We Summer 2013 by Venture Publishing

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MAGAZINE OF UNITED WAY OF THE ALBERTA CAPITAL REGION • SUMMER/FALL • 2013

THIS ISSUE OF WE MAGAZINE IS GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY CONROY ROSS WE_p44-01_SummerFall13.indd 1

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SPOTLIGHT Pathways

10 WELCOME UPON ARRIVAL New Canadians often face difficulties on their road to triumph By Scott Rollans

16 Break the Cycle How completing high school changes lives and builds prosperous futures By Alexandria Eldridge

DEPARTMENTS 4 MESSAGE FROM UNITED WAY

20 Pathways out of Poverty A bold new vision By Bobbi-Sue Menard

5 COMMUNITY CHAMPION Why Christy Morin built a community arts program

24 Home Support 10

The success of housing first: a family thrives when their home is secure By John Hardy

6 THIS WAY IN 28 Crisis and chronic illness

United Way happenings including Kick Poverty, UDodge and the Red Tie Gala

The hidden costs of getting sick can harm more than your health By martin dover

9 MYTH BUSTERS Retirement isn’t always easy for Edmonton seniors

40 BUSINESS WAY

FEATURES 31

31 Food Bank Focus

A successful first-time United Way campaign

Regional food banks meet the needs of their communities with custom programs By Elizabeth Chorney-Booth

41 Leading Edge The future standard of hospital care

34 Tools for School The right equipment for students builds hope in the classroom By Lewis Kelly

42 MILESTONES The downward trend in the number of Edmontonians experiencing homelessness ON THE COVER: Marisa Castor is finishing high school to create a better life for both herself and her daughter Tulisa. PHOTO: Buffy Goodman wemagazine.CA

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37 Group Effort 37

An Edmonton company makes employee philanthropy a priority

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O UR WAY

SUMMER/FALL 2013 VOL 2 • No. 3 UNITED WAY OF THE ALBERTA CAPITAL REGION EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Nancy Critchley ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Mike Kluttig, Angela Dorval, David Odumade COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT: Cindy McDonald (Student) EDITORIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE Meredith Bongers, Karina Hurtado, Sheilah Pittman, Anne Smith, Jessica Smith-Perry

Lynne Duncan, United Way Board Chair

Anne Smith, President and CEO

The Right Path We live in one of the fastest growing communities and most prosperous regions in North America. So how can it be, amidst such good fortune, poverty exists in all its forms — directly affecting 120,000 people in the Alberta Capital Region, and thousands more who live in the margins? It’s because poverty is not simple. It is incredibly complex — fuelled by a host of issues that negatively impact the lives of individuals, families and, especially, children. The struggle to emerge from the grips of poverty is a daily battle — one that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We must ask ourselves if it is acceptable for so many of our fellow citizens to live in poverty. Moreover, is it acceptable for anyone to live in poverty? Addressing poverty isn’t something that one organization or order of government can take on alone — it takes a truly collaborative effort; with government, the not-for-profit sector, corporate partners and community members. At no time in the 70-year history of United Way in the Alberta Capital Region has the alignment been stronger to take a bold approach. This issue of WE Magazine explores the many complexities of poverty, the challenges for our region and how we can all work together to create pathways that change the lives of those who need it most. Our special thanks to Conroy Ross for their contribution to this very special issue of WE. Their commitment to help positively shape our community is indeed gratefully acknowledged.

