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This week the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) released an illuminating and controversial report on the state of welfare recipients in BC and specifically in the Vancouver area. The report, entitled Living on Welfare in BC, is aimed at uncovering the daily realities, hardships and obstacles faced by this at-risk and marginal population. Spanning a two year period, the report offers a window into the personal lives of individuals who, despite the aid offered by weekly checks, remain unable to ascend out of poverty and into mainstream social life.
It is important to note that although recipients of welfare have declined since 1995, numbers have plummeted since provincial welfare reforms were introduced in 2002. Despite this initial success, the reality remains that we continue to see persisting poverty and rising homelessness, even years after steady economic growth, record low unemployment and declining welfare cases. What has occurred, the CCPA argues, is a system that is structurally dependent on food banks, clothing drives and other charitable organizations in order for people to meet their basic daily needs. A shocking 77% of respondents reported having used a food bank, soup kitchen or drop in centre in the last month, while 43% revealed they'd done so upwards of ten times. These findings help to explain why a growing number of welfare recipients are drawn to panhandling, prostitution, engage in illegal activities or remain in abusive relationships in order to supplement this financial support. Individual narratives revealed a fundamental need to address issues of addiction, mental and physical illnesses and affordable housing in order to reduce dependency on these social services.
The report also included a variety of policy recommendations which urged Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance to exhibit greater accountability and to expand their limited objective of “moving people from welfare to work,” to a broader goal of poverty reduction and social integration. Without this broad-based initiative, the CCPA insists, welfare checks are surely to remain band-aid solutions to much larger structural problems. In light of growing concerns over Vancouver's downtown eastside community, Living on Welfare in BC will surely spark heated debates as per the future direction and cost of addressing issues of poverty and social assistance. For more information, or to read the full report, visit www.policyalternatives.ca.
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