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Natasha Pei

Natasha Pei
Natasha Pei brings online content to life and engages our members in the Vibrant Communities learning centre for poverty reduction. Natasha's involvement with Tamarack began with the Communities First: Impacts of Community Engagement (CFICE) project, where she worked as a Research Assistant in the Poverty Reduction Hub, studying effective ways community-campus engagement can be undertaken to have real benefits for the community.

Recent Posts

4 Components for Establishing Mutually Reinforcing Activities

Posted by Natasha Pei on March 6, 2020

Does this situation sound familiar? You have a group of people who have committed to reduce poverty using a Collective Impact or collaborative approach. You know what needs to be done to support people to escape poverty in your community. Yet, scaling the initiative to create large-scale impact feels out-of-reach, because everyone is already at maximum capacity and doing their best to participate “off the side of the desk.” So, the work becomes a series of small manageable projects and programs that raise awareness and help alleviate poverty for some individuals and families.

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Shift Your Evaluation from Activity to Impact Reporting

Posted by Natasha Pei on February 17, 2020

Cities Reducing Poverty members are showing increasing interest in making the shift from evaluating and reporting on their activities – such as the number of volunteer hours worked or the amount of people who registered for a program – to measuring and talking about their impact.

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10 Top News Stories from Cities Reducing Poverty in 2019

Posted by Natasha Pei on December 14, 2019

In 2019, the Cities Reducing Poverty network grew to 80 cities and communities across Canada and the USA, all committed to local poverty reduction efforts. Even more heartening is to see that this expanding movement is having an impact – we are seeing population-level changes in poverty rates and food security at national, regional and local levels. Coupled with several positive policy announcements, these trends indicate that despite the stubborn nature of poverty, we are moving in the right direction.

Enjoy the top 10 news stories and popular learning resources from 2019.

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How Much Time Does it Take?

Posted by Natasha Pei on October 15, 2019

How much time does it take to create a poverty reduction strategy? There is no good answer to this question. However, one of the most common drawbacks we hear from Cities Reducing Poverty members is the unexpected amount of time it takes to create and launch a strategy.  

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The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty: What Can You Do?

Posted by Natasha Pei on September 9, 2019

Each year, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty falls on the 17th of October. Declared by the United Nations in 1992, this date provides a shared moment each year – across the country and around the world – to:

  1. Commemorate victims of poverty, violence and hunger
  2. Reaffirm that poverty is a violation of human rights
  3. Re-commit to coming together to ensure the right to live free from poverty is respected
  4. Acknowledge the effort and struggle of people living in poverty
  5. Celebrate the willingness of people living in poverty to fight poverty and contribute their expertise to ending it
  6. Promote concrete activities around the eradication of poverty
  7. Organize activities for the observance of October 17th.

Source: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs - Poverty

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The Four Phases of Successful Poverty Reduction

Posted by Natasha Pei on July 10, 2019

As a national network, Cities Reducing Poverty (CRP) now supports more than 70 cities and communities, representing over 250 municipalities, to reduce poverty locally. 

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