INTRODUCTION
Executive Summary: What Does Poverty Look Like?
In
Canada, we can improve the quality of living for all by addressing the
root causes of poverty to prevent hunger, illness, and premature death.
Locally, social and economic conditions are affecting rates of poverty
across the District of Parry Sound. The need for change is urgent.
To
reduce and prevent poverty we must first understand the poverty that
exists in our own communities. The District of Parry Sound Poverty
Reduction Network (DPSPRN) created this report, which summarizes the
results of several community meetings held across the District in 2009.
The following themes emerged.
Poverty
Silence. Invisibility. Social Isolation. Lack of Dignity.
Some
participants did not know that poverty exists in our communities. At
the same time, members of our community- working full-time, or unable
to work, or looking for work, or returning to school in hopes of better
work- cannot meet basic costs of safe shelter and healthy food. They
feel discriminated against and excluded. Parents cope with high stress
and struggle to provide for their children. Poverty is seen as an
individual problem rather than a community issue. People who want to
help aren’t sure how.
Housing and Food
Not safe. Inappropriate. Not enough. Not affordable. Unhealthy.
Homelessness
exists in hidden and invisible forms across the district. Affordable
housing, defined as 20% below average market rental rates, is not
affordable for minimum wage and social assistance recipients. A single
adult will have to wait an estimated seven years for safe, affordable
housing. Rents are comparable to rates in larger urban areas, yet
incomes are not. People experience chronic hunger cycles and lack
adequate nutrition.
Employment and Transportation
Working poor. Lack of jobs. Rural challenges. Expensive transportation. Limited access to community.
More
people holding down jobs struggle to make ends meet. Many are not
eligible for needed social supports. Most work that is available is
seasonal, part-time, contract, casual, minimum wage, or outside the
district. People without reliable transportation have even fewer job
opportunities. Lack of
transportation is also a barrier to accessing food, social and community services, and healthcare.
Social Development
Frustration. Limited Opportunity. Lost Potential.
People
are frustrated by current social assistance rules. Without adequate
support, people living in poverty are unable to benefit from employment
and educational opportunities. These same people best understand their
own circumstances, which tools might help them climb out of poverty and
how their situation may have been prevented in the first place.
Participants urged the community to look beyond band-aid solutions and
to work toward solving the root causes of poverty.
Recommendations
Listen. Raise Awareness. Advocate. Work Together. Creative Solutions.
Change
requires broad policy shifts and proactive community strategies that
will both prevent poverty and improve supports to lift people out of
poverty. These changes must be informed by people with lived experience
of poverty.
District
of Parry Sound Poverty Reduction Network 