A POVERTY action group said people were being blamed for being poor and much of the cash being spent to help was failing to reach those who needed it most.
The Poverty Truth Commission is calling for an end to zero-hour contracts and a commitment to paying workers a living wage.
They are among a number of "practical solutions" the group has identified and will present at an event in Glasgow tomorrow.
The Commission is made up of people directly affected by poverty and those who deal with poverty in their professions, such as representatives from Citizens Advice Scotland and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
More than half of Scots suffering poverty live in working households and 20% of children are growing up in homes suffering economic hardship, according to the group.
Scotland's former Chief Medical Officer Sir Harry Burns is on the Commission. He said: "Most people encounter poverty as beggars in the street.
"What they don't appreciate is the extent of real poverty affecting their neighbours in their own communities."
The group said: "Increasingly people are being blamed for being poor.
"Whilst there is a huge amount of money spent seeking to tackle the symptoms of poverty, a significant proportion of it never reaches those who need it most."
The Commission will present its findings at the Turning Up the Volume on Poverty event at Woodside Hall tomorrow.
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