Archive | May, 2009
ALL Aboard: Province announces new poverty reduction strategy
This will be interesting – and welcome – news to everyone who participated in the recent Urban Exchange survey on poverty in Winnipeg:
Yesterday, Finance Minister Greg Selinger and Family Services and Housing Minister Gord Mackintosh announced ALL Aboard, a new poverty-reduction strategy that will include $212 million in new investments. ALL Aboard has four priorities: to create more affordable housing, strengthen training and income supports, enhance child development, and ease access to co-ordinated services and programs.
Mackintosh is quoted in the government news release:
“Manitoba’s child poverty rate has decreased by 40 per cent since 2000. This is unprecedented progress. However, too many Manitobans still cannot participate in the general prosperity. With an unsettled economy, which can unexpectedly imperil any family, we must co-ordinate the way we tackle the roots of poverty for the good of all Manitobans.”
Also quoted in the release are Jim Carr and Cindy Coker, Co-Chairs of the Winnipeg Poverty Reduction Council and Susan Lewis, President of United Way of Winnipeg.
Your views can help to inform efforts to reduce poverty in Winnipeg and Manitoba. Urban Exchange is looking forward to compiling and sharing the findings of the recent survey on poverty with as many decision-makers as possible, including leaders in our provincial and municipal governments, non-profit, business and labour leaders, and cross-sectoral groups like the Winnipeg Poverty Reduction Council.
For more details on yesterday’s announcement, please check out:
Results: where does the money go?
20. May 2009
Throughout March, the MyCityMySay.ca website housed a web poll entitled “where does the money go?” The poll asked Winnipeggers to think about the minimum amount that a family of four people – two adults and two kids – would need to spend on their basic needs every month. In other words, how much does a family of four need to spend every month to keep an average standard of living?
Specifically respondents were asked to weigh in on food, child care, shelter, clothing, transportation and recreation (even though there would be additional expenses that the family would incur).
Respondents could then access a report – the Acceptable Living Level Report (A.L.L.) – prepared by the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg, and Winnipeg Harvest that explores the minimum amount different types of families need spend on the basics in order to maintain a medium standard of living. While the report (2003) is a few years old, respondents could compare their own answers with those provided in the report.
Here’s how the web poll respondents fared:
| Web Poll Average | A.L.L. Report | |
| Food: | $608.87 | $637.44 |
| Shelter: | $875.13 | $724.00 |
| Clothing: | $196.63 | $153.28 |
| Transportation: | $397.23 | $244.34 |
| Child Care: | $455.71 | $428.80 |
| Recreation: | $223.76 | $380.11 |
| Total: | $ 2,757.33 | $2,567.97 |
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In looking at the responses submitted on the MyCityMySay.ca web poll, most respondents estimated more than the A.L.L. report which may be due in part to levels of inflation during the past 6 years. The only category in which respondents estimates were lower than those of the A.L.L. was in the Recreation category where there was s difference of $156.35 – a 41% difference.
In total, the respondents on the web poll only estimated $189.36 more than the level suggested in the A.L.L. report which is only a difference of 7%.
A big thanks to all who participated and left comments on the poll. We eagerly anticipate the latest A.L.L. report which is due out this fall.
2,500+ complete poverty survey
11. May 2009
Thank you Winnipeg! The response to Urban Exchange’s latest survey Poverty: Insights and Ideas has been overwhelming. Those who responded told us about their definitions of poverty and how serious the issue of poverty in Winnipeg is to them. All of the respondents put in a great deal of care and their answers are very thoughtful. We can’t wait to share them with you and the rest of the community!
Something that really caught our eye was that so far 7 out of 10 respondents told us that their life, or the life of someone they know, has been affected by poverty. This tells us that poverty has a far reach and requires close examination.
We are compiling the rest of the results as fast as possible; we have a lot of information to analyze as we had over 2,500 respondents share their thoughts with us in just 4 weeks! Poverty is something that must be on the minds of those who comprise the most generous city in Canada.
This fabulous response garnered by using several different ways of questioning including classroom presentations, soliciting responses at various agencies and other locations across the city, face-to-face interviews, social networking websites and mail in responses.
We would like to send out our most sincere thanks to those who contributed to this community discussion and to those who helped us garner such a great response.
22. May 2009
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