The Latest

Five Questions to Mobilize Poverty Reduction

More and more voices are speaking of a movement to end poverty. In Edmonton, where I sit on Mayor Iveson's Task Force to Eliminate Poverty in a Generation, the fostering of a movement is front and centre on the minds around the table. There are nearly 60 communities today that are members of Vibrant Communities Canada – an example of movement building. Last month, our Cities Reducing Poverty Summit was a testimony to this growing movement. It was not only a forum for our political and community leaders;over 20% of the 350 people who attended were either people living with poverty or leaders from grassroots organizations. These were attendees who could not have been there without the support of funders stepped up to ensure their seats at the summit were free.

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Living Wages: Reducing Poverty Across Canada

At Vibrant Communities we have seen a surge in both poverty reduction strategies at a local/municipal level, as well as a dramatic rise in the number of living wage campaigns in recent years.

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Let's lock up the homeless, you know, for their own good

When I think of a "wellness" centre, I imagine a place where one might be able to exercise, see a nutritionist, take a course on personal development, learn more about parenting, or see a counselor. Some of you might imagine a wellness centre as something akin to a health spa where you can spend an arm and a leg to get your arms and legs massaged or exfoliated or poked with acupuncture needles.

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How We Keep the Poor Living in Poverty

It's not that we do so on purpose. Our intentions are good, but how we go about trying to help the poor often ends up keeping them poor.

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Making the Business Case to Reduce Poverty

There have been a number of reports published in Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan about the costs of poverty. We can determine the net impact on the GDP from maintaining a persistent level of poverty in Canada. But beyond the net costs, there are the moral and ethical costs that happens when high levels of inequality happen in our communities. 

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Seeing What Matters

Jim is in his 50s and had been homeless on and off for much of his adult life. He was known by many on the street and in our drop-in centre. Our housing first workers began talking to him about getting his own place and he was, to say the least, excited about that. It took a while but it happened and one day our staff person – let’s call him Jack – took Jim to his new place, handed him the keys. Jim said to Jack, “I can’t remember a time when I had keys.”

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