From Disparity to Equity: Initiatives for Child Poverty Reduction in the Greater Vancouver Region
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v13i3.6962Keywords:
Child poverty, Vancouver, Canada, British Columbia, Economy, Inflation, youthAbstract
In recent years, high inflation rates in Vancouver have affected many citizens, especially lower-income families where even many children have been driven to poverty. According to the 2022 BC Child Poverty Report Card, 14 out of 26 urban areas in BC had at least 1,000 children living in poverty, with especially large numbers coming from Metro Vancouver (57,500 children) (First Call, 2022). Families at an economic disadvantage cannot provide basic necessities for their children to live a fulfilling life. After a prolonged time, this presents challenges for young individuals as they struggle to access quality education, healthcare, and opportunities for personal and professional development, creating a cycle that can be difficult to break. This review aims to analyze the current problem of youth poverty in Greater Vancouver to determine the various initiatives that should be taken — both by the local community and governing body — to combat this rising issue. From conducting research and analysis, the abundant evidence coming from varying sources shows that there are clear and cohesive ways to help low-income communities and reduce child poverty.
Downloads
References or Bibliography
Al-Hakim, A. (2023, February 9). 63% of low-income Canadians worried about impacts of inflation on food, housing: report - National | Globalnews.ca. Retrieved from Global News website: https://globalnews.ca/news/9474837/low-income-canadians-inflation-statcan-report/
B.C.'s child poverty rate trending upwards, report says. (2024, February 27). Retrieved from CBC website:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/new-report-on-child-poverty-1.7125919
DeParle, J. (2023, April 6). Safety Net Barriers Add to Child Poverty in Immigrant Families. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/06/us/politics/child-poverty-immigrants.html#:~:text=That%20is%20partly%20because%20their
Desapriya, E., & Khoshpouri, P. (2018). Investing appropriately to alleviate child poverty in Canada. Canadian
Medical Association Journal, 190(26), E805–E806. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.69470
Ferguson, H., Bovaird, S., & Mueller, M. (2007). The impact of poverty on educational outcomes for children.
Paediatrics & Child Health, 12(8), 701–706. https://doi.org/10.1093/pch/12.8.701
First Call Child and Youth Advocacy Society. (2022). BRITISH COLUMBIA REPORT CARD 26TH
ANNUAL REPORT CARD ON CANADA’S COMMITMENT TO END CHILD POVERTY. Retrieved from https://campaign2000.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/BC-Report-Card-First_Call-2022_Feb_14_web.pdf
First Call Child and Youth Advocacy Society. (2023). BRITISH COLUMBIA REPORT CARD 27TH
ANNUAL REPORT CARD ON CANADA’S COMMITMENT TO END CHILD POVERTY. Retrieved from https://firstcallbc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/First-Call-Child-Poverty-Report-Card-2023.pdf
Government of British Columbia. (2019). TogetherBC British Columbia’s Poverty Reduction Strategy.
Griffiths, N. (2023, June 19). Exclusive: More than 100,000 B.C. households at risk of homelessness due to rental crisis. Vancouver Sun. Retrieved from https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/exclusive-bc-rental-crisis-puts-100000-households-at-risk-homeless
Levitt, K. (2022). City of Vancouver 2021 Census. Retrieved from https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/2022-08-05-city-of-vancouver-2021-census-household-families-and-income.pdf
Li, J., & Neborak, J. (2018). The Case for Improving the Canada Child Benefit Program (pp. 67–96). York University: Journal of Law and Social Policy. Retrieved from Journal of Law and Social Policy website: https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1339&context=jlsp
Linden, I. A., Mar, M. Y., Werker, G. R., Jang, K., & Krausz, M. (2012). Research on a Vulnerable Neighborhood—The Vancouver Downtown Eastside from 2001 to 2011. Journal of Urban Health, 90(3), 559–573. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-012-9771-x
Macdonald, D., & Wilson, D. (2013). Poverty or Prosperity Indigenous Children in Canada. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Retrieved from Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives website: https://policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/National%20Office/2013/06/Poverty_or_Prosperity_Indigenous_Children.pdf
Melissa, G., Tobin, L., & Thomas, S. (2006). The “Relativism” of Poverty: Conceptualizing Poverty in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and Developing Countries. Simon Fraser University. Retrieved from Simon Fraser University website: https://summit.sfu.ca/_flysystem/fedora/sfu_migrate/9525/ETD4673_GTobin.pdf
Men, F., St-Germain, A.-A., Ross, K., & Remtulla, R. (2023). Effect of Canada Child Benefit on Food Insecurity: A Propensity Score−Matched Analysis. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 64(6), 844–852. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2023.01.027
Miljure, B. (2024, February 26). Child poverty rate in B.C. on the rise, according to new report. Retrieved
March 28, 2024, from CTV News Vancouver website: https://bc.ctvnews.ca/child-poverty-rate-in-b-c-on-the-rise-according-to-new-report-1.6784379
OACAS Library Guides: Poverty and child welfare: Poverty in Indigenous and racialized communities. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2024, from OACAS Library Guides website: https://oacas.libguides.com/c.php?g=702168&p=4993507#:~:text=Historic%20practices%20of%20colonialism%20contributing
Owen, B. (2023, February 14). COVID benefits pushed down B.C.’s child poverty rate in 2020, but cost of living risks wiping out progress, says advocacy group. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/british-columbia/article-covid-benefits-pushed-down-bcs-child-poverty-rate-in-2020-but-cost-of/
Parrott, Z. (2006, February 7). Indian Act | The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved from
www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca website: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/indian-act#:~:text=The%20Indian%20Act%20pertains%20to
Pentland, M., Cohen, E., Guttmann, A., & de Oliveira, C. (2020). Maximizing the impact of the Canada Child Benefit: Implications for clinicians and researchers. Paediatrics & Child Health. https://doi.org/10.1093/pch/pxaa092
Reduction, M. of S. D. and P. (2024, March 1). TogetherBC, British Columbia’s first-ever poverty reduction
strategy - Province of British Columbia. Retrieved from www2.gov.bc.ca website: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/about-the-bc-government/poverty-reduction-strategy
Slovinec D’Angelo, M. (n.d.). Research on the Impacts of COVID- 19 from a Societal Perspective Regaining Movementum Webinar. The Conference Board of Canada. Retrieved from The Conference Board of Canada website: https://www.gov.nl.ca/cssd/files/2.-Conference-Board-of-Canada.pdf
The Harvest Project. (n.d.). Retrieved March 29, 2024, from Harvest Project website:
https://www.harvestproject.org/journal/
UNICEF Canada. (2023). CHILD POVERTY IN CANADA. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.ca/sites/default/files/2023-12/UNICEFReportCard18CanadianCompanion.pdf
Vancouver, C. of. (n.d.). Indigenous communities. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from City of Vancouver website:
https://vancouver.ca/people-programs/indigenous-communities.aspx
Zon, N., & Aldridge, H. (2018). Why is lone-parent poverty so high and what can we do about it? Why is lone-parent poverty so high and what can we do about it? Maytree. Retrieved from Maytree website: https://maytree.com/wp-content/uploads/Policy-Brief-Lone-Parent-Poverty.pdf
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2024 RUNQUEEN Gong; Cheryl Fu
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright holder(s) granted JSR a perpetual, non-exclusive license to distriute & display this article.
