Interim Report on Community Engagement

Community engagement

From September to December 2022, participants were asked to envision an ideal future state, speak to challenges, identify community strengths and recommend actions.

We heard from more than 600 residents through an online survey. Plus, we held 45 in-person and online consultations resulting in feedback from over 600 people representing more than 60 agencies.

A vision for Niagara

According to feedback from residents, a Niagara without poverty would be:

• Equitable and inclusive
• Where basic needs are met
• Supportive and accessible
• Dignifying
• Where people have choice and hope for the future
• Community-oriented
• Safe
• Prosperous
• Healthy and well
• A great place to raise a family

Health and safety

Residents often spoke to the impact of poverty on health, safety and gender-based violence, including:

• Toxic stress of poverty having a negative impact on health
• Impact of stigma when accessing health care
• Barriers, such as cost (dental, medications), transportation and availability of health care
• Feeling unsafe in the community
• Gender-based violence tied to financial stress and financial dependence

Social and spiritual poverty

Participants spoke to the experience of social and spiritual poverty through stigma, social isolation and lack of purpose.

• Social poverty exists where people are isolated and lack the formal and informal supports necessary to be resilient in times of crisis and change
• Spiritual poverty exists where people lack meaning and purpose in their lives

Areas of focus

The community identified seven areas of focus that are connected to poverty in Niagara.

• Income and financial security

  All engagement sessions pointed to income as the primary determinant of poverty, according to the community.

  "Poverty reduction is about income - everything else is the consequence of poverty, not the cause of poverty. Equal access to income is required."

  Recommendations

  • Social assistance rates keep people in deplorable poverty. Need greater advocacy for increased rates.
  • Increase living wage employers and provide incentives
  • Focus on wealth redistribution to address income inequality
  • Increase financial literacy and money management skills as a means of prevention
• Housing

  Housing was consistently noted as one of the biggest poverty-related challenges in Niagara.

  "How can you pay rent anywhere other than subsidized housing with a low income on assistance?"

  Recommendations

  • Continue using a Housing First model
  • Greater investment in social housing stock
  • More supportive and transitional housing
  • More support to maintain housing and prevent evictions
  • Greater landlord engagement
  • Improved shelter policies, capacity and safety
  • Housing policy changes, such as enforcement of rent control
• Employment and education

  Participants discussed many barriers to employment in Niagara.

  "There is a mismatch for employment skills and the jobs that are available. Jobs are not paying enough."

  Recommendations

  • Diversify the labour market and increase job opportunities. For example, move away from a service-based economy.
  • Ensure reliable employment, such as regulation of no-guarantee hours
  • More inclusive labour market. For example, address racism and bias in hiring.
  • Increase employee knowledge and skills, such as training and professional development
  • More programs to upgrade work skills and education across the lifespan
• Food security

  The primary problem with food security according to residents is income and affordability.

  "Many, many, many people are struggling to choose between paying bills and paying for groceries."

  Recommendations

  Outside of increased income, residents recommended:

  • Stronger policy and advocacy to regulate food prices
  • Improve accessibility to healthy, culturally-appropriate food
  • Greater coordination and collaboration of the entire food access system
  • Address food waste
  • Support local agriculture
  • Employ food co-ops
  • Improve food literacy
• Mental health and substance use health

  Mental health and substance use health was frequently discussed as being heavily tied to poverty.

  "There are a lot of people out there... they don't feel like they're somebody and they're looking to address the hurt."

  Recommendations

  • Increase the availability of long-term, free mental health and addictions services
  • Better support for children and youth
  • Continue coordination and collaboration in this area
  • Advocacy to the province for increased funding
  • Expand harm reduction programs
• Transportation

  Transportation has the power to provide access to resources, programs, social connection, employment, food access points, education and more.

  "I sense there is too much ableism in the region. Everything is for those that drive or have a high income, not people who don't drive or don't have a high income."

  Recommendations

  • Amalgamation of transit services is a positive step
  • Provide free or significantly subsidized transit for people on a low income
  • Evaluate and improve the current system in terms of reliability
  • Implement bus alternatives
  • Address transit limitations in rural communities
• Families, children and youth

  Intergenerational poverty and the need to focus prevention efforts at childhood was identified by residents.

  "Often children are born into poverty. If we can support children at a younger age, we can do some preventative work."

  Recommendations

  • Focus on early identification and connecting families to wraparound supports at every opportunity
  • More funding in schools, after-school programming, mentorship programs and development opportunities for children
  • Increased support for youth
  • Expand child care opportunities

Mechanisms for change

Residents identified various mechanisms for change to move from poverty to prosperity, including:

• Diversity, equity and inclusion - Experiences of poverty are shaped by the intersections of identity, such as age, culture, gender, race, ability and other social aspects. Addressing and reducing poverty must consider diverse experiences of poverty.
• Service access and coordination - A person's ability to access appropriate, coordinated and comprehensive services can impact their experience of poverty, and their capacity to move out of poverty. Service access and coordination is embedded into all of the pillars of poverty.
• Value of lived experience - Provide opportunities for people with lived expertise to have a voice in programs, services, policies and decision making.

Community Safety and ...

• Community and Safety Well-Being Plan
• 911 Responses
• Situation Table Expansion
• Building Safer Communities
• Niagara Poverty Reduction Strategy