The Latest

Williams Lake releases poverty reduction strategy mid-pandemic

Three years ago, when the Williams Lake Social Planning Council made a commitment to complete a poverty reduction strategy for the region a global pandemic was not on the horizon. Now, as communities across the country struggle to carry on meaningful social planning in circumstances no one has experienced before, the Thrive Poverty Reduction Strategy for Williams Lake and Area has successfully released in January this year. The strategy is a tribute to dedication and perseverance, adapted to reflect an ever-changing context that has underscored what is important to the community as well as how to work together towards a proactive response.

Read More

New Support for BC Communities working towards the End of Poverty

Ten years ago, I was hosting a social development planning session in Revelstoke BC and a frontline service provider stood to speak. They were there to share an update on their work. Instead, they began to speak about poverty and how it underscored all other challenges their clients were experiencing. 

Read More

Making Progress on Poverty Reduction in British Columbia

So far, 2018 is turning out to be an important year for poverty reduction in BC. Currently, 557,000 people are living below the poverty line in Canada’s most western province – the second highest provincial poverty rate in the country. Against this sobering backdrop, the BC government has just completed a broad range of consultations with a variety of citizens, including people with lived experience. In June 2018, the government will release a “What We Heard” report summarizing feedback from the consultations, with plans to introduce poverty reduction legislation this fall. The intended result is the development and implementation of a poverty reduction strategy.

Read More