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SPONSORSHIP AND CORPORATE SUPPORT COMMITTEE Meredith Bongers, Nancy Critchley, Kevin Fitzgerald, Mike Kluttig, Stephane Hache VENTURE PUBLISHING INC. PUBLISHER: Ruth Kelly ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: Joyce Byrne ASSISTANT PUBLISHER: Andrew Williams DIRECTOR OF CUSTOM CONTENT: Mifi Purvis MANAGING EDITORS: Bobbi-Sue Menard, Jordan Wilkins ART DIRECTOR: Charles Burke ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR: Andrea deBoer ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR: Colin Spence PRODUCTION MANAGER: Betty-Lou Smith PRODUCTION TECHNICIANS: Brent Felzien, Brandon Hoover CIRCULATION: Karen Crane CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Meredith Bongers, Nancy Burns, Nancy Critchley, Elizabeth Chorney-Booth, Angela Dorval, Alexandra Eldridge, John Hardy, Lewis Kelly, Michelle Lindstrom, Jenn Dermott, Scott Rollans, Kelly Stark, Cait Wills CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ILLUSTRATORS: Nancy Critchley, Christy Dean, Jason Everitt, Ryan Girard, Buffy Goodman, Kelly Redinger, Raymond Reid ABOUT UNITED WAY The mission of United Way of the Alberta Capital Region is to mobilize collective action to create pathways out of poverty.

WE is published for United Way of the Alberta Capital Region by Venture Publishing Inc., 10259-105 Street Edmonton, AB T5J 1E3 Tel: 780-990-0839 Fax: 780-425-4921 Toll-free: 1-866-227-4276 circulation@venturepublishing.ca Printed in Canada by Transcontinental Interweb WE is printed on Forest Stewardship Council ® certified paper Publications Agreement #40020055 ISSN 1925-8690 Contents copyright 2013. Content may not be reprinted or reproduced without permission from United Way of the Alberta Capital Region.

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COMMUNITY CHAMPION

Art Is Thy Name Christy Morin built a community arts program to combat local crime by Michelle Lindstrom

Photograph by nancy critchley

Christy Morin is the executive director of Arts on the Ave Society, a non-profit society that supports local artists and community building. The organization started in her living room and expanded across her community because she wanted her two children to grow up in a community they were proud of. Since then, 118th Ave. has become one the most culturally sound areas in the city by hosting a variety of annual festivals that showcase local talent and increase community spirit.

WE: How and why did Arts on the Ave all begin? CM: I never thought I’d be part of an arts movement in Edmonton. I never really thought I’d be a community activist either, but the beginning of it all was when my husband and I moved into our home 19 years ago in the Alberta Ave. district as newlyweds. Within the community, tolerance was so high for crime and disorder. We couldn’t understand why. I got more and more concerned and kept thinking we should sell our house, but eventually realized that we could start talking to our neighbours and make some changes ourselves. I put a little note in our community newspaper and my friend wemagazine.CA

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and fellow drama improv performer, Anita Lennie, and I started meeting at my house and said to others, “If you’re interested, come on in and take part.” That was eight and a half years ago.

WE: Was it hard to encourage your neighbours to get involved? CM: No it wasn’t, the majority of the people were wonderful. They are the ones who made this community great many years ago. But they started shutting down because they were afraid of all the criminal activity — gang members, drug dealers and drug houses. So when we started getting together as a community, we began to realize that we all loved our neighbourhood and we were allowing the bad to dictate how we were living in it — like we were permitting them to be the ones with the loudest voice. This program is about taking our neighborhood back so we had a voice and are making it a place for our kids to grow up in and be proud of. WE: Was the premise always to involve art? CM: Anita and I chatted about it and wondered, “How can the arts edify our community?” And that was

really our hope and prayer — that we would be able to use the arts, which were such a part of us, because we knew that the community needed to begin to express and celebrate. It was really grassroots. But we did know that there were artists that lived in the neighbourhood and thought, “Why don’t we just all get together?” And then, “Why don’t we just do a festival?” That was when the City of Edmonton was also working on a revitalization of this community — although arts wasn’t a dedicated piece to the revitalization. But as the city began to realize that we are such an artist hub, they were really open to supporting this as a new arts district.

