A day-long community consultation event dealing with poverty is being held Wednesday at Memorial Arena in St. Thomas.
More than 120 participants from a variety of community sectors – including volunteer, local government, the business community, social services and individuals with lived/living experience – are participating in the exercise to develop a community plan.
Randie Gregoire, chair of the St. Thomas Elgin Coalition to End Poverty tells myFM the aim is to move forward to undertake action together.
It is estimated more than 12,500 people are living below the poverty line in St. Thomas and Elgin county. That’s more than the population of Aylmer, West Lorne, Port Stanley and Port Burwell combined.
That is the driving force behind the community consultation, explains Gregoire.
The focus of the coalition, established in 2017, is housing stability along with food and income security.
The hope is to answer questions like, “What is the change we want to see,” stresses Gregoire.
She adds although there are plenty of challenges, individuals and groups are coming together to address specific issues like food insecurity.
And part of the solution is the concept of a living wage as opposed to a minimum wage.
Special guests for the day include:
- Liz Windover, lived expertise
- Kelly Ziegner, president and CEO United Way Elgin Middlesex
- Paul Jenkins, CEO St. Thomas & District Chamber of Commerce
- Mayor Joe Preston
- Sean Dyke, CEO St. Thomas Economic Development Corp.
- Facilitator: Paul Born, co-founder of the Tamarack Institute and Communities Ending Poverty
