St. Vincent de Paul has just recently produced a black and white calendar as a fundraiser for their services. It features beautiful people from around town. The calendar can be purchased at various venues around town. I got one at Ave Maria for $15.99.
On a similar note, the Northern Women’s Forum is Hosting the 7th Annual Chili Blanket Event coming up on December 5, 2009. Unfortunately, due to the poverty in the city, the need for this event in Prince George does not seem to diminish from year to year and has become a yearly event. The below information taken directly from a recent media release:
Everyone is invited to: Chili Blanket VII
Prince George Courthouse
Saturday, December 5, 2009: noon- 2:00 pm
Come Out and Rally Against the Increasing Poverty in BC
Join the NWF in speaking up for British Columbians who are losing their jobs, services, and rights to financial assistance in OLYMPIC numbers!
This Year the BC Government wins GOLD for:
*making the poor invisible: those you count you try to make invisible & those
you can’t count are already invisible
* beating out Alberta in the increase use of food banks: only 90,000 people used food
banks in a month in BC ; BC saw 75% of its food banks report increased use
*being the top dog in Child Poverty… once again
* HST – wow, BC is really a winner
* a homeless person dies every 12 days in BC
* a single employable person got a welfare increase in 2007 to $610/month- average
rent in BC is $672.
The Northern Women’s Forum will be serving hot chili, hot chocolate, cool music and sharp talk!
Once again this year the NWF is also collecting blankets and winter wear for those in need and agencies serving those in need in Prince George.
The Northern Women’s Forum would like to thank this year’s sponsors: Status of Women, FACNC, Confederation of Canadian Unions, PG & District Labour Council, and the BCGEU.
For information: please contact Jan Mastromatteo: 250-564-7880, or facnc_president@telus.net
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Hi Mary,
ReplyDeleteI thought you may be interested in this new photo essay, By the time I get to Prince George: http://gdp.nfb.ca/photo-essay/405/by-the-time-i-get-to-prince-george. It's an intimate look at how a family in Mackenzie, BC, is coping with the father, a mill-worker, losing his job and needing to find work in Prince George. If you like it, you can copy and paste the embed code and share it on your site as well.
The photo essay is also part of a new web documentary project called GDP being produced by the NFB. You can find it a http://gdp.nfb.ca. Over the next year we'll be following the stories of Canadians as they cope with the financial downturn, looking at both their struggles and successes, through over 250 films and photo essays. You can also add your own thoughts to the site by sharing your comments, or uploading videos and photos.
I hope you have a chance to look at the site!
Best,
Tim
Tim McSorley
Outreach Coordinator - GDP project
Hi Mary, Thank you for your nice comment on my blog. I had a chance to read a few of your articles, and I look forward to reading more about the environmental and social issues that are important to people in this region of the province, especially.
ReplyDelete$672 for rent? Maybe, though there is cheaper... easily. Splitting the bills with someone I'm currently living on around $500 a month, comfortably (for me, anyway).
ReplyDelete$610 in monthly welfare for an employable person is perfectly reasonable, as welfare should only provide enough money to barely squeak by. Any more than that and where's the motivation to find employment?
-Tyler
thanks for the various comments. Tyler you are right there are probably cheaper ways of getting rent - by sharing etc. -- BUT I do work with a lot of people in PG who have a great deal of difficulty finding affordable rent especially if they have mobility issues or anything like that. Safety is also an issue, especially for more vulnerable people. It is absolutely tough for people on assistance -- many of them are people with disabilities.
ReplyDeleteTim your project looks very interesting and I will definitely try to check it out when I get a chance.