Calgarians are invested in the wellbeing of their neighbours amid the affordability crisis says a new report on the city’s state of wellbeing

News Release: Beneath the Surface, the layers of poverty in Calgary 

It's important to examine where systems are keeping some people back

Equity, diversity and inclusion: a pathway to Enough for all

The latest Market Basket Measure numbers show Calgary's cost of living is the second highest in Canada

Canada’s poverty measure shows the high cost of necessities in Calgary

Making Decisions for the Future: Ending Poverty Once and for All

Vibrant Communities Calgary (VCC) is a non-profit organization seeking to engage Calgarians in advocating long-term strategies that address the root causes of poverty in Calgary. Vibrant Communities Calgary (VCC) was incorporated on April 15, 2005 to help steward Enough for All, Calgary’s poverty reduction strategy.

Creating a city where poverty cannot exist is an ambitious goal. It means having a city where our health, education, childcare, and transportation systems meet our needs. A city where jobs pay living wages, and our income support programs meet our basic needs. But it’s what Enough for All strives to attain.

We know that poverty is about so much more than just income. In Beneath the Surface - the layers of poverty in Calgary we look beneath the surface of the metrics, and to learn the story behind them. Looking at these multifaceted layers helps us measure what matters and uncover solutions that will chart a better path forward.

View a summary of Beneath the Surface - the layers of poverty in Calgary.

BeneaththeSurface-CommunityWellbeingReport.pdf

Calgary's living wage is $22.40 per hour. A living wage is a proxy for the cost of living in a community. It is determined by calculating average expenses, taxes, and government benefits for a given household using local costs. A living wage considers the basic needs of an average household, plus the additional costs we all incur from time to time, to allow a household to fully participate, thrive, and build their human and financial assets (e.g., education and savings).

Employment income that is sufficient to cover the cost of living is vital to reducing poverty and building a resilient city and economy. Since 2008, Vibrant Communities Calgary has been updating the living wage figure for Calgary. This brief provides the details of the calculation, which was done in collaboration with the Alberta Living Wage Network.

Living Wage Brief FINAL 2.pdf

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 resulted in shifts in the way that organizations and community-based initiatives provide food and revealed gaps and opportunities within the emergency food system. 

In order to better understand and develop recommendations to improve Calgary’s emergency food assistance program, the Canadian Poverty Institute and Vibrant Communities Calgary published Examining Calgary’s Emergency Food Assistance System in March 2021. The purpose of the research was to explore the scope of food insecurity in Calgary in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, assess the effectiveness of the current emergency food system, and identify opportunities for improving the effectiveness of the emergency food assistance system. 

More than a year later, challenges and disruptions continue to shape Canada’s food systems. The resiliency and adaptability of the system is continually tested, and it remains unclear which changes to the Canadian food system, from the COVID-19 pandemic, will be permanent. This report serves as an update to Examining Calgary’s Emergency Food Assistance System. The purpose is to follow up on the recommendations developed from the original study, and examine which changes were temporary or permanent. It also seeks to document stories from the community; celebrating innovative projects and lessons learned. 

The State of Calgarys Emerg Food Assistance System 2022 (1).pdf

Examining Calgarys Emergency Food Assistance System.pdf

Examining Calgarys Emergency Food Assistance System - Exec Summary.pdf

The State of Calgary's Emergency Food Assistance System

The strength of the Enough for All strategy was highlighted in 2021 as it has continued to be a credible and reliable north star of the system changes that are still needed to make poverty history in Calgary. The 2021 Report to Community outlines some of the key accomplishments and initiatives in the year.

As part of the report, you can also view the audited financial statements for VCC Initiatives Ltd. for the year ended December 31, 2021.

Poverty affects every aspect of your life, not only the ability to meet your basic needs — your health, relationships, how you’re impacted by climate change, even how safe you are while you walk through your neighbourhood. We do the poverty snapshot to understand how people experience poverty and what policy makers can do to help. 

PovertySnapshot2021_FINAL.pdf

Earlier this year, the Calgary Foundation released its 2021 Vital Signs report, reflecting the feelings of 1,000 Calgarians who shared their unique perspectives and impressions of life over the past year. It struck us that this timely snapshot of life in Calgary touched on some important themes such as quality of life, racism, and how people are coping with the pandemic. Check out our infographic below that shows how Enough for All continues to align with some key issues identified by Calgarians.

