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Anti-Poverty Day

Click on the video above to watch B Channel coverage of the local rally on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

Click on the video above to watch an interview with Joanne Neubauer, Vice President of the Action Committee of People with Disabilities

Click on the video above to watch an interview with Carol Romanow from the Action Committee of People with Disabilities

Local Anti-Poverty Advocates Gather for International Day For The Eradication of Poverty

by B Channel

October 29, 2009

October 17th was the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The origin of this event dates back to 1987, when over a hundred thousand people gathered at the Trocadéro in Paris, where the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed in 1948, to honour the victims of extreme poverty, violence and hunger.

This year, several local anti-poverty groups came together at the offices of the Action Committee of People with Disabilities to raise awareness about poverty in the Capital Region and beyond.

Members and organizers of the Committee to End Homelessness, Harm Reduction Victoria, Food Not Bombs, the Raging Grannies, the Island Solidarity Coalition, the Temporary Autonomous Shelter Collective, and members of the general public joined ACPD for a BBQ, songs, speeches and solidarity.

“A lot of people think that people with disabilities are taken care of,” said Joanne Neubauer, Vice President of ACPD. “We wanted to make sure that the general public knows that this is generally not true.”

In British Columbia, people with disabilities who are unable to gain employment receive only $906, while the average monthly cost of housing is around $700. Income assistance for a single ‘employable’ person is just $610.

“The line-ups were have to stand in are continuous.” said Carol Romanow of the ACPD. “Lining up for welfare checks…lining up for food banks, lining up for free dinners. It goes on and on and on. Our lives are spent in lines.”

While people with disabilities face significant barriers to employment, Neubauer is quick to point out that this doesn’t mean they don’t work. “I contribute to society but I don’t have a paid job. I’m a volunteer myself. I don’t want anyone to think that just because we aren’t working for money that we aren’t contributing, because we are.”

While local efforts to reduce the impacts of poverty have seen the creation of the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness, British Columbia is one of a few provinces without a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy.

Federally, NDP Member of Parliament for Vancouver East, Libby Davies, has introduced a bill for a National Housing Strategy, It has passed two readings and now sits in committee.

“We’re going to make housing a priority in Canada. It’s not just Victoria that has this.” said Romanow. “Last week, for Thanksgiving, four thousand people lined up for a turkey dinner in Vancouver. That is disgusting for Canada, which is a rich country.”

According to Statistics Canada, British Columbia has the highest rate of child poverty in the country, with over 100,000 children experiencing poverty (21.9%, compared to the national rate of 9.5%). The overall poverty rate for British Columbia is 16.1%.

“Society needs to say that this has to change.” said Romanow. “They need to pressure for housing. They have to demand it. They have to elect governments that will build it. $55,000 a year to have a shelter bed, and you give someone $4,500 a year to rent an apartment? There’s something wrong with those numbers.”

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Anti-Poverty Day

Local Anti-Poverty Advocates Gather for International Day For The Eradication of Poverty

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