By Marc Fawcett-Atkinson, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
About 5.1 million Canadians are food insecure, and many of them are struggling with mental health issues. And the pandemic has made the situation worse, according to a report released Wednesday by Statistics Canada.
Continue reading 5.1 million Canadians experience food insecurity“The Pulse” @ Vancouver Co-Op Radio, CRFO 100.5 FM, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter and broadcast in the October 30th, 2020, edition of Folk U Radio.
How can society help folks experiencing homelessness? A new study based in the Lower Mainland shows that one of the solutions can be simple—just give folks direct cash transfers.
Continue reading Direct cash transfers can lift people out of homelessnessBy Jen St. Denis, The Tyee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
This week — after a marathon three-day session to hear from hundreds of speakers — Vancouver city councillors voted unanimously to “decriminalize poverty.”
Continue reading Vancouver To Decriminalize PovertyCanada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The risk of people going hungry in small island communities on B.C.’s West Coast is likely to go from bad to worse in the fall as the pandemic and its economic symptoms linger on and COVID-19 relief benefits end, service providers and experts say.
Continue reading The Risk Of People Going HungryNational Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Quadra Island senior Derik Kidd says he’s being stretched to make ends meet on a marginal income with the increased costs he’s facing during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Kidd, 71, says his yearly income comes in around the $20,000 dollar mark, and that includes the top up from the federal government’s guaranteed income supplement (GIS).
“I get the sense there are a lot of seniors in that bracket,” said Kidd. “I guess I classify myself as having a poverty line income.”
Continue reading Rural Seniors Stretched To Make Ends Meet, Due To COVID Crises.
