Project

Advancing Enough for All

With affordability and inflation top of mind for many in 2022, VCC continued work advocating, educating and mobilizing

7 June 2023

Challenges, Renewed Connection and Progress

Creating a city where poverty cannot exist is an ambitious goal. But, it's one that Enough for All strives for. 2022 really tested us though. Another year of record inflation and really high food and energy costs, limited rental vacancies and the lack of affordable housing pushed more and more people to desperate situations. We haven't seen the numbers yet, but we know that poverty is increasing in our city.
With all its challenges, 2022 was also a year of renewed connection and along with that, progress. We were out in the community, attending more events and connecting with more people and organizations. Collaborative work in policy spheres led to some significant funding announcements. Whether the changes are long-term remains to be seen, but what we do know is we convened, mobilized and advocated and made some incredible gains.
Systemic change takes time and even though these unprecedented times make progress hard to measure, each gain gets us closer to a city where poverty can't exist. Take a look below at the collective progress we made towards Enough for All in 2022.
Rental agreement with houses overlayed

Advocating for Affordable Housing

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The Enough for All strategy is a community-owned strategy, relying on principles of shared leadership and dignity for all. It's a mobilizing effort that focuses on walking down paths of reconciliation, addressing the intersections between racism and poverty, and elevating the voices of lived experience. As we bring our community together we embolden actions and collectively act as agents of change."

Jaclyn Silbernagel Associate Director Community Engagement

Collaborating with Calgary's Indigenous Peoples

Path to Reconciliation

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See Champions' stories

A Snapshot of Poverty

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Read

A Focus on Food Security

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Poverty went down! ...or, did it?

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We released 11 episodes of the Let's talk Poverty Podcast

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Listen

Why is drug use and social disorder spiking? Because we are not effectively tackling the opioid crisis, and we don't have affordable housing for everyone who needs it."

Lee Stevens Policy & Research Specialist

A Focus on Prevention

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Our position on social disorder

Working to educate and advocate continued to be a focus for VCC and our partners in 2022. We released 11 podcast episodes, 40 blogs and we were called on by media 65 times. We are showing up and mobilizing in new ways and it's really making an impact with our advocacy efforts."

Ameera Shivji Communications & Engagement Specialist

In 2022, Alberta was the only province that didn't increase its Minimum Wage.

A

True

B

False

Mobilizing support for income-based solutions to poverty

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Making changes to ensure no one gets left behind

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Advocacy for singles

Collaborating for policy changes

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The State of Emergency Food Assistance

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Raising awareness of soaring power prices and energy poverty

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Measuring What Matters

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Collaborating for Change

Enough for All Champions are organizations that are working to reduce poverty in our city. Every organization in Calgary has the potential to link to the poverty reduction strategy in some way, whether through clear alignments in organizational mandates, an organization that actively pays employees a living wage or an organization that is community-minded and is working to contribute and act as an agent of change. E4A Champions are at the heart of the poverty reduction strategy and they work alongside VCC to collectively make a difference in our city.

If there are barriers for people, speak up. I know it’s uncomfortable, but discomfort is necessary. Don’t tell me you’re an ally, show me through your actions.”

Hagir Sail Community Engagement Specialist

Advancing the knowledge and practice of Allyship

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Allyship work

Connecting to the land, to community, and to our learning journeys in Truth and Reconciliation

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Calgary's living wage is $22.40

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Enough for All staff at a table on Stephen Avenue Mall on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

Conversations with Community

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Co-Creating our Future Without Poverty

Our Committments to Reconciliation

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A space where we share, connect, heal, renew and celebrate Indigenous cultures

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Convening early learning and literacy leaders

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Leadership

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Meet our Board

Voices of Lived Experience

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Learn more about Poverty Talks!

Indigenous perspectives guide our work

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Learn more about the Indigenous Advisory Committee

Financial Statements

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Partners in Enough for All

The Enough for All strategy is implemented in partnership with the community and supported and funded by: The City of Calgary, United Way of Calgary and Area and Momentum.

Community well-being project

In 2022, we kicked off a project with the goal of supplementing typical income-based data and poverty metrics to paint a clearer picture of the path we need to take to improve poverty in Calgary. VCC collaborated with 12 leading experts on nine domains of well-being. The report is now shaping the work we're doing in 2023

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