Winnipeg’s first ever strategy aimed at reducing poverty will be put forward at city hall Wednesday.
The 60-page document outlines details of how the city can reduce poverty over the next decade and has been in the works for a year.
Mayor Brian Bowman has already told Global News he plans to support the strategy.
The report shows one in eight people in Winnipeg lives below the poverty line. That number is higher when looking at different demographic groups. One in four Indigenous people and one in four new immigrant residents are more likely to experience poverty.
The plan was developed in collaboration with Make Poverty History Manitoba Coalition, the United Way Winnipeg’s Poverty Reduction Council, and the Indigenous community-based organization Ka Ni Kanichihk Inc.
Homelessness advocate Al Wiebe was also a part of making the plan. Sharing his lived experiences of homelessness, he talks about how he spent 28 months on the streets of Winnipeg.
“I’m a really good example of why you should care. I made lots and lots of money and I ended up on the streets in the dire end of poverty. This could happen to anyone,” he says.
“I feel it’s a responsibility of mine to actually try to educate folks on why people are living this way.”
A 2016 census shows that more than 84,000 people self-identified as Indigenous in Winnipeg. Of those, 28 per cent live in poverty and 18 per cent of children experience poverty — double the national average.
A Canadian Medical Association study from 2017 shows the average annual cost to support one person experiencing homelessness in Winnipeg is $49,000. Winnipeg’s poverty rate is the fourth highest in Canada and four per cent higher than the national average.
The plan aims to serve as the city’s guide for priority actions across eight key areas including:
- implementation and Systems Change
- affordable Housing
- employment & Income
- community Well-being
- transportation Equity
- equity in city services
- food security
- community safety
The plan also identifies two areas for priority focus when making those changes:
- Indigenous children, youth and families
- affordable housing
“Let’s not make this a strategy that is here for a day or a week or month and everyone’s high on it and says, ‘Didn’t we do a good thing by passing this motion?’ Well, not really if you’re actually serious about it,” Wiebe says.
A key goal is to reduce the gaps for youth aging out of the Child and Family Services program. The report writes that the child welfare system plays a significant role in poverty in Winnipeg.
“We have the highest rate of child poverty in the country. Child poverty — if people want to think about something, think about that. That’s generational.”
A 2018 Winnipeg street census shows 51 per cent of people experiencing homelessness had been in Child and Family Services at least once in their life. About 62 per cent experienced homelessness a year after aging out of the system.
If passed, the report recommends a status update be made in 2023.
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