WE: How do your initiatives benefit residents? CM: We’ve been able to live our lives in an open and healthy way, and that is a cause for celebration. People are moving to the neighborhood because they want to be a part of the positive change that’s going on here. There is a sense of pride rising from the ashes in the community and it’s been truly great to see. See www.artsontheave.org for all the festivals and initiatives on the go. we • SUMMER/FALL • 2013

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by United Way Staff

Kick Poverty United Way and FC Edmonton Soccer Club joined efforts to Kick Poverty as part of the 2013 Canadian Amway Championship Semi-Final Game at Commonwealth Stadium, held April 24, 2013. Despite the cool weather, thousands of soccer fans attended the game, many wearing their FC Edmonton scarves and proudly displaying their game apparel. FC Edmonton donated $5 from each game day ticket to United Way. These funds will be invested in our community to help foster positive social, intellectual, emotional and physical development for youth through programs and initiatives supported by United Way. Nearly 3,000 people, young and old, attended the game to cheer on the Eddies as they played against the Vancouver Whitecaps. In addition, many generous corporations and residents

purchased tickets to send more than 500 vulnerable youth to the soccer game – a first for many children who would otherwise not be able to attend. Special thanks to the Fath family and FC Edmonton for helping United Way Kick Poverty!

Christy Dean Photography

Red Tie Gala Amidst a flurry of confetti

Fiver: Premier Alison Redford shares some levity with Change Starts Here performer R.J. Cui at United Way’s Red Tie Gala, while Campaign Chair Dave Mowat looks on.

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cannons, great musical entertainment and a keynote address from Premier Alison Redford, the 2013 United Way fundraising campaign officially came to a close on Thursday, February 28. It ended with a great deal of cheering and celebration for another very successful year that saw our community rally to raise an incredible $23.1 million. The Red Tie Gala Awards of Distinction is an annual event that includes an evening of celebration and acknowledgement of what the community and individuals have accomplished this past campaign. In 2012, we also welcomed more than 60 new workplace campaigns that, for the first time, ran a United Way campaign. This included the City of Edmonton, led by Mayor Stephen Mandel, for non-unionized and unionized employees. Together we focused on the goal of helping change lives – through education, income and wellness.

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Having a Ball You might assume that pairing youth, corporate adults and Edmonton Police Service members together would result in very little cross-peer communication. But, given the right environment, the exact opposite happens. High-fives become contagious as bonds begin to form. UDODGE is a community-based initiative designed to connect youth and mentors and encourage community spirit. On March 28, 2013, the fourth annual dodgeball tournament was held at the Edmonton EXPO Centre. Seven teams, each consisting of four youth, four corporate adults, a member of the Edmonton Police Service and a Northlands representative, spent the day striving for gold. Every year the corporate adults tell us how fun the youth are, the youth tell us how cool the adults are and the officers tell us that it was a great way to connect with the community. It gives everyone an opportunity to view others as individuals rather than just faceless stereotypes, and offers the opportunity for their views to be challenged. In this way, it introduces youth to a different, more rounded perspective. UDODGE isn’t about how well you can catch or throw, duck or dive – it’s about realizing that the youth in our community need us just as much as we need them and realizing that if we listen as much as we talk, meaningful communication occurs. A sincere thank you to Northlands for their support of this year’s event and to all of the participants. For more information on the UDODGE tournament, visit myunitedway.ca /udodge

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Norwood Celebrates 50 Years Since 1963 the Norwood Child and Family Resource Centre (NCFRC) has provided programs and services that strive to lessen the impact of poverty on children and families. The centre is celebrating 50 years of support and success in the community with special events and fundraisers in 2013. The main Golden Jubilee Celebration will be held September 28, 2013, at the NCFRC. The theme, “Celebrating our Diversity,” reflects the diverse cultural background of more than 700 families who access services at Norwood every year. The event coincides with the 2013 Alberta Culture Days, a celebration of our heritage, cultural diversity and provincial pride. The NCFRC experienced tremendous growth in the last 50 years. One thing has remained constant – the positive, healthy impact the centre has on children and families in our community.

