The power to fight poverty; Social agencies, businesses must work together

from the Niagara Falls Review

Posted By ALISON LANGLEY

More than 15 per cent of children in Niagara live in poverty and that cycle will continue for generations if the community doesn't act now, an anti-poverty advocate said Friday.

"There's no shame in having poverty in your community. The only shame is not doing anything about it," said Tom Gribbons, a New Brunswick businessman and chairman of the Leadership Round Table for Vibrant Communities (VC) Saint John, N.B.

That city is addressing its alarming poverty rates by engaging leaders from the private sector to work with community leaders and government agencies, Gribbons said.

With a population of 120,000, Saint John has a poverty rate of 27 per cent.

"Too many families were suffering and the whole city was being negatively affected by the consequences of poverty," Gribbons said, recounting VC's early efforts.

"Little did we know how stubborn and complex poverty is and how long it would take to come up with solutions."

Undaunted, the association created a blueprint of change that involved all sectors of the community.

"One of the secrets to successful social change lies in an organization's ability to mobilize every sector of society - government, business, non-profit and the public," he said.

Discussions led to the formation of several initiatives targeting at-risk youths, specifically teenage mothers.

A housing complex where pregnant teenagers can continue their education and have access to child care in a single location was opened in 2002.

The young mothers earn their high school diplomas and have access to bursaries if they continue on to post-secondary education.

"If you want to break the cycle of poverty, you must invest in our most vulnerable - young people from birth to young adulthood," Gribbons told a crowd of more than 700 at the Sheraton Fallsview Hotel during the Business and Education Council of Niagara's annual partners breakfast.

"Either we make these investments or, on the flip side, it's a lifelong term of living on social assistance and subsidized housing and a huge cost to the public purse."

With several anti-poverty measures in place, Saint John expects to reduce its poverty rate to that of the national average in about 10 years. The current national poverty rate is 14.7 per cent.

According to a recent Regional report, 14 per cent of Niagara residents live in poverty. Niagara's median income is $23,000, the second lowest in Ontario.

"I know it might be shameful to think the goal is to have nearly 15 per cent of your people living below the poverty line, but we're being realistic. We know you can't change this cycle overnight," Gribbons said of Saint John.

Ending the vicious cycle of poverty, whether in Saint John or Niagara Falls, he said, is dependent on local business people.

"There's a growing need for businesses to be involved in the healthy social development of our community."

Ted Palmer, BEC executive director, called on Niagara's business community to join forces and fight poverty.