The final in a five part poverty series by Sarah Patrescu at the Times Colonist.
Restrictive public policy and regional issues — including low assistance rates, child-support clawbacks and the costly housing market — help drive people into homelessness, advocates said. But they also pointed to a few examples of progress. One program continually lauded by advocates and struggling families is the Burnside Gorge family self-sufficiency program. For up to two years, parents learn financial skills and planning and how to cope if their income or family situation has changed.
Read the article: Changes needed to address Greater Victoria poverty
Source: Times Colonist
Introduction: Growing problem of hidden poverty in Victoria
Part 1: How domestic violence is driving homelessness in Greater Victoria
Part 2: Childhood poverty and the single-parent trap
Part 3: The growing concern of the city’s underemployed and underpaid
Part 4: An aging population in financial limbo and a housing crisis