Norwood Child and Family Resource Centre History 1963 – Norwood Readiness Centre opens as a preparatory class for five-year-olds in the Norwood United Church basement. 1999 – Norwood Centre becomes Norwood Child and Family Resource Centre and changes its program focus to children and families instead of service provision to the community-at-large. 2013 – Norwood “celebrates fifty years of healthy beginnings that resonate for generations” with special events and fundraisers.

Wheels for United Way Donations to United Way come in all shapes

BRAND NEW WHEELS: Bud, Laverna and David Salloum hand over the keys for a new van to United Way’s Anne Smith.

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and sizes. Each and every gift helps support the diverse needs of people in the Alberta Capital Region. Bud and Laverna Salloum, as well as their family, including their son David and daughter, Kathy, are longtime United Way donors. In 1960, when the United Community Fund of Greater Edmonton was established, Bud was the original secretary of this new organization, which later became United Way. When the Salloum family wanted to mark Laverna’s 80th birthday on June 22, 2013, with a significant gift to their community, they decided the donation of a brand new van to United Way was the perfect fit. The vehicle is excellent for groups of volunteers or employees and is often front and center at many community campaign events. “Edmonton has been good to the Salloum family for 60 years,” Bud explains. “Laverna and I support a variety of individual charities so we felt this year was the right time for a milestone donation to United Way and the greater community.”

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MYTH BUSTERS by Alexandria

The Golden Years?

Eldridge

SENIOR INCOME Sources of income for Alberta seniors, aged 65 or older, 2007 : 4.4% 1.7%

Many seniors experience economic insecurity after retirement

21%

14.7%

15.6%

Many look forward to retirement as a time to relax, travel and not worry about money anymore, but that dream may not be the reality for the majority of Albertans. Approximately one in three Alberta seniors access the Alberta Seniors Benefit program for those with low income. According to Statistics Canada, over 30 per cent of seniors aged 65 or older have an annual income of less than $20,000 a year.

Myth: Most Albertans retire at 55 The Freedom 55 slogan that was so popular more than 20 years ago is no longer feasible for the majority of Albertans, says John Kolkman, research co-ordinator at the Edmonton Social Planning Council. In fact, the retirement age of the average Albertan is increasing. “There are fewer and fewer people who are going to be able to achieve retirement security even by those later ages [65 or 70],” Kolkman says. With higher life expectancies, people need to have more saved because they’re expecting to live for a longer period of time after they stop working. Plus, he says that lower interest rates on savings have made it more challenging to grow retirement savings.

Myth: Pensions provide enough for retirees to live on In 2007, the average monthly amount Albertans received from the Canada Pension Plan was $532. CPP only replaces around 25 per cent of pre-retirement income, while the recommended amount that people should have saved is around 70 or 75 per cent. Some baby boomers may have other pension income from a defined benefit pension plan with their employer, but these are becoming less common. wemagazine.CA

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“There’s been a shift away from defined benefit plans towards defined contribution plans which don’t have the same guaranteed income in retirement,” Kolkman explains. Many seniors continue working longer or have to seek part-time employment after retirement to help supplement their pension income. In Alberta in 2009, 21.4 per cent of the average senior’s income came from employment.

22.5% 19.8%

Employment Income: 21.4% Other Pensions: 22.5% Government Transfers: 19.8% Investments: 15.6%

CPP/QPP: 14.7% Other Income: 4.4% RRSP: 1.7%

Income distribution of Alberta seniors, aged 65 years or older, 2010: 200,000 175,000 150,000 125,000 100,000 75,000 50.000 25,000 0-$20,000

$20,000$50,000

$50,000$100,000

Over $100,000

* Total income includes employment income, investment income, government transfers, pension income and other income.

