Hi there,

Across Canada, communities are implementing and strengthening collaborative approaches to ending poverty in all its forms – integrating key areas of focus like belonging, the social role of local government, youth futures, and climate action into their work. 

In Ontario, the Niagara Region has partnered with community to take a multi-pronged approach that collectively addresses economics, employment, housing, health and wellness, stigma, and social inclusion as equal pieces. They have taken several key actions to ensure their strategy is effective and sustainable. 

In last year's Circle of Actions cohort, as part of their key takeaways, members highlighted that building belonging requires interventions at multiple levels of a system, and that streamlined processes for trust-building and effective decision-making can help strengthen a collaborative's capacity to lead work on building belonging.

On our webinar about advancing the National Poverty Reduction Strategy, Scott McAfee and Meaghon Reid spoke about the hope that we can sustain by looking at what we've been able to accomplish, from policy wins to program impacts, and reminded us all that we can be stewards of hope. 

We hope these stories and learning opportunities encourage and inspire you. 

Sincerely, 

Natasha and the Communities Ending Poverty Team at the Tamarack Institute

Featured Resources

CASE STUDY | Niagara Region's Poverty Reduction Strategy: Working Together to Prevent and End Poverty and Increase Well-Being in Niagara

A poverty reduction strategy lays a foundation to build a community of best practices; it identifies gaps and leverages local knowledge. This case study unpacks the conditions that have led to the success of Niagara Region’s Poverty Reduction Strategy – specifically around its community engagement efforts.

CIRCLE OF ACTIONS | A Communities Building Belonging Cohort

Collaboratives that centre community belonging in poverty reduction initiatives and strategies can create lasting, resilient shifts in quality of life, social connection, and economic growth across communities.

Join us to advance community-led plans and interventions for belonging.

Application Deadline: February 28, 2025

COURSE | Ending Poverty Pathways

Join Natasha Pei, Director of Communities Ending Poverty at Tamarack, in this five-module course. Topics include: Ending Working Poverty, Governments and Communities Ending Poverty, and Big Ideas for Ending Poverty.

Latest Stories

Belonging Is a Verb: Reflections on a Journey of Learning and Action

Last year, Circle of Actions participants developed their skills on building plans and interventions for community belonging. Learn about five takeaways from their seven-month learning journey.

The Town of New Glasgow Activates Its Social Role in Climate Action

Rural municipalities are at the forefront of responding to climate change. Learn about the Town of New Glasgow's journey taking up key social roles to enable strong community involvement in its climate leadership.

Webinar Recordings

Webinar recording: From Policy to Practice: Advancing the National Poverty Reduction Strategy

This webinar recording features a conversation about what the Council heard from people across Canada in 2024, the federal government’s role in reducing poverty, as well as highlighting how communities – local organizations, collaboratives, associations and individual community members – can action this report.

Webinar recording: Fighting Poverty with Belonging: A Strategy for Everyone

This webinar recording features a conversation about how place-based collaboratives who centre community belonging in poverty reduction initiatives and strategies can create lasting, resilient shifts in quality of life, social connection, and economic growth across communities.

Learning Opportunities

Webinar: Learnings from a Canada-Wide Youth Employment and Skills Program: The Dynamic, Engaged, Vital (DEV) Lab

Join us for a deep dive into the DEV (Dynamic, Engaged, Vital) Lab project, where we explored youth employment and skills development across eight Canadian cities post-COVID-19. Our team at Communities Building Youth Futures (CBYF) led on-the-ground data collection with youth in Whitehorse, Yellowknife, Moncton, and Regina.

Webinar: Advancing Basic Income: Stories and Strategies for Policy Change

in this webinar, speakers will highlight insights from the Basic Income Guarantee Forum Report and provide an example of how advocating for Basic Income can complement other community-level work to get to broader, more sustainable change.

Join the Communities Ending Poverty Membership

Communities Ending Poverty is a network of more than 400 municipalities represented by 90+ regional members working collaboratively to end poverty in their communities.

Reach out to Natasha Pei to start the conversation.

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