Vital Signs and Enough for All.pdf

Infographic: Enough for All alignment with Calgary Foundation's Vital Signs Report

Since 2008, Vibrant Communities Calgary (VCC) has been updating the living wage figure for Calgary on an annual basis. The framework for calculating a living wage is adopted from the Living Wage National Framework created by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. 

Income from employment that is sufficient to cover the cost of living in a given region is not only vital to reducing poverty but is a necessary component to a resilient city and economy. People need more than the bare minimum, this includes enough income to cover bank fees, education and training, internet costs, and the ability to save for an unexpected event. Other principles identified by Living Wage Canada include a wage that enables working families to have sufficient income to cover reasonable costs, promote social inclusion, and support healthy child development.

Working in collaboration with other municipalities, VCC has adopted the new standardized methodology to calculate the living wage rate for Calgary. The 2021 living wage is $18.60 per hour, a 10% decrease from the 2020 living wage of $20.69, and a difference of 24% from Alberta’s minimum wage of $15 per hour. The primary reason for the decrease in the living wage is attributed to changes made by the provincial government to Alberta’s childcare subsidy program. 

Living Wage Calgary 2021.pdf

Vibrant Communities Calgary (VCC) has created its Social Procurement Guidelines to ensure that products and services purchased by the team are in alignment with the goals of the Enough for All strategy, of which VCC is the steward. To successfully implement the strategy, organizational purchasing must flow to companies that are rooted in Calgary, provide living wages, and environmentally friendly products and services that meet our organization’s needs and mission. In doing so, VCC can scale the impact of purchasing decisions, and materially contribute to Community Economic Development. 

We encourage our community partners to consider purchasing from businesses that minimize the impact on our environment, pay a living wage, and are based in Calgary to support the local economy. 

Read Momentum 's Social Procurement for Calgary publication.

VCC Procurement Guidelines 2021_Public.pdf

Vibrant Communities Calgary’s Social Procurement Guidelines

Vibrant Communities Calgary and the Canadian Poverty Institute have released a publication outlining the incidence of poverty with poverty-specific data related to Calgary’s 14 wards. 

This information can be used to stimulate debate and highlight poverty as a key election issue with local candidates.

The goal is for municipal candidates to use these profiles to inform their platforms and priority issues and consider how other orders of government and community organizations could address the various issues of poverty. In addition, voting Calgarians can use the information to form questions to ask candidates how they will support and advance poverty reduction if elected.

Both quantitative (numerical data) and qualitative (descriptive data) methods were used to create the profiles for each Ward. Calgarians participated in an online questionnaire designed to give insight into some of the top issues and concerns in each ward. Along with information on what is working well and what solutions are needed to address the various aspects of poverty in each ward.

Poverty is not always visible. Each of the 14 Wards in Calgary have things in common such as a strong sense of community and groups that help community members and residents. At the same time, these profiles are further evidence that poverty exists in each Ward, where people are struggling with access to affordable housing, mental health, transportation, childcare, access to appropriate cultural supports, and food security.

Poverty In Calgary - Calgary Municipal Ward Poverty Profiles.pdf

The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of low-income Calgarians as they cope during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research project engaged with people with lived experience of poverty to understand from their perspectives, how COVID-19 is impacting their day-to-day lives.

We asked participants to describe changes in their lives related to income, employment, service access and health and wellbeing specifically because of the pandemic. Some people reported positive changes including an increase in income from their pre-COVID wages to the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, reduced spending on ‘luxury’ items, increased savings and establishment of their ‘true’ social support networks. However, the majority of people, reported serious and significant negatives changes in their lives related to loss of employment, loss of income, food insecurity and being many weeks or months behind in paying household bills.

Understanding the impact of COVID-19 Addressing structural barriers that are widening inequities and exacerbating vulnerability June 2021.pdf

In reviewing Enough for All’s progress in 2020, we acknowledge the collective efforts of the Enough for All Network to ensure people in our city who live in poverty were – and continue to be – supported. The 2020 Report to Community outlines some of the key accomplishments and initiatives in the year. 

