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N E W S P A P E R SYRIAN REFUGEES
Rolling out the welcome mat By Theresa McManus
tmcmanus@newwestrecord.ca
New Westminster is getting prepared to put out the welcome mat to Syrian refugees who will soon be making the Royal City their home. A standing-room-only crowd of more than 200 people gathered at a Nov. 29 townhall meeting to brainstorm on how to welcome Syrian refugees to the Royal City. MLA Judy Darcy and MP Peter Julian organized the event in response to the large number of people coming forward to offer money or household items or to volunteer their time or services. “New Westminster is a remarkably welcoming community,” Julian said in a Continued on page 8
BREAKFAST WITH SANTA: Simeona Molloy, 8, peppers Santa with questions – including some aimed at checking if he knew his times table – at the Christmas for Kids pancake breakfast at the Paddlewheeler Pub Wednesday morning. PHOTO CORNELIA NAYLOR
Hundreds of New West kids live in poverty By Cornelia Naylor
cnaylor@newwestrecord.ca
Close to 2,000 New Westminster children will likely be caught on the wrong side of the poverty line this Christmas, according to a report on child poverty released last week. The most recent family income data shows 1,830 (18 per cent) of the 10,240 kids who lived in New West in 2013 lived below the poverty line, according to the report by First Call B.C. Child andYouth Advocacy Coalition.
That was two per cent lower than the Metro Vancouver rate of 20 per cent, the provincial rate of 20.5 per cent and the national rate of 19 per cent, but that’s cold comfort to senior social planner John Stark, who is especially concerned about kids in New West’s two poorest neighbourhoods. Brow of the Hill and Uptown had rates of 32.4 per cent and 37.1 per cent respectively, according to the city’s own neighbourhood numbers based on the 2011 National Household Survey, meaning more than one in three children in those neighbourhoods live in poverty.
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“Those are really high percentages,” Stark said. “It means, for those children, they can’t partake in activities, they may be in overcrowded conditions, food security may be an issue, so that is really concerning.” The First Call report directs most of its criticism at the provincial and federal levels of government, calling on the province to adopt a comprehensive poverty reduction plan with legislated targets and timelines. Cities like New West might not be able to raise the minimum wage or disability benefits, according to Scott Graham, associ-
ate executive director of the Social Planning and Research Council of B.C., one of the organizations behind the First Call report, but there are things they can do to make life less expensive for families with low incomes. “When we think of child poverty, we’ve got to look at, ‘Well, what’s eating up the family’s budget?’” Graham told the Record. “If you’ve got young children and you’re working, child care is a big expense. And everybody needs a place to live, so housing is your next ticket item.” Graham said New West has done a good Continued on page 5
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