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www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, July 9, 2010 · 4 Speak up! You can comment on any story in today's Oakville Beaver at oakvillebeaver.com. `My family and I live in poverty' Regional councillors hear from those struggling to make ends meet By Dennis Smith SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Municipality of Halton www.halton.ca NOTICE OF CONSTRUCTION Reconstruction and Widening of Tremaine Road (Regional Road 22) from south of Derry Road (Regional Road 7) to Realigned Main Street, Town of Milton Contract Number: Scheduled Start Date: Scheduled Completion Date: Project Manager: R-2261B-10 June, 2010 April, 2011 Dave Collum ext. 7620 Communicating Building a Better Halton road, water and wastewater projects. construction web page at www.halton.ca/construction, which provides updates on all of our infrastructure construction activities. Gary Carr Regional Chair Charges will cover 82% of the costs for road construction. pay for these costs, not taxpayers, which will keep Halton a great place to live, work, raise a family and retire. Halton Regional Meeting Schedule July 12, 9:30 a.m. Budget Review Committee July 14, 9:30 a.m. Regional Council Meeting Meetings can be viewed at www.halton.ca 08/090710 Please let us know as soon as possible if you will have an accessibility or accommodation need at a Halton Region hosted event or meeting. 1151 Bronte Road, Oakville, Ontario L6M 3L1 Halton residents are Canada's third-highest income earners, but that's cold comfort for those struggling to make ends meet. "Poverty affects more and more people every day. No one is above it and no one is immune to it," Chrystal Orvis told Halton's Health and Social Services Committee on Tuesday (July 6). Orvis was among 15 local witnesses whose poverty experiences were recorded recently at Halton Social Audit hearings in Georgetown and Oakville. Choking up occasionally, she recapped some experiences before the committee, which received a staff information report about poverty in Halton and initiatives to combat it. The report noted 6.5 per cent of Halton households are considered low income. "My family and I live in poverty and there was a desire and need to be heard," said the Halton Hills resident. "It was a unique and tremendous experience." Orvis said many people ignore poverty, but they could be next to experience it. "It's not exactly the life I imagined for my children, but every day we learn never to take anything for granted," she said. Orvis has experienced unemployment for a couple of years and feels socially excluded from the community in many aspects. "Transportation is a constant issue. A `quick trip to the grocery store' can take days," she said. Orvis said since her children switched to middle school they could not participate in the extracurricular activities. "New clothes and day trips are not happening," she said, adding her family remains hopeful. The audit day was not just about poverty rates, said Colleen Sym, executive director of Halton Community Legal Service. "There's a gap between social assistance and what's needed to survive," she said. "The day was about how Halton can do better." The legal service organization led organizing of the social audit on behalf of the Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition (ISARC). The audit provides social assessment of government policy's impact on groups, and aims to find trends, themes and opportunities for intervention. Poverty witnesses told stories of facing eviction, living in substandard accommoda- "It's not exactly the life I imagined for my children, but every day we learn never to take anything for granted." Chrystal Orvis, Halton Social Audit witness tion, being ill and unable to work and facing a system that turned away from them, said Sym. "We heard of a need for streamlining of administration," she said. "There was the complaint that they had to tell their story too often. We need to enhance services regionwide." Councillor Colin Best said social agencies often operate separately from each other. "There are a host of organizations and most people are not aware how to access them," said the Milton councillor. "There are conflicting goals and targets and they just hear part of the problem." Councillor Rick Goldring noted the poverty issue has been going on forever. "It seems to me we're not making real strides to address the issue," he said. "What needs to happen?" Sym cited social audit report suggestions, including co-ordinating programs and services, and changing attitudes about poverty. She also suggested combined efforts by all government levels, setting interim goals and `place-based' poverty planning. "The place-based focus looks at poverty focused on a neighbourhood, community or region," she said. "It's how to address issues and improve the situation within a defined geographical area." This approach is being considered by the Enabling Resilient Communities Committee. It's planning a fall Community Awareness Day to provide information about the placebased approach and other poverty topics. The place-based framework identifies sustenance (basic needs) adaptation (basic coping skills), engagement (emotional supports -- belonging/participation) and opportunity (economic self-sufficiency). A comprehensive approach to poverty examines how communities can work better within and across the clusters. Region staff plan to collaborate with key community stakeholders to develop a broadbased plan to address poverty. They were also directed to bring the matter forward for the next strategic planning session.