As part of the report you can also view the audited financial statements for VCC Initiatives Ltd. for the year ended December 31, 2020.

VCC - ReportToCommunity-FINAL.pdf

Income from employment that is sufficient to cover the cost of living in a given region is not only vital to reducing poverty but is a necessary component to a resilient city and economy. People need more than the bare minimum, this includes enough income to cover bank fees, education and training, internet costs, and the ability to save for an unexpected event. Other principles identified by Living Wage Canada include a wage that enables working families to have sufficient income to cover reasonable costs, promote social inclusion, and support healthy child development.

Working in collaboration with other municipalities, Vibrant Communities Calgary has adopted the new standardized methodology to calculate the living wage rate for Calgary.  The 2020 living wage is $20.69 per hour, a substantial 27% increase from the 2018 rate of $16.45, and a difference of 39% from Alberta’s minimum wage of $15 per hour.  

LivingWage_Brief_2020-Formatted.pdf

2020 has been a tough year. While the data is not all in, this year has brought inequities to the surface, in our own city and worldwide. 

Among those harder hit include Calgarians who were experiencing poverty before COVID-19 began. Parents, especially mothers, are struggling to balance work and childcare, and many are leaving employment altogether. Racialized groups and people with lower incomes are less likely to be able to work from home and much more likely to contract COVID-19. Unpaid sick leave was always an issue of poverty, but today it is a matter of public health. 

The intersection of COVID-19, the recession, and increasing food prices has made the vulnerable more vulnerable. We don’t have all the information yet, but need to be prepared to support Calgarians facing unprecedented challenges. As such, we’ll share the most recent data we have on poverty in Calgary and what we know about this radical new context.

poverty-snapshot-in-calgary_2020.pdf

Vibrant Communities Calgary and EndPovertyEdmonton believe the Alberta government plays a pivotal role in ensuring public safety, wellbeing, and in creating the right environment for civil society to adequately do its job. While we realize these are extraordinary times, Alberta’s debt and increasing health care costs are long standing challenges. When the causes of health care and opportunities for savings are closely examined, the evidence points overwhelmingly to various issues related to poverty. We understand and respect the difficult choices your government has had to make during an extremely challenging year, and we believe this submission presents a path forward towards modernizing our policies for the Alberta of today, helping create a strong foundation for the future. 

priorities-for-alberta-budget_vcc-epe-joint-submission_2021.pdf

Poverty Talks! gathered with community members for the 2020 International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

Poverty exists along a continuum from those not at immediate risk of poverty to those living in conditions of deep poverty. This report examines the characteristics of those at risk of living in income poverty with income just above the poverty line, as well as those in shallow and deep poverty.

risk-and-depth-of-poverty-in-calgary_socio-demographic-profile.pdf

The Risk and Depth of Poverty in Calgary: A Socio-Demographic Profile

Vibrant Communities Calgary is the steward of Enough for All, Calgary's poverty reduction strategy. We held our 2020 virtual AGM on 8 July 2020.

Leger was contracted by EndPovertyEdmonton in collaboration with Vibrant Communities Calgary to conduct an online survey with Albertans to assess awareness, behaviours, attitudes, lifestyles and socio-demographics in regards to ‘Basic Income’.

The results of this research will help EndPovertyEdmonton and Vibrant Communities Calgary with future communications.

Leger-Basic-Income-Perception-Survey-with-Albertans-FINAL.pdf

Basic Income Perception Survey with Albertans

A detailed list, linking out to many helpful resources for people who may be struggling during COVID-19.

VCC COVID-19 resource list-05-17-21.pdf

New protections are in place for residential and mobile homes site tenants facing financial hardship due to COVID-19.

Information-for-Employees-Renters-and-Utility-Customers-in-Alberta.pdf

Information for Employees, Renters, and Utility Customers in Alberta during COVID-19

We all experience stress and feelings of anxiety in challenging times, but now we may feel overwhelmed by a number of simultaneous stressors - isolation, financial and employment uncertainty, kids home from school and getting cabin fever – all things that are beyond our control during this pandemic.

