Urban Exchange

Poverty in Sight: poverty-related info and resources

More than 2800 people participated in the Urban Exchange survey Poverty: Insight & Ideas. If you’re one of those people – or if you’re here because you’ve heard about the Poverty in Sight report – you may be interested in learning more about what’s happening.

On this page, we’re linking to several sources of information about poverty and the work that’s being done to address the issue in Manitoba.

Please note: This is not an exhaustive list, so please feel free to add other information in the comments section.  Also note that Urban Exchange is providing these links as information only.

ALL Aboard: The Province of Manitoba’s Poverty Reduction Strategy(Province of Manitoba, 2009) – ALL Aboard is the provincial government’s poverty reduction strategy for everyone in Manitoba.  It outlines progress, partnerships, and next steps for poverty reduction in Manitoba based on safe, affordable housing, education, jobs and income support, strong, healthy families and accessible, co-ordinated services.

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) – an independent, non-partisan research institute concerned with issues of social and economic justice. Recent publications include.  Recent publications include a report on violence and street gangs (pdf).

Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CCEDNET) Manitoba – CCEDNET believes in sustainable and inclusive communities directing their own social, economic and environmental futures.  Locally, the network is involved in organizing activities like the CD/CED Gathering, a community event that focuses on building fairer and stronger local economies, tackling poverty and homelessness, and investing in sustainable communities.

Make Poverty History – The Canadian Make Poverty History campaign was launched in February 2005 with the support of a wide cross-section of public interest and faith groups, trade unions, students, academics, literary, artistic and sports leaders.  A local coalition of organizations makes up Make Poverty History Manitoba.

Social Planning Council of Winnipeg reports page – SPCW has been doing social issues research for several decades and describes itself as “a vehicle for citizens to explore and assess controversial issues, bring new information into public debate and help form a public consensus around progressive solutions.”

Speak Up Winnipeg – A Key Path for Communities: Addressing Poverty – through an extensive outreach process that will contribute to OurWinnipeg, a new long-term plan for the city, Speak Up Winnipeg has gathered input and identified actions that can be completed by November 2011.

The view from here: how a living wage can reduce poverty in Manitoba – this report is the result of a collaborative process with the CCPA, Social Planning Council of Winnipeg (SPCW), Winnipeg Harvest, and United Way of Winnipeg. It provides an up to date and well researched analyses of how much income Manitoban families need to live at an acceptable, but modest, level and includes the role of government initiatives such as the Child Tax Credit.

The view from here: Manitobans call for a poverty reduction plan (pdf) – CCPA and Make Poverty History Manitoba collaborated on this outline of what they consider to be the critical elements of a meaningful poverty reduction plan. Among the dozens of recommendations made in the report are a series of targets and timelines for reducing poverty in Manitoba.

Winnipeg Harvest poverty information (pdf) -this sheet contains facts and figures pertaining to hunger and child poverty.

Winnipeg Poverty Reduction Council – seeks to bring together community leaders from a variety of sectors to help support poverty reduction initiatives in our city and to develop new and innovative approaches.  The mission of the WPRC is to significantly reduce poverty in Winnipeg in hopes of creating A City Where Everyone Belongs.

Poverty in Sight: A Winnipeg Perspective

Last spring, Urban Exchange asked Winnipeggers to share their opinions about poverty in Winnipeg through a survey called Poverty: Insight & Ideas. Thank you to the 2854 people who participated, either online, in writing, or in person!

You can review the findings from the survey by clicking on the links below. At the bottom of this page is a link to some poverty-related resources in Winnipeg.

Download the full report – contains demographic information, along with respondents’ definitions of poverty, their opinions about what causes poverty, and their views about how serious the issue is in Winnipeg.



Definitions of poverty: age breakdown – we asked “In your opinion, what is poverty?” This interactive chart shows you how people in different age categories responded. You can also mix and match the findings, depending on which age range(s) you’re most interested in!



“How serious is poverty in Winnipeg?”: responses by neighbourhood – we asked “How serious is poverty in Winnipeg?” This chart shows you what respondents said, categorized by which part of the city they live in.



“How serious is poverty in your neighbourhood?”: responses by neighbourhood – we asked “How serious is poverty in your neighbourhood?” This chart shows you what respondents said, categorized by which part of the city they live in.



More poverty-related information and resources – there is a lot of work being done to address poverty in Winnipeg and Manitoba. The provincial government announced a poverty reduction strategy last spring, and the Winnipeg Poverty Reduction Council has brought together community leaders from a variety of sectors to formulate a coordinated approach to reducing poverty. Other groups (including the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and Social Planning Council of Winnipeg) do regular research about poverty and related social issues. Click here to learn more.

Poverty definitions offer individual insights

Our survey on poverty closed a month ago and we’re working hard to compile and analyze what you’ve said so we can report back to you and the community. With 2855 participants (a few hundred more than our original estimate) – and almost as many open-ended definitions of poverty to sort through – that’s going to take some time.

