I spent an afternoon this week with an amazing group. Awareness of Low Income Voices, or ALIV(e), is a collaborative of women and men who struggle to live on low incomes, and who come together to network and to educate our region about the impact of poverty on people’s lives. The group certainly educated me. And they inspired me, too.
I asked them about things that our local governments could do to make a positive difference in their lives. My pen couldn’t keep up with all their ideas. Some suggestions were big ones, requiring major shifts in the way we think as a society about human value. Others were small, practical and comparatively easily achieved. But they were all important ideas, and all worthy of Council’s attention and consideration.
The ALIV(e) group told me about the impossibility of eating a healthy diet on an Ontario Works or Ontario Disability Support Program budget. They talked about the huge difference even $200 a month would make to them. And they also suggested that an expanded and supported network of community gardens would help them to access the fresh fruits and vegetables that they and their families need.
They talked about last year’s cuts to discretionary benefits and especially about the loss of the moving allowance. “If I could move to a cheaper place, I could afford to pay for food. But I can’t afford to move. I’m stuck where I am”, one woman said. They suggested that this and other measures that people might take to move out of poverty should be supported, even in the face of limited funds.
They talked about the gradual disappearance of affordable housing from the downtown, and the fact they can no longer get around without transit passes, which have themselves increased in cost. And they suggested many creative ways the Region of Waterloo could reduce their transportation costs, including off-hours and transferrable passes. They said that they would say to Waterloo Regional Council, as it moves ahead with LRT, “just don’t leave us behind”.
Over 50,000 of our neighbours live in deep poverty, and many more have trouble each month paying the rent and putting food on the table. The people from ALIV(e) talked to me about these neighbours. They talked about their lives, they talked about their problems and they talked about their dreams.
We need to listen.
I asked them about things that our local governments could do to make a positive difference in their lives. My pen couldn’t keep up with all their ideas. Some suggestions were big ones, requiring major shifts in the way we think as a society about human value. Others were small, practical and comparatively easily achieved. But they were all important ideas, and all worthy of Council’s attention and consideration.
The ALIV(e) group told me about the impossibility of eating a healthy diet on an Ontario Works or Ontario Disability Support Program budget. They talked about the huge difference even $200 a month would make to them. And they also suggested that an expanded and supported network of community gardens would help them to access the fresh fruits and vegetables that they and their families need.
They talked about last year’s cuts to discretionary benefits and especially about the loss of the moving allowance. “If I could move to a cheaper place, I could afford to pay for food. But I can’t afford to move. I’m stuck where I am”, one woman said. They suggested that this and other measures that people might take to move out of poverty should be supported, even in the face of limited funds.
They talked about the gradual disappearance of affordable housing from the downtown, and the fact they can no longer get around without transit passes, which have themselves increased in cost. And they suggested many creative ways the Region of Waterloo could reduce their transportation costs, including off-hours and transferrable passes. They said that they would say to Waterloo Regional Council, as it moves ahead with LRT, “just don’t leave us behind”.
Over 50,000 of our neighbours live in deep poverty, and many more have trouble each month paying the rent and putting food on the table. The people from ALIV(e) talked to me about these neighbours. They talked about their lives, they talked about their problems and they talked about their dreams.
We need to listen.