CATHERINE PORTER Nov 19 2010 Linda Chamberlain left her dream job because it was making her broke. She’s richer earning nothing, living in her subsidized apartment and getting monthly disability cheques from the government — $260 a month richer. When… Continue Reading
Laurie Monsebraaten Jul 19 2010 For years, “hope” was just a four-letter word to anti-poverty activist Mike Creek. After working his way up in the hotel industry from dishwasher to head office manager, Creek lost it all in 1993 when… Continue Reading
AVRUM ROSENSWEIG November 02, 2009 She was a prostitute. A whore. A sex-trade worker and homeless. She was the type of throw-away woman homicide officers might scoff at, had she been murdered. But she wasn’t. In fact one day soon… Continue Reading
Carol Goar June 19, 2009 The four-month interlude between the announcement of Ontario’s poverty reduction plan and the release of the provincial budget was a tough time for Children’s Minister Deb Matthews. The economy was deteriorating. Her government colleagues were… Continue Reading
Carol Goar Nov 12 2008 One of the delegates brought along a sleeping bag. He stretched it out and fell asleep whenever the proceedings bored him. Another lost his train of thought at the microphone, apologized, and said he might… Continue Reading
Stacey Bowen, left, a Toronto single mother of two teenage daughters who is struggling financially, worries about paying for post-secondary education for daughter Desiree, 16, right, who wants to be a teacher. (Nov. 19, 2008) (VINCE TALOTTA /… Continue Reading
Dorran Grant and Maryan Osman, as board members of the Atkinson Housing Co-Op, are helping Toronto youth avoid a life of drugs and crime. (AARON LYNETT / TORONTO STAR) Laurie Monsebraaten July 12 2008 Connie Harrison and Stacey Bowen were… Continue Reading
Emily Mathieu Jun 24 2008 Opal Sparks remembers when careful planning and a well-thought-out food budget was all it took to make sure families got enough to eat. “I wasn’t brought up on steak and lobster by any means,”… Continue Reading
Joanna Smith May 09, 2008 Ottawa–In a forum usually reserved for peering at poverty through the lens of bureaucratic terminology, Michael Creek showed up to talk about how being poor actually feels. “Poverty steals from your soul, leaving you with… Continue Reading
Jim Coyle June 14, 2007 If, as the saying goes, God made man because he so loves stories, the next few days in our town ought to win a good deal of heavenly favour for tales heartbreaking, conscience-stirring, rib-tickling, spirit-lifting… Continue Reading