In the meantime, we wanted to keep the conversation about poverty in Winnipeg going.

Right now we’ve got a few respondents’ poverty definitions rotating in the “Poverty Is . . .” banner in the sidebar and we’ve posted a handful of them below.

If you filled out the Urban Exchange poverty survey, how do these definitions differ from yours?  If you didn’t fill out the poverty survey – how do YOU define poverty?  Please let us know by leaving a comment below!

To get you thinking, here are some short samples of what other Winnipeggers said:

• Poverty is . . . a lack of hope – a feeling of not belonging.
• Poverty is . . . when people go hungry.
• Poverty is . . . when opportunity is a closed door.
• Poverty is . . . when you have no hope or choice – it’s not really about money.
• Poverty is . . . living paycheck to paycheck, or worse, on the streets.

We’re planning to release a report on the full findings in the fall.  Until then, we plan to share smaller bits of information on MyCityMySay.ca. We hope you’ll come back every now and then to check it out!

Photo credit:  Kieran 2009 (Flickr)

Results: where does the money go?

Basic expenses: Acceptable Living Level report

If you’ve just filled out the “Where does the money go?” form, thanks for participating!

Below, you’ll find some interesting figures that were compiled by the Social Planning Council and Winnipeg Harvest a few years ago:

In order to sustain a fair, modest and acceptable level of living The Acceptable Living Level report suggests that a family of four (4) needs to spend the following amounts each month.

Food: Shelter: Clothing: Transportation: Child Care: Recreation and Leisure: Total:

$637.44 $724.00 $153.28 $244.34 $428.80 $380.11 $2567.97

 

This total required income covers “the basics” but does not include several other important expenses such as communication, education, household furnishings, hygiene, assistive technologies, household operational items (such as laundry, dish soap, etc.).

More info, including figures for other family configurations:
Acceptable Living Level: Manitoba report (pdf)

(Note: please keep in mind that the sites we link to at MyCityMySay.ca do not represent the views of United Way of Winnipeg – please see the Disclaimer for more detail.)

Winnipeggers are generous with money, ideas and time

Last month, the Fraser Institute rated Manitoba as the most generous province in Canada. Our spirit of giving was evident during the recent holiday season, and yesterday’s big announcement – that Winnipeggers raised more than $17.9 million through United Way during the 2008 campaign – is a remarkable indicator of where our priorities are, even in an uncertain economy.

We’re generous with our ideas and opinions, too. So far, more than 4300 people have participated in Urban Exchange, sharing their thoughts on social issues, values, and the quality of life in Winnipeg.

To add to the picture of generosity, here’s a sample of what participants have told us* about giving their time to address the issues that are important to them:

• 76% said they’ve helped raise money for a charitable cause (besides donating money).
• 84% said they’ve volunteered or done voluntary community service for no pay.
• 59% said they’ve walked, run or bicycled for a charitable cause.

(*The figures above are taken from Urban Reflections: Winnipeggers have their say about our city and its direction (February 2008) and are based on the responses of 2893 participants.)

Read more:

The Fraser Institute’s 2008 Generosity Index

Winnipeggers raise $17.9+ million through United Way

What’s the best thing about living in Winnipeg?

This is the first in a series of “In Brief” posts where we’ll take information from an Urban Exchange report and present it in a small, bite-size format.

In Exchange One: Getting Connected we asked “What’s the best thing about living in Winnipeg?” The results of this question – along with dozens of others – were described in Urban Reflections, a report based on what almost 3000 Winnipeggers had to say about social issues and quality of life in Winnipeg.

If you live in Winnipeg, the top five “best things” might not surprise you:

1. 18% of participants said “the people” are the best thing about living here
2. 17% liked the fact that Winnipeg is a “smaller city with big city advantages”
3. 16% said that Winnipeg is affordable (decent cost of living, good economy, etc.)
4. 9% mentioned the diversity in our population
5. 6% had something to say about our community spirit and volunteerism

The chart below includes all of the things people listed in their open-ended responses. We’ve also created an image using participants’ words – you can download the image and use it as your desktop wallpaper by following this link.

Urban Reflections

In February 2008, United Way of Winnipeg released its first Urban Exchange report. “Urban
Reflections: Winnipeggers have their say about our city and its direction”. The report includes the thoughts and opinions of nearly 3 000 people who participated in Urban Exchange up until that point.

Together the panelists paint a clear picture of our city; its strengths and its challenges.
The initial findings in Urban Reflections show that 90% of panelists view Winnipeg as a caring
community and that the single best thing about our city is its people. Panelists were also asked
about their top three social concerns.

Click here to download a copy of Urban Reflections.

In Brief

Over time, we’ll use this section to highlight selected findings from Urban Exchange surveys. For now, please download our first report on social issues – Urban Reflections.

Results