Voices from the Street was a 12-week leadership program under the umbrella of Working for Change and is now currently running as a speakers bureau with graduates.
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 →
News Staff Apr 1, 2010 “We accept people where they are at when they come in the door…if you’re homeless, working the streets, have addiction issues, mental health issues, family or no family, if you’re in crisis, if you’ve just… Continue Reading →
Laurie Monsebraaten Nov 30 2009 Bronwen Sims calls it Ontario’s “work disincentive program.” The 35-year-old woman, who suffers from bipolar disorder and fibromyalgia, has been living in poverty on Ontario’s disability support program for the past 10 years while doctors… Continue Reading →
Opal Sparks checks out what’s growing in the Earlscourt Garden near St. Clair and Lansdowne. It’s part of The Stop Community Food Centre, serving one of the city’s most marginalized and under-serviced neighbourhoods. (STEVE RUSSELL / TORONTO STAR) David… 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 →
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 →
Jennifer Lewington May 15, 2006 Canada’s social safety net, now seen as a “sieve,” needs major changes to help low-income Canadians escape from poverty, concludes an unlikely coalition set to make wide-ranging recommendations today. An overhaul of the federal government’s… 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 →