E4A-Drug-Free-Kids-Infographic-2.pdf

Drug Free Kids Canada: Supporting yourself and your family during COVID-19

The year 2019 marked the beginning of phase two for Calgary’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. The refreshed strategy Enough for All 2.0: Leveraging Our Communities’ Leadership to Tackle Poverty in Calgary (E4A 2.0) was developed after several months of community consultation and is informed by the evaluative learnings from phase one, the first four years of the strategy (2015-2018). This evaluation report shows progress and identifies gaps in the Goals, Levers of Change, Principles and the role of the Champions and Vibrant Communities Calgary (VCC) in advancing the strategy. 

The short and long-term influences of the provincial deficit, Alberta’s economic downturn and the COVID-19 pandemic are yet to be determined. It is likely that demand for resources will increase at a time when funding for social programs is at risk. We may also see a ‘new level of vulnerability’ and poverty as Calgarians who were managing before the pandemic now deal with reduced income from unemployment and mounting debt related to deferred mortgage and/or utility payments and/or use of credit to obtain emergency supplies. 

evaluation-report_2019.pdf

Refreshed poverty reduction strategy for 2019–2023

Over the past five years, there have been significant changes in the social and economic landscape in our community. For example, citizens have experienced the effects of a significant fall in the price of oil, an increase in unemployment rates, and a persistent downturn in the economy. At the same time, progress has been made by community organizations, as well as all levels of government introducing of the Alberta Child Benefit, the increasing and indexing of income support programs to the cost of living, six new community hubs, and a national poverty reduction strategy to name a few. Yet, poverty is the day-to- day reality of more than 120,000 Calgarians.

EnoughforAll2.0.pdf

E4A-2-0-Summary.pdf

The Government of Alberta is offering temporary financial support for working Albertans who must self-isolate because they meet the published criteria for self-isolation. This includes people who are the sole care-giver for a child or dependent adult who must self-isolate because they meet the public health criteria, and who will not have another source of income while they are self-isolated.

COVID-19_financial-supports_english.pdf

COVID-19_financial-supports_amharic.pdf

COVID-19_financial-supports_arabic.pdf

COVID-19_financial-supports_bengali.pdf

COVID-19_financial-supports_farsi.pdf

COVID-19_financial-supports_french.pdf

COVID-19_financial-supports_hindi.pdf

COVID-19_financial-supports_japanese.pdf

COVID-19_financial-supports_korean.pdf

COVID-19_financial-supports_punjabi.pdf

COVID-19_financial-supports_spanish.pdf

COVID-19_financial-supports_tagalog.pdf

Financial supports for people impacted by COVID-19

On March 17, 2020, Canada’s six largest banks announced plans to provide financial relief to Canadians impacted by the economic consequences of COVID-19. Effective immediately, Bank of Montreal, CIBC, National Bank of Canada, RBC Royal Bank, Scotiabank and TD Bank have made a commitment to work with personal and small business banking customers on a case-by-case basis to provide flexible solutions to help them manage through challenges such as pay disruption due to COVID-19; childcare disruption due to school closures; or those facing illness from COVID-19.

Document includes English, Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Spanish, Tagalog, and Tigrinya versions.

Deferred-Mortgage-Payment-Information.pdf

Deferred Mortgage Payment Information During COVID-19

This information sheet was prepared by Vibrant Communities Calgary in collaboration with other community organizations to provide Calgarians with credible information about the quickly evolving local response to COVID-19. This is a summary of resources meant to keep Calgarians safe and well.

COVID-19_information-for-calgarians_english.pdf

COVID-19_information-for-calgarians_amharic.pdf

COVID-19_information-for-calgarians_arabic.pdf

COVID-19_information-for-calgarians_bengali.pdf

COVID-19_information-for-calgarians_chinese-simplified.pdf

COVID-19_information-for-calgarians_chinese-traditional.pdf

COVID-19_information-for-calgarians_farsi.pdf

COVID-19_information-for-calgarians_french.pdf

COVID-19_information-for-calgarians_hindi.pdf

COVID-19_information-for-calgarians_japanese.pdf

COVID-19_information-for-calgarians_korean.pdf

COVID-19_information-for-calgarians_punjabi.pdf

COVID-19_information-for-calgarians_spanish.pdf

COVID-19_information-for-calgarians_tagalog.pdf

Vibrant Communities Calgary (VCC) has been advocating for policies to reduce poverty for over a decade, and from our perspective Budget 2019 raises concerns in our collective desire to reduce poverty in Calgary. Although we understand and respect the difficult choices our government has had to make as they work to balance the budget, our role as a backbone organization of Enough for All, Calgary’s poverty reduction strategy, commits us to share our concerns, and deepen awareness. 

