New Year

There is always just cause to review the past year leading up to Auld Lang Syne. Working in the field of poverty and social justice can be depressing, and I often wonder why I keep doing it when there seems to be little progress for many whose lives are impacted in ways most of us cannot imagine.
While we are all hoping for tidings of comfort and joy, there are some things we cannot “ho ho ho” about!

Recently I saw a front page photograph in a regional newspaper of homeless people curled up sleeping on church pews. This was hailed as a good thing. We were bringing people in from the cold. Is this really a good thing? I felt a little ashamed that Canada’s progress on social issues is about as comforting as sleeping like that.

As we close out 2008, here is a list of what we need to think about as we worship, count our blessings, donate to the many causes we support this time of year, and celebrate our abundance and gratitude with family and friends.
If you are the parent of a special needs child or adult in B.C., you are probably one of more than 2000 stagnating on waiting lists for services that could mean the difference between going bankrupt while paying for services yourself, tragically surrendering your child into government care, housing and caring for your “child” full time long after your retirement years and worrying what will happen after you die, versus obtaining respite services, special education assistance, supported housing, and early childhood intervention. Even BC's Representative for Children and Youth says that there has been no progress on waitlist management since her last report on wait times for services for children and youth with special needs. With the recent eligibility regulations requiring an I.Q. of 70 or below, many will never receive the community living services they need, but will most certainly end up in jails, hospitals, on the streets or in the morgue.
This Christmas an estimated 150,000-300,000 Canadians are homeless. The annual cost of homelessness is estimated at $4.5 billion. Affordable housing with supports is five times less expensive than jail and psychiatric hospitals, , and about half the cost of emergency shelters, which is how we are dealing with some of it right now

Currently more than 1.4 million Canadian households spend more than 30% of income on housing. In our current economy, the possibility of job losses puts many lower income and fixed income seniors, single mothers, immigrants, and aboriginal families at significant risk of homelessness. The numbers are growing daily.

Food Banks Canada has released their “Hunger Count 2008”. It shows that more working families are using food banks, with 14% of users having some income from employment, probably minimum wage, and 37% of Canadians using food banks were children. While we continue to recognize that food banks, meant to be a temporary measure, need our ongoing donor support, over 700,000 Canadians have accessed food banks every month since 1997. In BC, 28.2% of users were lone parent families, 19.1% were two parent families, 11.3% were couples with no children, and 41.4% were single people. Most who use food banks use soup kitchens too. This is not the way for our children to grow up or for our neighbors to live.

The National Council on Welfare has released its report on 2006 and 2007 welfare incomes across the country. While many people think those on welfare should get a job, the current system makes it very difficult. People lose financial support for their children as well as dental, health and prescription drug coverage. Combined with the costs of employment including child care, many families are financially worse off than they would be had they not gotten a job.
We need to remember that while poverty and hardship is the absence of wealth it does not mean the absence of intelligence, integrity, sensitivity, values, or character. In this season of giving, give of not just your care or concern but of your voice, so that those without one can have their dignity back. Contact your representatives at all three level of government, participate in the federal government’s online budget consultation, or go to www.endwaitlists-now.org.
It could be the best seasons greetings you could give.