Meet the Speakers
Jane Worton - Jane is the Research Director for the Community Social Planning Council of Greater Victoria. She has a long standing interest in the inclusion of people living in low-income in poverty reduction initiatives, which is also the topic of her Master's thesis. Jane has been the primary staff support for the Quality of Life CHALLENGE's Community Action Team since its creation in 2003.
Karasima Brands - Karasima has been working with the Quality of Life CHALLENGE as their Inclusion Facilitator since 2003. Her role is to ensure the engagement of a diverse group of people who experience living on low and limited incomes. In addition, she is a long standing board member with BC’s largest non-profit housing group, the Capital Regional Housing Corporation.
Peter Hutton - Peter has been involved in social justice groups in Hamilton and across Ontario since the 1990s, most recently with the Ontario Coalition for Social and presently as part of the Hamilton Roundtable on Poverty Reduction. Currently on disability support, Peter has worked and volunteered for 20 years in the voluntary sector.
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The Quality of Life CHALLENGE
Since 1999, the Quality of Life CHALLENGE has gathered people from all walks of life, organizations and income levels to create a sustainable quality of life for everyone in BC's Capital Region by focusing on on housing, sustainable incomes and community connections.
The CHALLENGE shares information, encourages people to take action and recognizes the achievements that are being made along the way. For more information about the CHALLENGE, click here.
Lessons learned
Inclusion is one of the key principles addressed by the Quality of Life CHALLENGE. Here are some important lessons they've learned when trying to foster inclusion:
- Look at income and related barriers to participation in your movement, remove all the barriers you can and then publicize that you've done so.
- Try new things. Do not be afraid to apply techniques from other experiences when addressing low-income people.
- The location of a meeting really matters to people on a low-income and to those in the business sector. Consider offering opportunities to connect one-on-one instead of as a large group.
- Focus your energy on plain language and action.
- Realize that one low-income person does not represent all low-income people, and try to improve the diversity of people involved in your group.
By creating guidelines and policies about inclusion, the CHALLENGE is able to ensure consistent practice when hosting events, understanding and compensating costs of volunteering, and balancing diverse preferences. Most importantly, the development of an inclusion plan helps make sure everyone's needs are considered. An inclusion plan can address issues such as costs of transportation, dietary needs and child care.
The CHALLENGE designs purpose into each of their meetings to ensure that they are meeting to effect change. They employ the SNACC method, which addresses:
- Success
- Need
- Action
- Commitment
- Community
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What is the Poverty Experience?
The Poverty Experience is a very simple tool or way to generate dialogue amongst participants in a group in order to gain an understanding of what it is like to live with a low income. This experience has made it easier for people to take into consideration the small details - sick leave pay, public transit compensation, laundry services and more - that can have a powerful impact on a low-income person's life.
With more thoughtful intervention, employers and organizations can make life much easier for people living on a low-income simply by considering the small details that come with such a big impact. The Poverty Experience is designed toconsider these small details and encourage thoughtful intervention.
Inclusion in Hamilton
The Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction can identify with the lessons learned by the CHALLENGE when fostering inclusion. When fostering a community of inclusion, this group has also found language to be increasingly important.
Language can play an important role when integrating low-income people into a movement once it has already started. When a group is conscious of language, it is more likely that the people involved will understand each other.
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Meet the Speakers
Ann Barrett - Ann is the Neighbourhoods in Change Coordinator for Vibrant Communities Saint John.
Janet McLaughlin - Janet is a resident of Crescent Valley and is the President of the Crescent Valley Community Tenants Association.
Elizabeth Doucette - Elizabeth is also a resident of Crescent Valley and a board member of the Community Resource Centre.
Cathy Wright - Cathy is a Social Planner with Vibrant Communities Saint John who focuses on removing barriers for low-income adults seeking education towards employment.
Jean Panet-Raymond - Jean is responsible for citizen participation in the Revitalization Project of the St. Michel neighbourhood in Montreal.
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Crescent Valley, Saint John, NB
Vibrant Communities Saint John became interested in working with the Crescent Valley neighbourhood because many of their partners were concerned about the community's crime and safety.
