Winnipeg Poverty Reduction Strategy 2021-2031
Today Winnipeg City Council released the Winnipeg Poverty Reduction Strategy for the years of 2021-2031! I recommend that people with an interest in it download it. It was not easy for me to find at first, so you can download the report in full at the link below. I liked the things that I saw in the report, but like many others am worried that there aren’t enough “teeth” so to speak in this proposal.
Myself and the team at Fearless R2W are in support of the people working around Make Poverty History Manitoba who are putting forward fantastic proposals and energy as well. If you would like to learn more about their position or the specific ideas they have for the city and this strategy, click here!
To that end, and in support of a world without poverty, I released this quote in support of their work and ours today:
“Housing Solutions for Indigenous Youth Aging Out of Care in Winnipeg developed a road map that laid out ways in which the City of Winnipeg could work with community to be a leader in preventing homelessness and housing insecurity amongst Indigenous people. It’s disturbing when 90% of youth in care are Indigenous and 50% of those experiencing homelessness were previously involved in child welfare. We look forward to working cooperatively with the City of Winnipeg to better support youth aging out of care and families reunifying with their children once their poverty action plan is released.”
My hope is that when I share statements like this, it is an invitation to the City of Winnipeg to continue to engage with us, and also an invitation to all of you, the citizens and community of Winnipeg to check out the Housing Solutions road Map (click here)
The last thing I will say on this topic is simply about semantics: do we really want to reduce poverty or do we want to eliminate it? For me, I am going to continue until we eliminate and/or eradicate poverty in our community and all my neighbours and relatives can live a good life where they are healthy and safe.
There’s plenty of work to do and this report can give us a good starting point when connecting with city departments, city councillors and future mayoral candidates!