Myth: Good Source: Statistics Canada, CANSIM Table 111-0008 planning guarantees Many seniors fall short of their security in retirement intended savings, leading them to rely Even saving the recommended amount every year and planning carefully for retirement doesn’t guarantee income security. Plans to work until a certain age can be disrupted, says Kolkman. “You may say, ‘I’m going to keep working into my 70s,’ but what if all of a sudden you have a health emergency?”

on programs like the Alberta Seniors Benefit or the federal Guaranteed Income Supplement. Kolkman says that these programs have helped reduce the number of seniors living in abject poverty, but there are still some that fall through the cracks, such as new Canadians who don’t always qualify. we • SUMMER/FALL • 2013

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PHOTO: JASON EVERITT

YVONNE CHIU: She has spent her life as a Canadian immigrant helping other newcomers make the most of their Edmonton home.

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Pathways

The mutual benefits of effective immigration by scott rollans

LBERTA’S CULTURAL FABRIC HAS CHANGED in recent decades, and continues to change ever more quickly – bringing with it a host of challenges and opportunities, both for new Albertans and for our society as a whole. “Currently, one in five Albertans is an immigrant,” says Erick Ambtman, executive director of Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers (EMCN). “Twenty years from now, it’s going to be one in three. That means everybody is going to have an immigrant neighbour. That’s a huge shift in our demographic.” Many Alberta immigrants view their arrival in our province as the culmination of a dream – only to be jolted awake by the barriers they encounter in their new home. To succeed in Alberta – or to even fit in – they need to learn our language, navigate our systems, grasp our cultural nuances and reconstruct their professional lives. As big as the stakes are for immigrants, they’re just as high for the community they are joining. Successful immigrants help create a thriving economy, not to mention a rich, diverse society. That kind of mutual

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benefit demands mutual effort. “While we’re letting a lot of people into the country because of economic reasons, there are social repercussions to how we handle that arrival,” says Ambtman. “It’s not just about economic benefit.” In some ways, immigration is a new concept for Edmonton. “Alberta has been relatively isolated,” Ambtman observes. “We’ve never really felt that wave of immigration before now. We’re not southern Ontario or Vancouver.” The EMCN is part of a wide network of service agencies, volunteer groups and community organizations that help immigrants find their footing in Alberta. At the EMCN, new Albertans can get help learning English, getting settled and finding work. Nearly two decades ago, Yvonne Chiu (herself an immigrant) helped launch the Multicultural Health Brokers Co-operative (MCHB). The group began by reaching out to young couples expecting babies, to help them get the prenatal and other health support they needed. Gradually, the Co-op expanded its focus to address the needs of other newcomers as well. “We

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PHOTO: Kelly redinger

WELCOME UPON ARRIVAL

ARNALDO PEREZ: A psychologist in Cuba, he stocked grocery store shelves when he first came to Canada. After improving his English skills he landed a job at the University of Alberta.

ourselves have lived through some of the same experiences,” says Chiu. situation, it’s no surprise that many have had difficulty “We’re very familiar with their struggles, and also what the systemic gaps adapting. “It’s a very hard life in the refugee camp,” Chapagai have been.” says. “People have still not recovered from the situation they Today, the MCHB is a worker-owned co-op of experienced in the refugee camp. 54 brokers representing 22 cultural and linguistic They are traumatized. They were We have very talented, communities in Edmonton. Many of the brokers tortured, and they witnessed many well-educated people who are not began as MCHB clients, and are now reinvesting things.” practising in the areas they have their energy to help those who have come after While in the refugee camp, them. Chapagai worked as a health been trained for. One of those brokers is Shiva Chapagai. He came assistant. The experience helped to Edmonton in February 2011 after spending more prepare him to take on a leadership than 21 years in a Bhutanese refugee camp in eastern Nepal. More than role in Edmonton’s tiny Bhutanese community. “People know 100,000 people, most of them members of the Lhotshampa ethnic group, me very well. I am very familiar with the people and their were forced to leave Bhutan in the early 1990s. A resettlement program problems because I was there in the refugee camp.” Chapagai involving eight western countries (including Canada) has helped find helped set up the Bhutanese-Canadian Association of homes for many of the stranded refugees. Edmonton, and now works part time at the MCHB. “I learned Twenty-three of those refugee families now make their home in many things from the Health Brokers Co-op about the health Edmonton, with more expected over the next few years. Given their systems in Canada,” he says. “Now, through the Co-op, I have