The Crescent Valley neighbourhood is home to approximately 1,000 individuals. Geographically, this neighbourhood is situated in one area, with a busy main street that divides 388 units of public housing. The provincial government recently announced that part of this neighbourhood is slated for demolition, and families will receive assitance to move out.
Making Progress
Crescent Valley residents and Vibrant Communities Saint John have worked together to engage neighbourhood residents and support leaders in the community. They designed a community survey to find out what residents were thinking and to get everyone to work together to effect positive change.
Partnering with City staff and the City Common council resulted in improved conditions across the neighbourhood, including more lighting, better sidewalks and improved green spaces. Residents became spokespeople for their community and are taking greater pride in being part of Crescent Valley.
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St. Michel, Montreal, QC
Similar to partners in Crescent Valley, Vibrant Communities Montreal also sought the input of residents to revitalize St. Michel, a community of that welcomes a large percentage of the City's new immigrants.
Engaged residents in St. Michel shared a need for practical action and results. The problem most often identified by residents was their fear of street gangs and the safety of youth, while youths identified their dissatisfaction with the amount of recreation facilities available. It quickly became clear that bridges would need to be built amongst citizens to address the ethnic and generational tensions that permeated throughout St. Michel.
Making Progress
The process of cleaning up St. Michel has been equally as important as the results. Stop signs, speed bumps, lighting in parks and improved recreation facilities were just some of the improvements made. Changes were developed and experienced through a perspective of empowerment for residents and organizations. For example, citizens' committees have taken a strong leadership role in effecting positive change.
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Meet the Speakers
George Donahue - George is the Director of Community Resources at the Community Action Agency of St. Louis County, Missouri, USA. She is responsible for programs that enhance the efforts of low-income individuals and families moving towards self-sufficiency.
Mary & Charles Ewing - Mary and Charles are past participants of Step Up to Leadership. "We knew what we wanted to do, but the [Step Up to Leadership] curriculum taught us how to package our experience and put it together to do something better."
Catherine Goulet - Catherine is the Executive Director of the Regent Park Neighbourhood Initiative, a neighbourhood organization that has taken a lead role in the development and implementation of the Social Development Plan for Regent Park.
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The Community Action Agency
The Community Action Agency of St. Louis County was formed in the 1960s after President Lyndon Johnson introduced the War on Poverty initiative to empower low-income people to bring themselves out of poverty. The Agency is mandated by law to have board members from three different sectors (public, private and low-income), and also to perform bi-annual community assessments to make sure their programs fulfill the needs of the community.
When convening their Board, the Agency saw the need to build the skills of their low-income representatives. In doing so, the Agency went beyond simple skills to be part of a board. They took a more comprehensive approach to training by writing their own curriculum that addressed areas such as conflict, relationships, diversity, group dynamics and public speaking - skills that would not only build the capacity of low-income individuals to be board members, but also empower them to be leaders in their community. The Agency called this curriculum Step Up to Leadership.
Participants of Step Up to Leadership have expressed that the program gave them a chance to stand up, share their story and build confidence in their ability to lead. They've become more resourceful, and many are using their experience to mentor others and give back to their community.
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Regent Park Neighbourhood Initiative
The Regent Park Neighbourhood Initiative (RPNI), based in Toronto, ON, has created a social development plan to guide community services and community development initiatives as Regent Park makes the transition from a social housing community to a mixed income, mixed-use community that is integrated with adjacent neighbourhoods.
The Initiative's approach has been to help leaders build the skills they need to work in different capacities, whether working as an informal neighbourhood leader or as the member of an established board. Recently, RPNI has been working with grassroots groups to encourage residents to take on leadership roles with the redevelopment of Regent Park. While there has been a push and pull between the value of volunteers and paid workers, the Initiative continues to try different approaches and communicate regularly with low-income leaders to recognize their important leadership capacities.
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How can community collaborations facilitate the meaningful participation of low-income individuals in leadership structures and activities - both in grassroots groups and more formal roundtables? 
