Poverty in Canada The Condition of a human being who is deprived of the resources, means, choices, and power necessary to acquire and maintain economic self-sufficiency and participation in society.

“Poverty is the worst form of violence” -Gandhi “Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is manmade and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings.” -Nelson Mandela

Who is most at risk of living in poverty in Canada? Aboriginal people Immigrants People with disabilities Single parents, especially women, and their children Injured workers War Veterans The elderly

Hand in hand with poverty: Inadequate shelter and clothing Unhealthy food Violence Emotional pain Substance abuse Anxiety Shorter lifespan

Low school achievement Lower than average literacy rates One of the strongest predictors of being involved with the criminal justice system Mental health issues Teen pregnancy (some 32 per 1,000 teens) Low self-esteem The high possibility of not completing high school

Now in Canada: B.C. has the highest child poverty rate in Canada. Nanaimo’s child poverty rate of 14.4% is the highest in any B.C. school district. One in ten children in Canada live in poverty. Canada’s child poverty rate of 15% is three times higher than Sweden, Norway and Finland. Every month 770,000 people in Canada use food banks and 40% of those people are children. As subsets of the general population, immigrants and First Nations experience far higher levels of poverty. In the case of First Nations, 50% are unemployed and youth have a five to eight times higher rate of suicide.

Facts about poverty in Canada: Poverty costs Canadians $72-84 billion per yr. 150, ,000 Canadians are visibly homeless and 450, ,000 Canadians are the ‘hidden’ homeless. There is a 21 year difference in life expectancy between the poor and the wealthy. Out of 25 developed countries, Canada ties for last place for failing to attain nine of UNICEF’S ten benchmark indicators of quality and access to early childhood education care provision. Poverty costs the Canadian health care system $7.6 billion per year.

Nanaimo currently ranks 11 th worst of 92 health areas for Economic Hardship in B.C. Using established poverty measures, almost half the population of Nanaimo would be living below the poverty line. Nanaimo ranks 15 th, more than twice the provincial average, for those on Income Assistance and E.I. 40% of the workforce in the Nanaimo region has only part time jobs. 48% of tenants and 21% of homeowners pay more than 30% of their income on housing costs

Relational Poverty Can include the following: 1)Relational pain and the way it hinders one’s ability to develop healthy relationships. 2)A lack of supportive relationships leading to loneliness and a shortage of people to provide practical care and support. 3)The various social and economical needs that come as a result of relationship breakdown.

Relational Poverty is experienced through: Loneliness, irritation and alienation from those around us. It may be the absence of anyone to go to in a moment of panic or distress. Most experience as a lack of a clear identity of who you are or where you fit in the world. Like financial poverty is also to be without something, that something in this case is “relational support.”

Relational support is referring to help we receive from relationships with other people in terms of love, commitment, empathy, encouragement, willingness and ability to our problems. This support enables someone to change, grow and develop as a person. This usually carries on into adulthood which hinders one to cope with a wide range of difficulties such as debt, addiction, depression and mental illness.

Causes Nuclear family breakdown Scattering of immediate family Large and urban impersonal environments and neighbourhoods Single parents with heavy work loads TV, I Pods…..any type of disconnect

Responses Great education with fantastic teachers as mentors An urgent need to re evaluate what is important in life Challenge assumptions of materialism and individualism Nanaimo SD#68 provides 40 schools with food….some just healthy snacks and six having a formal meal program.

Some ideas on how to reach students who are victims of poverty: Work to make the connection between what happens in your classroom and the home lives of your students as strong as possible. Move information from textbooks to useful skills that students now and in the future. Make the bond between school and home as a strong one. Reach out to the families of your students. Don’t wait until a problem occurs to contact parents or guardians.

Build your students pride and confidence in their school work. Celebrate success and keep aiming higher. Don’t allow students to just get by. Maintain high expectations for ALL students. Teach basic skills. Make sure students know what to do and how to do it well. Teach reading. Students should read in class everyday. Work to make sure that students have the financial support they need when arranging field trips and other extracurricular activities. Focus on school work as the way to a brighter future. School work as a way out of poverty.

Arrange a bank of shared supplies for your to students to borrow when they need. Make it clear that you value ALL of your students for their character and not for their possessions. BUILD STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH STUDENTS AS THEY NEED A TRUSTWROTHY ADULTY IN ORDER TO SUCCEED!!!!!!

Guaranteed Annual Income (GAI) A set amount of money that all Canadian adults would receive. It would ensure that everyone would had enough money to pay for the basic necessities; food, clothing and shelter. Some believe that this would see an end to E.I., welfare or food banks. Others believe that it is a negative form of enabling. What do you think?