April Survey Results

Submitted by vikram.varma on Fri, 2010-04-30 15:14

Here are the responses collected from our April online survey
Question:  Among all social issues (such as crime, health, housing, etc.) how important is Poverty in our community? 
Comments

  • Poverty is one of the most important issues as it affects so many other issues like health, crime, environmental choices, etc.  If people don't have enough money to live, their health suffers, they may not be able to afford housing and they certainly don't have the money (or probably time) to think about making environmentally friendly choices.
  • Poverty is deepening in our community and we should all be concerned that one in five children in Kingston are below the poverty line.
  • Poverty is likely the root of most problems in crime, health and housing...

Question: What things can we do as a community to fight poverty? 
Comments

  • I think the first step is providing people with enough money to live so that THEN they can focus on job training, starting their own business, etc.  If people don't have enough money to live (because of low EI/welfare rate) then they are not in the position to take full advantage of the other opportunities available to them.  I also think that RAISING minimum wage is important, as the number of working poor in our city, province and country are APPALLING.
  • "Give a person a fish and she eats for one day, Teach her how to fish and she will never be hungry"
  • Poverty is intimately connected to other ways of being marginalized;  mental and physical health, illiteracy, race, gender, etc, targeting poverty as a "stand alone issue" is misleading.  Building community capacity at the neighbourhood level - outreach, programming and (importantly) facilities (such as drop in centres, community centres, daycares, parks) are essential in building the kinds of community connections necessary for people to help themselves.
  • Bringing people out of poverty costs money.  OW for a single person is $583 and average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Kingston is $584.  OW is too low, rents are too high and what benefits there are to OW are usually lost when people try to transition to minimum wage jobs.  Targeted spending and investment are more critical than more research.
  • Sometimes I think we do a better job of raising awareness, and therefore support for, poverty in other countries than we do for our own. There's still a lot of "judgement" associated with local poverty.

Question:  If you could wish for only one thing to fight poverty, what would that be? We'll share your answers (but not your name).
Responses

  • Probably the notion of a guaranteed minimum income that is gradually phased out as earned income rises, with that minimum being sufficient to afford basic food and shelter.   
  • Current bylaw structures make it nearly impossible for a private contractor to build 'affordable housing'. Good quality, safe and energy-efficient housing can make a HUGE difference to quality of life for those on assistance and the working poor. Kingston should be a city where everyone can afford to live in the downtown. 
  • A federally mandated guaranteed annual income system for all   
  • good health   
  • affordable housing especially some way to subsidize heating bills.   
  • Raise minimum wage and welfare payments so people can take care of themself and THEN take steps to pull them out of poverty.   
  • That higher taxes, all taxes kill individual and corporate initiative.