Rural families struggling below poverty line: Murphy

from The Amherst Daily News

HANNAH MORTON
The Amherst Daily News

AMHERST – Sharon Murphy and Liz Cooke-Sumbu, with the Poverty Action Committee, recently made a presentation to the Canadian Senate in Ottawa on rural poverty.

"In Cumberland County there are 1,350 families living below the low-income cut off. In Nova Scotia, two thirds of people on social assistance live in rural areas," said Murphy.

During her report Murphy stressed to politicians the importance of taking those two statistics into consideration when developing policies.

Murphy feels there are several disincentives to people on social assistance that make it difficult for them to become gainfully employed.

"Families need quality, affordable child care. They need jobs that pay more than minimum wage. They need insurance to cover the cost of medications," said Murphy.

Murphy says increased property assessments combined with higher energy costs make it difficult for families to make ends meet.

Murphy also spoke about the plight of single mothers whose children go without milk and other nutritious foods because they can buy other food for less.

As a result she says families live on diets high in empty calories and eventually develop health problems.

The mentally ill are also affected in particular, having to face the double stigma of poverty and mental illness. They too, struggle to pay for medications and find jobs with benefits.

Murphy says she hopes the government will take a more co-ordinated approach to poverty that involves more strategic planning involving the ideas of everyone, including those living in poverty.