VCC’s policy and research specialist Lee Stevens reflects on the 2023 Alberta Budget

It’s challenging to write about this day says VCC’s executive director Meaghon Reid

I tried to write a blog post about International Women’s Day...

Lee Stevens says Calgary's high ranking in inequality is not new in a recent interview with Global News

Calgary the second most unequal city in Canada: report

VCC's Lee Stevens discusses a new report on Calgary's well-being with CBC

Amid the rising cost of living, Calgarians are looking out for each other, says new report

VCC discusses how there isn't enough research to track how well kids are doing

Lower-income Calgary students facing additional barriers in recovering from pandemic learning gaps

VCC's latest report examines the multifaceted layers of wellbeing in Calgary

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 

Tax filing can often boost income for people in poverty; Rise Calgary’s Nancy Cobber explores why some people don’t file

VCC discusses the ongoing need for affordable housing with Global News

Calgary announces $13.7M for affordable housing initiatives amid surging demand

Poverty Talks!'s Sue Gwynn talks about the difficulties people face when dealing with utility arears and disconnection

The unseen costs of utility disconnection

A chat with AI-driven ChatGPT about poverty

Can technology help create a greater understanding of poverty?

It's type for more affordable housing in our city says VCC's Lee Stevens

Calgarians struggle to find affordable housing as number of low-cost rental units decreases

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

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

Point-in-time counts provide only a part of the information we need to understand the size of the homeless problem, says researcher Dr. Ron Kneebone

VCC is concerned some people are falling through the cracks

First affordability payments delivered, but long-term solutions are needed

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

VCC's executive director says Calgarians are being squeezed when they're already facing an affordability crisis

Rental vacancy at lowest levels since 2014, affordability gap grows: CMHC

VCC's executive director discusses the effect of rising costs and some solutions

Inflation’s impact on people living in poverty

Poor mental health and access to affordable housing are intertwined

'Our next pandemic': Calgary's housing fragility takes a heavy toll on mental health

Singles, a group often overrepresented in deep poverty, are mostly left out of Alberta's Affordability Action Plan 

Action to improve affordability leaves some out

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

Adult Literacy and Foundational Learning 

Elder Roy Bear Chief explained to the VCC team that on the path to reconciliation there are commitments we all must make. He used the Blackfoot words Nisto (me), Kisto (you) and Kistoonon (us) to explain that some of the work happens individually and some of it collectively - like horses pulling a wagon. His teachings guided us to develop our individual commitments and our shared commitments as we work to co-create a future without poverty with Indigenous peoples. 

The Enough for All Indigenous Advisory Committee provides guidance in order to meaningfully address the unique issues facing Calgary’s Indigenous peoples. The Enough for All strategy relies on principles including shared leadership, dignity for all, mobilizing awareness and empathy of inter-generational trauma, reducing racism and discrimination, and implementing the 94 calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Vibrant Communities Calgary convened five local Indigenous women to discuss what a future Calgary would look like where we have achieved goal 3 of the Enough for All Strategy and Indigenous People are co-creators of Calgary's future without poverty. The women represented different generations and experiences from nations across Canada. 

Indigenous Women's Circle

Special thanks to Elder Mary Many Grey Horses, Joanne Pinnow, Christy Morgan, Theodora Warrior and Kymowyn Sugar.

Test your knowledge of the rich culture, history and language of Indigenous peoples and communities around Alberta

The following information is protected by smudge that represents our commitment/contract to this work and the voice of knowledge keepers in our collective journey ahead. 

On March 5, 2019 members of VCC, the Enough for all Strategy refresh committee and the Indigenous Advisory committee were invited to sit in circle for a truthing and guidance by a group of local elders representing the diversity that exists within our Indigenous Nations. With elements of oral practice and ceremony facilitated by Piikani Elder, Reg Crowshoe and all elders present, our circle began and is intended to be a crucial piece of this strategy for all entities who will adopt this work moving forward.

Enough for All 2.0 is a Western Non-Indigenous written construct. The Indigenous approach is one of story. To be successful we need to bring the two approaches together. They need to work together. Ceremony is a key component. The Elder’s Circle is a “contract or agreement” of our joint commitment to implement the strategy together from both of our world views. The Elders provided further thoughts, words of wisdom, ideas on how to work forward in a parallel way with both a western way and Indigenous, wise, ways of knowing. 

