City of Guelph Mayor Karen Farbridge, County Councillor Gord Tosh and Ron MacKinnon, Executive Director of the Community Resource Centre and Co-chair of the Poverty Task Force, will speak at the release.  The event is open to the public and runs from 3:00 to 5:00 pm at Guelph City Hall Galleria.

The Poverty Task Force is calling it a ‘Community Plan’ as so many groups and individuals from all sectors have come together under the umbrella of the Task Force.  People with lived experience or living in poverty, agency directors, university researchers, community organizers and members of the faith community sit on the Task Force.  So do representatives from all three levels of government, including both the city and the county.  Some of these people have been working together for many years, and some have come together since the inception of the Poverty Task Force in May of 2009.

By bringing together this broad group of community leaders, the Task Force is able to share knowledge, information and concerns to identify needs and service gaps and to avoid duplicating efforts.

The Community Plan outlines a number of poverty reduction and elimination initiatives with both short- and long-term outcomes.

Planned initiatives to support those living in poverty kick-off with a free, full-day ‘Living on Less’ workshops on April 10 at the Shelldale Centre.  Managing debt, feeding a family on a tight budget and tenant rights are among the workshops.  Other initiatives include looking to expand community gardens and community kitchens.

Raising awareness of the effects of poverty is another key objective in the plan.  One way the Task Force is planning to accomplish this is by setting up “reverse mentoring,” where local community leaders are asked to spend time walking in the shoes of someone living in poverty. 

The Task Force is also taking an advocacy role.  For example, the long-standing Wellington & Guelph Housing Committee has joined the Task Force as its housing action committee.  This committee has been advocating, and continues to advocate, for more affordable housing to be built in the area.  As well, the newly formed Income Security Action Group will advocate for changing structural barriers in government income support programs.

“There is no false hope among us that eliminating poverty is a short-term or even medium-term goal,” says Ron MacKinnon.  “With this community plan, we continue to move forward in meeting the short-term needs of those living in poverty, while setting in place the foundations to eliminate poverty.”

For more information or to see the full Community Plan, visit the Poverty Task Force website, www.gwpoverty.ca.  (Full plan will be posted on Tuesday, March 2, 2010.)