vcc-response-to-alberta-budget_2019.pdf

VCC's Response to the Alberta Budget 2019

Treaty No. 7 was the last of the numbered treaties negotiated and signed during the 1870s. The treaty covers the southern part of present-day Alberta. From the government's perspective, the need for Treaty Seven was immediate and simple. As part of the terms of bringing British Columbia into Confederation in 1871, the Canadian government had promised to build a trans-continental railway within ten years. Such a line would have to traverse the newly- acquired western territories, through land still nominally in control of Indian tribes. Huge land concessions would need to be offered to the company building the railway and later, the existence of the line would encourage large-scale immigration to the western prairies. 

treaty-land-acknowledgement.pdf

As we reflect on 2019, we, as a community, made incredible strides in making aspects of what contributes to poverty in Calgary, now, only part of our history. We worked with individuals, community groups and leaders to increase local capacity work to develop concrete poverty reduction initiatives. Diligent work happened broadly across our levers of change, as we saw changes in policies, regulations, investments, structures, and practices, as well as developments in programs, services, and supports that help Calgarians ‘beat the odds.’ Together, we expanded public awareness and support to address various causes of poverty. 

Our story this year was full of new chapters. In March 2019, the Enough for All Strategy refresh was launched. Enough for All 2.0: Leveraging our Communities’ Leadership to Tackle Poverty in Calgary was the culmination of countless hours of consultations from all sectors in our community. It was an affirmation that this strategy has worked, and a confirmation that there is still a lot of work to do. 

report-to-community_2019.pdf

We have audited the financial statements of VCC Initiatives Ltd. (the "Organization"), which comprise the statement of financial position as at December 31, 2019 and the statements of operations and changes in net assets and cash flows for the year then ended, and a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory information. 

In our opinion, the accompanying financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of VCC Initiatives Ltd. as at December 31, 2019 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with Canadian accounting standards for not-for-profit organizations. 

financials_2019.pdf

The 2019 Alberta budget will impact Calgary’s efforts to achieve the goals within the Enough for All strategy. The budget’s primary focus is on jobs and the economy with a plan to reduce spending by 2.8% over the next four years. VCC has identified which areas of the budget will impact the goals of Enough for All. 

provincial-budget-e4a-fact-sheet_2019.pdf

Alberta Provincial Budget 2019: E4A Fact Sheet

Due to some significant and largely positive changes in social policy, and a refreshed Enough for All strategy, VCC has decided to release a Poverty Snapshot for 2019. 

The purpose of this snapshot is to provide Enough for All stakeholders with low-income statistics that can be utilized in their current and future efforts, and more generally to make Statistics Canada and other income data more accessible. 

a-snapshot-of-poverty-in-calgary_2019.pdf

2018 was the fourth and final evaluation year of the Enough for All (E4A) strategy utilizing a Collective Impact, approach with Vibrant Communities Calgary (VCC) as the backbone. Given this, this evaluation report highlights how the E4A goals progressed to reduce poverty in Calgary, as well as challenges and considerations that emerged over four years of implementing E4A. 

evaluation-report_2018.pdf

Carlene Donnelly, Executive Director of CUPS, was the first to sign a CUPS/Enough for All 2.0 shared value agreement. It outlines a commitment to publicly acknowledge the alignment of its work with the mental health lever of change and to advance policy and system changes through the Calgary Social Policy Collaborative, to share one or two of its current metrics of the impact of their programs and to over time live out the principles outlined in the strategy. In so doing, CUPS has become a champion of the strategy. The strategy invites all organizations and collaboratives to consider becoming strategy champions. 