“They talked about our way of life, they talked about our stories. In our way of life, our belief and our laws come from the land, come from natural laws. We work together in parallel. Whatever you do, needs to be culturally translated and culturally interpreted. Whatever elders say must be culturally translated and interpreted into English. His analogy of a team of horses working together. The knowledge and the systems are what we must parallel so that we can work together. If we don’t work with Indigenous knowledge within the systems, then I don’t think Indigenous people will have a buy-in or anything to grab on to and then programs will be rolled out over them.” 

The insights and wisdom shared in the circle will inform the strategy’s implementation. The Indigenous definition of poverty is Kimaataapiiski and explains what poverty means to Indigenous People. Kimmaapiitisiin is the compassion and humbleness to help poverty. The overarching theme centred on incorporating Indigenous ways of knowing into the work of agencies, sectors and systems who adopt Enough for All 2.0. Ongoing engagement of Elders, through ceremony will be incorporated into the ways we continue to convene and mobilize the work of poverty reduction in the community.

In the Enough for All strategy, an Elder of the Blackfoot Confederacy explained the importance of building understanding and mutual respect with Indigenous communities: “What do we do as a responsible society to fix poverty? Kimatapsini — have empathy and compassion. Understand how the impoverished got to this state. Learn from their stories. Provide services and opportunities to help them to become independent again as the resilient Indigenous people that they are. Building understanding and mutual respect is key in reconciliation.” 

In April 2021,  Vibrant Communities Calgary kicked off a series of Indigenous learning events for our Champions. Participants are asked to reflect on their own Truth and Reconciliation journey and its place in the Enough for All strategy, and the barriers to moving Indigenous engagement work forward. These collaborative sessions are a step in building understanding and mutual respect with Indigenous communities.

The Burns Memorial Fund, one of our Champions, is part of the Collaborative Funders’ Table, a group of organizations that aims to improve employment outcomes among Opportunity Youth in Calgary and contribute to the broader field of knowledge about effective youth employment strategies and programs. The Table shares some of its journey and learnings in Engaging Indigenous Peoples: Lessons for Funding and Program Design.

There are more than 500 places in Calgary devoted to cultures and spirituality, but not one is specifically intended for Indigenous peoples. The Indigenous Gathering Place Society is hoping to change that. Learn more about the steps taken to advance the development of an Indigenous gathering space.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission Reports and Calls to Action.

Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls

Learn about Indigenous rights and issues, or expand your breadth of knowledge, view a presentation about Treaty Land Acknowledgement.

To help get you started on your reconciliation journey, reference Engaging with Elders: A Co-created Story and take a look at the Calgary Foundation's Indigenous Ally Toolkit. 

For historical reference, before the Enough for All strategy was refreshed in 2019, there was a stand-alone Indigenous Poverty Reduction Strategy.

Indigenous Canada is a 12-lesson course from the Faculty of Native Studies that explores the different histories and contemporary perspectives of Indigenous peoples living in Canada.

VCC's staff and Board members continue their learning journey and are advancing Goal 3 of the Enough for All Strategy. We also provide learning opportunities for Enough for All Champions and create spaces for them to share their learnings along their paths toward reconciliation.

Each Lever of Change aligns with the calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The urgency of poverty among Indigenous peoples in Calgary cannot be overstated. Along with Enough for All collaborators, the Indigenous Advisory Committee is working intentionally with the Indigenous community to develop an Indigenous Poverty Reduction Strategy.

In this episode, Jaclyn Silbernagel sits down with Salimah Kassam, leader of Rise Calgary, to explore what it means to move from a scarcity to strength mindset, the concept of designing systems that create slack for people, and what some of the roadblocks are to shifting perspectives on poverty.

Episode 17: Shifting Mindsets – Scarcity to Strength

In this episode, Meaghon Reid sits down with Adam Legge, president of the Business Council of Alberta, to explore what the role of business is in society, how that role is evolving, links between business and a healthy society, and the concept of shared prosperity.

Episode 16: Shared Prosperity – the Role of Business in Society

In this episode, Jaclyn Silbernagel sits down with James Stauch, executive director of the Institute for Community Prosperity at Mount Royal University, to explore social innovation and social purpose, and how systems mapping is a wayfinding tool that helps deepen one’s understanding of a problem.

Episode 15: Social Innovation, Mapping Systems & Building Trust

In this episode, Jaclyn Silbernagel sits down with Jessica Cope Williams, Co-CEO of Kindred Connections Society, to explore how an organization’s name can act as a barrier to those trying to access services and what it means to be a connection first organization. 