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Pathways

the privilege to help my people. I am working as a bridge credentials recognized, their problems are solved,” he says. between the people and the services.” “But, when you apply for a job, the employer will say, where Over time, the MCHB has evolved to broker “health” did this person come from?” in the broadest possible sense, encompassing things like As a somewhat pampered academic from a socialist childcare, programs for youth and seniors, and family country, Perez had to adjust to the harsh realities of support. It also helps immigrant professionals find ways to Canada’s job market. “A banana in El Salvador has a price, put their skills and training to work, instead of becoming and it is different than the price it has in Canada,” Perez trapped in menial jobs – a problem Chiu sees all too often. smiles. “The same happened with us. When you come here, “We have very talented, well-educated people who are not you have a different value.” practising in the areas they have been trained for,” she says. “It took me a little while to understand that, if I applied Like Chiu, Ambtman also sees immigrants who have been for a job, I wouldn’t get what I was looking for. So, I thought, stymied by Canada’s job market. Often, the difficulty comes ‘OK, what I have to do is increase my value in this market.’ ” down to cultural differences. “In a lot of cultures, bragging Perez decided to put his career on the back burner, and is seen as pretty ugly,” Ambtman says. “We’ll explain that to focus his energy on learning English. He took English Canadian interviews are designed to have you talk about classes in the mornings, and then worked at Safeway from yourself, and say what a wonderful 3:30 to 11:30 p.m. – a job he person you are.” chose mainly as a way to practise It took me a little while to The professionals who do his English. “A lot of students understand that, if I applied for manage to find jobs often have a worked at that Safeway because hard time keeping them. “I have it’s close to the university,” he a job, I wouldn’t get what I was seen engineers who have had recalls. “Students don’t like to looking for. So, I thought, OK, what I 20 years of experience in their work; they like to talk to other have to do is increase my value home country,” says Ambtman. people. And I took advantage of in this market. “They come to Canada and find that situation!” employment, but keep getting After a year and a half, Perez fired.” became involved at the MCHB, counselling other SpanishAt the EMCN, counsellors help newcomers navigate the speaking people. The job put him in touch with the local cultural subtleties of the Canadian workplace. “For example, community, including a few professors. “Through one of in a lot of Asian cultures, it’s seen as a sign of weakness to them, I got a job at the University of Alberta as a research be asking a lot of questions. So, you get an assignment, and assistant.” In other words, his professional career was fully instead of asking questions you just go off in a corner and do back on track. “And that was after three years,” he observes. your work.” When those workers fail to deliver the expected “Which is not bad, I think.” results, Ambtman explains, they often lose their jobs and Perez sees massive value in agencies such as MCHB, can’t understand why. EMCN, Catholic Social Services and others. “If you go to a Arnaldo Perez is one professional who has managed to settlement agency, you will find people who can help you to navigate Canada’s job market well. Perez moved to Edmonton develop not only a personal strategy, but a family integration with his wife and daughter five years ago, leaving behind strategy – which, I think, is crucial.” a comfortable academic research position in Cuba. “We He would get no argument from Niga Jalal. She and her thought that it would be better for our daughter,” he says. family struggled virtually alone after coming to Edmonton After he arrived, it didn’t take Perez long to realize in 1998. They arrived after spending more than a year in a the scale of his task. Perez is a psychologist, a field built Turkish camp – Kurdish refugees fleeing Saddam’s regime around conversation, but he arrived in Alberta woefully in Iraq. underprepared. “We thought that learning English properly “When we found out that we were coming to Canada, would take us, like, a year,” he recalls. Unfortunately, they it was probably one of the happiest days of my life,” Jalal weren’t able to pick up the new language quite so easily. recalls. “Every day, I would dream about what Canada would That said, Perez did manage to clear one hurdle early be like. Waking up in the morning and feeling safe, and not on: getting his Cuban academic credentials recognized. waking up to the sounds of guns and car bombings.” It was an important step, but it was just one small part of Instead, she found herself as a 13-year-old stuck in a the puzzle. “Many people think that, once they get their regular Grade 6 classroom without knowing a word of