quarterly_2019-spring.pdf

Arguably the most significant recommendation that was implemented was the introduction of a provincial child benefit. In 2015, the Government of Alberta introduced the Alberta Child Benefit. The benefit resulted in $175 million going to 127,345 families with household incomes of less than $41,200. Combined with the Government of Canada’s changes to the national child benefit, the level of child poverty in Alberta was reduced by 50 percent. 

albertas-progress-in-poverty-reduction_2019.pdf

2018 marks the halfway point in the strategy. We have much to be thankful for, including child poverty in our province has been reduced by 50 per cent, the Government of Alberta increased and indexed our income support programs, the Government of Canada released Opportunity for All, a national strategy to reduce poverty, our province released a provincial housing strategy, 10,000 were housed through the housing first approach, 81,000 were approved in Calgary’s Fair Entry program so that they could more easily access subsidies for city services and more than 40,000 made use of the sliding scale transit pass. Together under the Enough for All banner, we are making a difference in our community.

report-to-community_2018.pdf

Statement of Financial Position As at December 31, 2018 

financials_2018.pdf

Today starts just like every other day. You get up. You get ready. You go to the first of your two jobs.

It's the only way many Calgarians can pay for life's basic needs, and once they do they are just left with $7 a day. Not enough to send their kids to school. Not enough to get themselves to work. Not enough for healthcare extras and no chance to fall back on credit.

There are 122,000 Calgarians living in poverty. among the most vulnerable are single mothers with kids under the age of five, immigrants over the age of 18, Indigenous peoples and seniors. They are 1 in 10 of our neighbours and poverty is never their choice. Helping them starts with understanding, and we all need to rise to the challenge.

Julie Van Rosendaal, food writer, cookbook author, and columnist on the Calgary Eyeopener on CBC Radio met with Rebecca a Calgarian, volunteer and advocate for food security. Julie and Rebecca discovered they share a desire for giving back to the community and helping those in need. 

Challenge Poverty YYC: Julie Van Rosendaal & Rebecca Sandberg

The Calgary Homeless Foundation (CHF) and Vibrant Communities Calgary (VCC) understand the intersection between homelessness and poverty. Since 2013, the two organizations have discussed and shared data and knowledge between Calgary’s 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness and Enough for All. 

VCC began the planning for the refresh of Enough for All in the summer of 2018, while CHF began a community consultation process to outline the strategic directives that will guide our future work to end homelessness in our city. To take advantage of the benefits of collective community feedback, CHF and VCC co-hosted three consultation sessions that highlighted topics related to homelessness and poverty. 

CHF will be sharing the Collective Impact Report to Stakeholders on December 13th. During the event CHF will look back over the past decade to celebrate the impact our work has had on our city, honour our shared accomplishments, and demonstrate what our collective future looks like beyond 2018. Invitations for the event were sent to the leaders of agencies working in the Homeless-Serving System of Care, to be shared with their staff and volunteers.

quarterly_2018-fall.pdf

Poverty is being deprived of the resources, means, choices, and power to acquire and maintain self-sufficiency and social participation.

10-things-to-know-about-poverty-in-calgary_2018.pdf

10 Things to Know About Poverty in Calgary and Area

Influential Calgarians met with people in the community who have first-hand knowledge of what it’s like to live in poverty as part of the Challenge Poverty YYC campaign. 

Challenge Poverty YYC: Neil Zeller & Miriam

2017 was the third year of implementation of the Enough For All (E4A) strategy, utilizing a collective impact approach with Vibrant Communities Calgary (VCC) as the backbone. In its third year of implementation, E4A is clearly becoming both a network and an anchor that weaves and grounds all poverty reduction preventions and interventions in Calgary. In 2017 there were clear and measurable changes that demonstrated progress and alignment within each of the four goals of the E4A strategy. Collaboratives and stakeholders within E4A, to varying degrees, are orienting their development, planning and outcomes to one or more of the E4A goals. This focus and tightening of alignment is being integrated throughout all of the work and is a significant indictor of the shifting and strengthening landscape of the E4A collective impact. Overall, the numbers of people living with low incomes in Calgary has not changed dramatically and remains steady in spite of significant limiting factors of increases in population and unemployment and strenuous economic conditions in Alberta. The E4A strategy, as both net and anchor, has been pivotal in preventing more people moving into poverty and low income in Calgary. Social change requires everyday commitments coupled with dedication to the long-term investment to create positive change within the complex issue of poverty. This evaluation illustrates the early changes that are being achieved as a result of the E4A strategy alongside recommendations to increasingly strengthen the strategy and its collective impact approach. 

evaluation-report_2017.pdf

Mike Morrison, a writer, blogger, and activist met with Nigel a community partner and advocate for the homeless community. They both share a desire to be vocal activists and strong proponents for social inclusion.

