Many of Victoria’s poor are hidden from view, and to help them, we have to bring their problems into the light. Over five days, the Times Colonist’s Sarah Petrescu did that with her series Hidden Poverty. She showed us the faces of those who struggle, delved into the causes and examined some solutions.
While we often equate poverty with the homeless who are visible on downtown streets, the problem extends further, into shelters and rooms where people are barely hanging on. For them, homelessness could be only a few dollars away.
For single moms such as Robyn Erwin, 24, building a future for herself and her son has been hard, when child support payments are clawed back from her social assistance. The most she has ever earned in a year was $14,000.
Erwin’s situation is common. Of the 169,240 B.C. children who were living in poverty according to the 2012 census, almost half were in single-parent households. About 81 per cent of those were headed by women.
Single-parent families make up the majority of the 260 last year who were in a housing crisis, according to the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness. They were homeless or on the verge of homelessness.
Marika Albert, a researcher and program manager of poverty prevention at the Community Social Planning Council of Greater Victoria, calls the problem “legislated poverty.” Child-support clawbacks, low income-assistance rates and lack of affordable housing are among the policies that mire people in poverty, she says.
Victoria’s Together Against Poverty Society, had 1,238 clients in its income-assistance advocacy program in 2012. In November of last year, it was serving 2,240 clients. On one night last February, 70 families sought emergency shelter in Victoria. Of the 78 people turned away from shelters that night, 12 were children.
Working your way out of poverty is getting tougher.
“There is no such thing anymore as medium-pay, low-skill work,” said Randy Waldie, a case manager at WorkLink Employment Society, which provides government-sponsored employment services on the West Shore.
Some action is being taken.
The provincial government doesn’t think a legislated poverty-reduction plan would make any difference. Instead, it is focused on help for specific groups. It cites an increase in rental supports to at-risk groups, a higher income allowance for those on disability assistance and a new B.C. Early Childhood Tax Benefit of up to $660 for eligible families that will start in April.
The government is also studying the clawback policy, with a report expected in February.
Under the province’s Homeless Prevention Program, $62.5 million will be spent over five years on rent supplements and support services that will mean an additional 100 spaces of affordable housing in Victoria.
In Victoria, three large affordable housing projects are under way, supported by local governments and community groups.
Of course, poverty is more than just homelessness. Providing affordable housing is an important part of the solution, but only part. Whether it’s legislated or not, B.C. needs a plan.
Although some people who are unable to work will require assistance all their lives, the goal of a poverty-reduction plan should be to help the rest of the poor to pull themselves out. Assistance rates are barely enough to sustain life.
The causes of poverty are complex. The solutions are equally complex. But solving any complex problem requires a unified strategy that matches the breadth of the challenge.
We can’t fix poverty by playing Whac-a-Mole with its symptoms. We have to understand where we are going and how individuals, governments and non-profit agencies can get us there. The province should lead the way.
