly demonstrate the situations people face, often through no individual fault, simply life’s challenges that everyone could face at any time, grief, loss of employment, relationship breakdowns to name just a few.

‘I left that discussion truly feeling heard and believing that the Prince would act on the commitments he shared with us privately’ (Miles)

We keep in touch with the development of this initiative and watching it grow is impressive, truly backing up what Miles said above is alive

We worked alongside Imogen on the development and implementation of York’s 2025 Drugs and Alcohol strategy for the city utilising our own depth of research data gathered throughout our housing resettlement project findings from 2024, our other research work in the city during the last couple of years

We continue to develop and build our strong relationship, having jointly bid for a handful of research projects in 2026, so we’re hopeful to continue this strong collaboration to find solutions and progress for housing instability and solid foundations for our residents and wider

An excellent forward thinking partner for us between 2024-6, collaborating around research into understanding Poverty, exploring areas and delving into Government policy deliverables, specifically for people experiencing disadvantage, disabilities and exclusion.

We worked closely with them in Summer 2024 on their ‘Dear Prime Minister letter’s campaign’, writing and contributing one of the fifteen letters which were presented to Keir Starmer on his hundredth day in office at Prime Ministers questions, sponsored by Cat Smith MP. Our letter focussed on the concerns around lack of housing and aspirations of young people facing a future of uncertainty due to the economic forecasts

This ground breaking opportunity to be part of these letters was instrumental and took us being invited back to Parliament in Feb 2025 to spend time With Baroness Sherlock looking deeper into matters around Poverty, around DWP support and Child Poverty work

This movement has taken a breather in 2026 so we still maintain those valuable connections to the organisations and individuals for future research and evaluation work

Lived Insights is instrumental in supporting the development of this interactive online platform, integrating digital voice from our research bank of knowledge.

An inspiring research partner and mentor support for our own organisational development, in particular Alan, who brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to us on research methodology.

We partnered up initially with them in 2024/5 on their North Yorkshire Food Insecurity strategy delivery, providing the York element of the research findings and are currently, in 2026 developing training support for the North Yorkshire area around effective food models

We seek invitations to join new projects as they emerge around food and social issues, which in turn allows us to expand our reach across the wider North Yorkshire communities.

We continue to work with Thrive to understand more on delivering qaulitative outcomes, campaigning on issues, specifically around Poverty, and keeping sustainable in the face of the financial landscape challenges whilst keep fighting for the things our communities are passionate about passionate about.