Episode 14: Mental Health and Connection First Strategies

In this episode, VCC’s Meaghon Reid sits down with Steacy Pinney, CEO of Calgary Reads, to explore how Calgary Reads is spreading early literacy across Calgary through the Dandelion strategy, and the importance of literacy and prevention in the early years. 

Episode 13: Literacy & the Dandelion Strategy

In this episode, Jaclyn Silbernagel sits down with Sarah Sinclair, a Lawyer who leads the Indigenous justice program Sahwoo mohkaak tsi ma taas (Blackfoot for “Before Being Judged”) at Calgary Legal Guidance, to discuss creating equal access to justice for Indigenous people, how Indigenous Law brings healing, and the need for systemic change in the legal system.

Episode 12: Systemic Change – Indigenous People and the Legal System

In this episode, Jaclyn Silbernagel sits down with Lee Stevens, policy and research specialist with Vibrant Communities Calgary to explore basic income. What a basic income could mean for Canadians and how it could have a positive impact on our social support systems.

In this episode, Jaclyn Silbernagel sits down with Lee Stevens, VCC’s policy and research specialist and this episodes’ co-host alongside Nevena Ivanovic, public policy coordinator with the Women’s Centre of Calgary and Andrea Cox, manager of government relations with YW Calgary. Together they discuss women and the economy, child care in Alberta, and what’s working in regards to policy.

Episode 10: Child Care, Women, and the Economy

In this episode, VCC’s Meaghon Reid sits down with the CEO of The Alex, Joy Bowen-Eyre, to explore what it means to provide dignified services, how food is a convenor and community builder, and how progress comes from investing energy into policy and advocacy. 

In this episode, Jaclyn Silbernagel sits down with Hagir Sail, Community Facilitation and Engagement Specialist with Vibrant Communities Calgary to explore allyship. 

In this episode, Jaclyn Silbernagel sits down with Celestina Akinkunmi with the Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association (CIWA) to explore settlement and integration services in Calgary.

In this episode, Jaclyn Silbernagel sits down with Vibrant Communities Calgary and EndPovertyEdmonton’s Executive Directors to get their perspectives on poverty reduction and the future of Alberta.

Episode 6: No Battle of Alberta when it comes to Poverty Reduction

In this episode, VCC’s Meaghon Reid sits down with Momentum’s Jeff Loomis to talk about financial empowerment, innovations like the QUBER Savings App, skills training for the growing tech industry and more.

Episode 5: Building Assets Brings Opportunity

In this episode, Jaclyn Silbernagel catches up with Sue Gwynn from Poverty Talks! to chat about the importance of engaging with the voices of lived experience. Hear about why Poverty Talks! challenges perceptions around poverty, how models and systems keep people in poverty, and why poverty is a trap.

In this episode, VCC’s Executive Director Meaghon Reid sits down with Mayor Naheed Nenshi. Mayor Nenshi is one of the original champions of the Enough for All strategy and emphasizes how ‘my neighbour’s strength is my strength.’ Listen to them discuss priorities for Calgary and poverty reduction and their optimism for the future. 

Episode 3: My Neighbour’s Strength is My Strength

In this episode, VCC’s Executive Director Meaghon Reid sits down with Karen Young, president and CEO of the United Way of Calgary and Area, to discuss how community partnerships deliver dividends in the poverty reduction space. The United Way is a leader in developing key partnerships that drive results. Get to know what the United Way has learned from initiatives like Community Hubs, how businesses are evolving around social purpose, and how they’re taking community action on mental health.

Literary specialist Berniece Gowan discusses how improving literacy levels can shift the needle on poverty reduction.

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. 

In this video, hear from members of the Indigenous Advisory Committee who share their thoughts on the following, "What do you think are the biggest accomplishments towards poverty reduction for Indigenous peoples?", and "Where to you think we continue to struggle to have an impact?"

Videography by Trevor Solway (Solway Entertainment) 

Special thanks to Joanne Pinnow, Lee Stevens, and Buddie Dixon.

Enough for All Evaluation 2018: Indigenous Advisory Committee

Enough for All is Calgary’s community-driven poverty reduction strategy. As a part of the 2017 Evaluation of the work of Enough for All, the following video highlights the work of the Indigenous Advisory Committee and was created to incorporate an oral component into the evaluation report.

