Supporting Vulnerable Albertans

Posted by Tim Osborne on January 23, 2012 | 2 comments

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to spend the morning with the Outreach Team from Boyle Street Community Services. The weather that day was a few degrees below zero but still cold enough to feel a chill after spending a few hours walking through the river valley. Having worked in the social sector for a number of years, it did not come as a surprise that there are people living outdoors in winter, but seeing their camps, putting a face to them and listening to their stories is an entirely different experience.

Last week, my thoughts kept coming back to some of the people who we had met with on that December morning. How were they managing through the horrific cold snap? Was it realistically possible to believe that they could even survive? Thankfully, this article in the Edmonton Journal provided me with an update on one of the men that we spent time with that day.

While we have made some progress in the province in dealing with homelessness, there is still much work to be done.  On a larger scale, what has sorely been lacking in this province for too long is a Poverty Reduction Strategy. Poverty is about so much more than homelessness. It’s about single parents and the underemployed. It’s about people who are working to make ends meet but find themselves struggling to meet their basic needs. In Alberta, 1 in 10 children under the age of six lives in poverty (Stats Canada).

The Alberta Party’s Social Policy calls for the creation of a Poverty Reduction Strategy. I have heard rumblings that our current government is looking at introducing a Poverty Reduction Strategy in the coming months. While I certainly hope that is true, the real question will be what does it look like and how was it developed? A Poverty Reduction Strategy for Alberta can’t be a top down document written by bureaucrats and people without a direct connection to poverty. It needs to be a joint effort that brings together decision makers, front line workers, policy experts AND people whose lives are impacted by poverty on a daily basis. Groups like Action to End Poverty in Alberta who have been working on this issue need to be part of the solution.

The wisdom of front line workers must be listened to when it comes to addressing issues such as poverty and homelessness. There are practical changes that can be made that would help us better respond to the needs of those living in poverty. Accessing and navigating the system of supports available to Albertans can be extremely challenging. Often, only those with someone advocating for them are able to get the help that they need. Would it make sense to have a dedicated worker available who understood the needs of the chronically homeless to provide more consistent and effective support? This is just one suggestion that I have heard from front line workers. I am certain there are others, we just need to give them a chance to be heard.

The costs of poverty and homelessness on our society are huge. Whether it is the toll that it takes on individuals, children and families, or the costs that it brings to our health care, education and justice systems, the costs are real. We can, however, do something about these costs. By providing supports to those in need, we can prevent the escalation of issues and set people on a path towards independence.

It has been said by many that the true measure of a society is how it treats its most vulnerable. Developing a Poverty Reduction Strategy would be a good start to bettering our communities.