Asking some difficult questions. The outline for the guest lecture today:
- The impact of poverty
- Myths & held beliefs/stigma
- What is a stigma? Stigmas isolate people. Occurs when we project and reinforce attitudes and stereotypes that judge and label those who we see as different
- Society often has an "us and them" approach to social issues...it doesn't affect me and I'm not like them
- Poverty by the numbers. Basic stats. Between 1980-2005 the average earnings among the least wealthy Canadians fell by 20%. 1 in 7 (or 4.9 million) people in Canada live in poverty.
- Poverty costs Canada as a whole between $72 billion and $84 billion annually.
- Effect on Children and Families
- Indigenous peoples: In 2014, 64.1% of food bank users were Indigenous Persons. Over represented amongst the homeless population in virtually all urban centres in Canada. 1 in 2 Status First Nations children lives in poverty
- Other groups. 1 in 5 minority families live in poverty as opposed to 1 in 20 non-minority families. Women from Minority groups living in poverty were almost twice as likely to work in manufacturing jobs than other women living in poverty
- Elderly: Nearly 15% of elderly single individuals live in poverty
- The role of Mental Illness and trauma
- Mental health and substance use. In the past year BC has been struggling with an epidemic of opiate drug use that has resulted in unprecedented numbers of deaths in the past year. Fentanyl has surfaced as the most deadly opiate yet and has caused many of the reported deaths. Front line workers are now having to revive users sometimes two or there times a day.
- How to help
How to help change the conversation about poverty: CLICK to watch this CBC clip
Inside St. Paul's emergency room: WATCH the CBC documentary
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