A Labour Party candidate has spoke how she lived in poverty for two years and was forced into debt just so she was able to eat.
Portia Fahey is determined to help the communities she has first-hand experience with, including those living in poverty as well as others. The 27-year-old has been supporting food banks, donating clothes and creating opportunities for those who are struggling financially having been in the position herself.
The former Liverpool John Moores University student lived in poverty for two years as her job at the time as a city tour guide meant her only income was the tips she received. When “the economic model of the free tour collapsed” and tourists “started tipping less and tightening their budgets”, Portia’s take-home pay halved and as a result some weeks she had no other choice but “to get into debt to eat”.
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The history and english graduate told the ECHO: “Living hand to mouth like that affects you in every way because you’re in survival mode. Your brain is constantly whirling, thinking about what your move is when you only got pennies in the bank. I got quite thin very suddenly, started having regular panic attacks and became exhausted when I took on a night job on top of my day job.
“I also developed a cough from the black mould growing on the walls due to the lack of heating. But a massive issue was the shame I felt. Even though I physically changed and was distressed, I didn’t tell anyone how bad it was. That’s a part of my life I’m still coming to terms with.”
Portia has been working with different community groups to “create a safety net for those who fall on hard times”. The former receptionist recognises that the city “already has fantastic initiatives in the area” but argues they need more “support, recognition and the ability to work together so people have many places they can turn to for support for their needs”.
Earlier this year, Portia created and ran an improvised theatre course at the Lighthouse Theatre in Everton. The aim was to make “theatre skills classes as accessible as possible by making them free and taking them outside the city centre”. The classes helped “build confidence and reduce social anxiety, but also provide an activity for people who want to do something fun without the massive price tag”. Part of her plan now moving includes creating a community allotment in Thirlmere Park.
She added: “A community allotment can scale up over time and create a sense of unity, as well as being a key resource for food banks and people who want to improve their mental health. If there’s a hub of community engagement, then people may feel less inclined to mess the area up.”
Having lived experience is something which Portia prides herself on and something she believes will make her stand out from other “politicians, both local and national, who are in the job for the title and not the people” when she runs as the Labour Party's candidate for the new Everton North ward next year.
She said: “By having that lived experience a councillor can be the bridge between residents and the policies that govern how their community runs. They are best placed to know exactly how each part of the budget will affect peoples day to day lives. With times being so tough, it’s crucial that every penny is spent wisely and that local politicians have the empathy to stand up and defend their communities when individuals may not have the strength.”
Portia previously stood for the St Michael’s ward in 2021, a ward that Labour has never won. But, after receiving 1,362 votes, the aspiring councillor was not elected but is set on changing that come May 2023, when the next set of Liverpool City Council elections are to be held.
The self-proclaimed “policy and politics nerd” claims she won’t be afraid to push for schemes that have helped deprived communities around the world. She told the ECHO : “They’ve been tried and proven to help raise people's quality of life, such as community wealth building and food gardens, so why can’t Everton do the same?”
Another community Portia is determined to help move in the right direction is the city’s LGBTQ+ community. After hearing the news of a mass shooting at Pulse, an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Orlando, Florida, which saw 49 people killed and a further 53 wounded, Portia was inspired to come out as a bisexual woman and to be “more visible, simply because there’s strength in numbers and that gave me a great deal of comfort”.
She said: “It was the first time I felt a real attack on my identity. I have family in Florida and I was a regular on Eberle Street at the time so there was a sense of ‘it could have been me’. The immediate response of the vigil at St George’s Plateau gave me the strength to come out as bisexual to my friends as a form of strength and solidarity with the global queer community. Looking back it feels like a forewarning of what was to come. The attacks on the trans community coming into the mainstream is something that we need to keep mobilising against and I feel lucky I’m living in a city where that hatred isn’t tolerated.”
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