Challenge Poverty YYC: Mike Morrison & Nigel

George Brookman, a businessman and volunteer, met with Pamela an Indigenous community partner who is an advocate for education, wellness and volunteering. George and Pamela discovered they share a desire for giving back to the community and helping those in need. 

Elyse Bouvier, a photographer and artist, met with Margaret, a registered social worker and facilitator who works with low income individuals.

Times have changed in Calgary and the latest update of the long-term economic strategy for the city is titled Calgary in the New Economy. Approved by City Council in June, it reflects the opportunities and risks, which have arisen from unprecedented technological innovation, and are impacting every sector of the economy. 

The strategy is designed to be the blueprint that aligns governments, businesses, educators, community leaders and other key stakeholders on initiatives that support economic competitiveness, embrace shared prosperity and build a strong community. 

The strategy is ultimately about people. It was developed by Calgary Economic Development, but it is a plan for Calgary with the direction set through extensive public engagement and roundtables with business, government, education and community leaders. 

Vibrant Communities Calgary, as the Stewards of Enough for All: Calgary’s Poverty Reduction Strategy, was an important voice in the discussion that in building a strong community, everyone must have an opportunity to share in the city’s prosperity. 

quarterly_2018-summer.pdf

Dwight Farahat is a spoken word poet and freestyle emcee who hails from Calgary, Alberta and has roots with Siksika First Nation.

On October 12, 2017, the Enough for All Indigenous Advisory Committee held a conference titled "Reconciliation Journey - Walking a Path Together" in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Reconciliation Journey - Walking a Path Together

Reconciliation Journey - Where do you go to get grounded and reconnect?

Tyler Makinaw is an Indigenous Liaison at Calgary Legal Guidance.

Sherry Hiebert Keck, Managing Director, Louise Dean Centre - Catholic Family Services (CFS) answers the question, "Where do you see CFS on the journey to reconciliation?"

Reconciliation Journey - Sherry Hiebert Keck

The event was attended by 150 people from businesses, government, non-profits, and the community.

Together they shared stories and experiences around reconciliation, the past, the present and the future.

Casey Eagle Speaker, Aboriginal Resource Coordinator at Hull Services, answers the question, "What changes have you seen Hull Services around Indigenous relations?"

Reconciliation Journey - Casey Eagle Speaker

Speakers were asked the questions "What grounds you?" "Where do you go to reconnect with your culture, with the creator?"

Daisy Giroux from Untied Way of Calgary and Area answers the question, "What do you think of the shift from education to intergenerational trauma at the United Way?"

Eugene Brave Rock, Actor, answers the question, "If you were the head of Indigenous film and television in Canada, where would you send filmmakers?"

Reconciliation Journey - Eugene Brave Rock

Income inequality provides a lens through which we can better understand the depth of poverty in Calgary and Alberta, particularly as it highlights the startling contrast between those who fall at the highest and lowest deciles. Understanding the ways in which income inequality manifests requires a complex and multifaceted approach, as it is the product of an evolving interplay of economic forces, public policy and income dynamics over several decades (Green, et al. 2016).

why-income-inequality-is-harmful-to-communities_2018.pdf

Why Income Inequality is Harmful to Communities

From 1994 to 2008, Calgary had the fastest growing population of people experiencing homelessness
 in Canada. Point-in-Time (PiT) count projections estimated that, in the absence of targeted interventions, there would be more than 10,000 people experiencing homelessness in Calgary on any given night by the end of 2018. 