To develop the approach, the evaluators partnered with VCC staff and the Indigenous Advisory Committee to discuss how best to represent the work and present the impact in 2017. 

Footage was captured at two events May 30, 2017 and October 12, 2017 called "Reconciliation Journey – Walking at Path Together".

2017 Evaluation Highlights from the Indigenous Advisory Committee

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. 

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

The Calgary Poverty Reduction Initiative - Aboriginal Strategy is the fourth goal of the CPRI Strategy. The Issue Strategist was hired in mid-January 2014 to develop this goal. To assist with the development an Aboriginal Advisory Committee was identified to support the Issue Strategist. The Issue Strategist reached out to many organizations working with the Indigenous population within the City of Calgary and was invited to participate in many advisory committees where information was shared and relationships were established. The relationships established helped identify issues and priorities to be addressed. The following solutions were identified to be the most critical in creating the transformative change that would begin the long-term strategy to support the Indigenous population of Calgary – the First Nations, Inuit, Métis, Status Indians, and non-Status Indians to be active participants in creating a meaningful space where Healing, Education and De-colonization programs would become a reality. The implementation of these types of programs would change the reality Indigenous people live in today. 

CPRI - Aboriginal Poverty Strategy Development

This Elder Protocol project is centered on Indigenous ways of knowing and doing. As the facilitator of this project, I have been blessed to work with our Calgary based Elders, knowledge holders and partner Cultural Mediators to make this happen. I am merely the gatherer of stories, and share the wisdom and words with you in hopes of fostering the ethical space where we can make our community stronger together. – Monique Fry, Xwchíyò:m Band, Stó:lō Nations 

First and foremost, we would like to acknowledge the Creator, our ancestors and those who will come after us as providing the sense of spirit and intent for this work. We also would like to acknowledge that this project is centred on the Treaty 7 First Nation territories shared by the Blackfoot Confederacy- Siksika, Piikani, and Kainai, the Tsuut’ina Nation, Stoney Nakoda and the peoples of the Metis Nation who also call Mohkintsis their home. 

This document is not meant to be a prescriptive piece that will teach you how to engage with Indigenous Elders in a step-by-step format. This is meant to set the stage for community to build relationships and understand what each other’s roles are in that relationship. It is a very difficult task that we have to put the wisdom and knowledge that we shared in circle together over the year into words on a paper. Given the unique and diverse makeup of our community in Calgary and our Elders, we sought to provide a perspective that highlights the universality of their spirits, knowledge and ways of living. 

Not filing your taxes? You could be missing out!

Not surprisingly, the cost of living is up over last year

Calgary’s Living Wage is $22.40 per hour

This End Poverty Month learn how poverty impacts all of us

Every year Enough for All is evaluated by an independent third-party.
The evaluation captures our community's progress towards achieving systems change priorities. The evaluation also provides direction to Vibrant Communities Calgary on its role in successfully advancing the Enough for All Strategy.

More Important Than Ever: Enough For All Evaluation Report 2021

Our collective progress towards achieving Enough for All in 2021

Learn more about the steps taken to advance the development of an Indigenous gathering space within the City of Calgary

Public transit must be connected, convenient, accessible, and affordable

Transit – moving the conversation beyond ‘affordable’

2020 Evaluation Report highlights progress in poverty reduction

Building Back Better – Enough for All in action

Collective impact and collaboration at the centre of reducing poverty in Calgary

Enough for All Changemakers constantly ask ‘what’s possible?’

Highlighting the experiences of poverty in all 14 wards of Calgary

Evaluating our collective progress towards achieving Enough for All in 2020

Laying Bare Inequities: COVID-19, Gender, Race and Precarious Employment

Reflecting on Basic Income Through the Lens of Poverty Reduction

Combating poverty in the earliest stages of life

Overcoming Stigma: Poverty is Not a Choice

Kistoonon (gi sdoon noon)

Overview

Women's Circle

Indigenous Knowledge Circle

Reconciliation Journeys

Key Topics

Resources

Treaty Land Acknowledgement

Enough for All Evaluation 2018: Indigenous Advisory Committee

2017 Evaluation Highlights from the Indigenous Advisory Committee

Challenge Poverty YYC: George Brookman

Reconciliation Journey - Dwight Farahat

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

Reconciliation Journey - Tyler Makinaw

Reconciliation Journey - Sherry Hiebert Keck

Reconciliation Journey - Walking a Path Together

Reconciliation Journey - Casey Eagle Speaker