The Government's Family Income Supplement, designed specifically to help the poorest families, came into force a month ago. It should ease the financial burden for some. But what effect will it have on the many families where it is often impossible to isolate the lack of money from a number of other probleme?
Are extra benefits or a minimum wage the solution, or will families continue to need the support of the social agencies?
Families in the North talk about the way poverty affects their lives and the strains it puts on relationships at home and outside the family unit. Presented by Brian Morris Producer MICHAEL GREEN (from Manchester)