Calgary led the country by ambitiously implementing Canada’s first 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness (Calgary’s Plan). In 2008, Calgary’s Plan started with a Housing First strategy and called on municipal, provincial and federal orders of government to take 

action. The Calgary Homeless Foundation (CHF) was chosen to implement Calgary’s Plan and coordinate efforts among the homeless-serving community. As January 29, 2018 marks the end of Calgary’s Plan, the homeless serving community is excited to celebrate our progress, share our learnings and engage Calgarians in our vision beyond 2018. 

quarterly_2018-spring.pdf

More than ever before, those receiving Alberta Works and Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) payments are at higher risk of living in poverty than that of the rest of the population. Inadequacies in the current provincial income support programs entrench more people reliant on those income support programs below the poverty line.

albertas-income-supports-are-keeping-people-poor_2018.pdf

Alberta's Income Supports are Keeping People Poor

A thorough assessment of data sharing in the changing context of Enough for All had to go beyond the tactical considerations (i.e. what policies, processes and technologies should be used?) to also include the strategic considerations (i.e. what type of performance measurement and evaluation is appropriate for the current state of Enough for All?). Based on a foundation of research and learning this report tackles both the tactical and strategic aspects of data sharing. 

data-sharing-recommendations-report_2018.pdf

Enabling Community Data Sharing for the E4A Strategy and Collective Impact Evaluation Framework

Poverty is different than low income. Enough for All defines poverty as the condition of a human being who is deprived of the resources, means, choices and power to acquire and maintain self sufficiency while being able to be an active participant in society. Low Income 

is based exclusively on one indicator; income. This report focuses primarily on the incidence of low income and the ways in which low income may be manifested or developed (e.g., under employment or unemployment). Adding to the complexity, there are three different measures of low income used in Canada; Market Basket Measure, Low Income Cut-Off and Low Income Measure. For the purpose of this report, we have included the definition of the second and third measurements.

poverty-in-calgary-snapshot_2018.pdf

Calgary welcomed 93,255 immigrants in the period of 2011 to 2016 (Statistics Canada, 2016). With the total number of immigrants, including non-permanent residents within Calgary totaling 431,870, Calgary has the fourth largest immigrant population in Canada (Statistics Canada, 2016). The more recent a person has immigrated to Canada, the more likely they are to be living in low income. 

poverty-affects-newcomers_2018.pdf

2017 was the third year of implementing Enough for All. Given the complexity of the underlying causes of poverty – including income, mental health, education, racism and marginalization – a foundation of the strategy is that all sectors need to work differently. As a community, it requires that we balance our organizational goals with the needs of our fellow Calgarians who live in chronic scarcity. No one sector or organization can reduce the prevalence of poverty in our community. Greater collaboration is required. 

The past year saw greater signs of progress on this front. The Financial Empowerment Collaborative coordinated the filing of 8,000+ tax filings, resulting in $3.7 million in refunds. The Social Policy Collaborative launched a shared policy pilot in which 11 organizations contributed funds to the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy to provide evidence-based research on both basic income and the changing face of poverty in Alberta. The research will provide a foundation for advocacy moving forward. The Community Hubs Collaborative created a toolkit – a resource that any group can use to improve access to services in their community. The City of Calgary launched the sliding scale transit pass, which over 40,000 accessed in the first few months of its implementation alone. The City’s Fair Entry program continued to remove barriers to its services. The Community Housing Affordability Collective has been fully active in promoting the development and improved accessibility of affordable housing. The Indigenous Advisory Committee held two community sessions to deepen the community’s understanding and help advance the response by organizations and individuals to the 94 calls to action in the Truth and Reconciliation Report. 

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Articles & events by this contributor

News Release: Beneath the Surface, the layers of poverty in Calgary

Equity, diversity and inclusion: a pathway to Enough for all

Canada’s poverty measure shows the high cost of necessities in Calgary

Resources by this contributor

Community Wellbeing Report

Calgary's Living Wage

The State of Calgary's Emergency Food Assistance System

Report to Community 2021

Poverty Snapshot in Calgary

Infographic: Enough for All alignment with Calgary Foundation's Vital Signs Report

Living Wage Calgary 2021

Vibrant Communities Calgary’s Social Procurement Guidelines

Calgary Municipal Ward Poverty Profiles

Understanding the Impact of COVID-19