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PHOTO: Jason everitt

WELCOME UPON ARRIVAL

SHIVA CHAPAGAI: For more than two decades he lived in a Bhutanese refugee camp, before arriving in Edmonton in 2011.

English. Well, perhaps one word. “The only word I actually knew was banana,” place, and a process to get to know each other,” she observes. says Jalal. “That was one of the most expensive fruits in Kurdistan, so we were “We might be working side by side, but there are no deep overdosing on bananas when we came to Canada!” conversations – finding out from each other the gifts that we Her parents didn’t have it any easier. They had both worked as journalists bring culturally.” in Iraq, but now found themselves settling for any job they could find. They MCHB has started experimenting with the concept of a had a family to feed, plus a $12,000 transportation loan to repay, courtesy multicultural teahouse, where immigrants and native-born of Canada’s government. “That was kind of our Canadians can share music, art, poetry welcome gift,” Jalal says. – and food. “We’ll encourage people to We’re going to have to adapt to As an adult, Jalal spends much of her time sit with each other, even if they don’t making sure other immigrant kids have a better know one another,” she says. “We’ve the reality of immigration, instead childhood than she did. (“I wish I could recall been popping up at different places. of simply expecting immigrants to happy memories, but I can’t.”) With her sister And people just get it. They love it.” adapt to life in Canada. and others in their community, Jalal started Over at EMCN, Ambtman also homework clubs and recreational activities for sees a two-way relationship as Iraqi youth. She also works with MCHB as a youth leader, along with her job as essential to Canada’s future. “We’re going to have to adapt to the a human resource consultant with the City of Edmonton. reality of immigration, instead of simply expecting immigrants Yvonne Chiu is proud of MCHB’s successes, particularly former clients like to adapt to life in Canada,” he says. “That means not only Jalal, Perez and Chapagai who now help other new immigrants adapt to life in cultural sensitivity, but being able to support a very diverse Canada. Lately, though, she has also been looking for innovative ways to help workforce, diverse classrooms – understanding that part of Albertans embrace their immigrant neighbours. “We don’t have a way, and a our job, broadly, is going to be integration.”

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SPONSOR PROFILE

All In At Conroy Ross we believe that when your whole team engages, the community will benefit for the long term

1. One of Conroy Ross’S key ideas about corporate social responsibility is to have a passion for the causes Conroy Ross supports. What inspires your passion for supporting United Way?

3. The primary value at Conroy Ross centers on the word “engage.” Can you explain how this value guides your commitment to the community?

United Way Centraide Canada’s mission is to improve lives and build community. That mission is also very important to the team at Conroy Ross. We are passionate about our “Four Cs”: clients, candidates, colleagues and communities, and we use that passion as part of our values statement. United Way has a clear overall focus, but executes at the community level. It isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach and that’s an approach we really like.

We chose the word “engage” because it encompasses our “Four Cs” and it includes all of us. Our team engages in all of our interactions to create a lasting and positive impact. In terms of the community, we use the word “lasting” because we embrace a long-term perspective in supporting our community. We really believe in investing and making a meaningful impact in our communities.

2. In 2013-2014 you focused on Education and Literacy as a specific cause. How does this focus fit in with Conroy Ross’S approach to supporting the community?

4. In your campaign for United Way, who is involved and what does your campaign look like?

This year Conroy Ross revamped its corporate social responsibility (CSR) to have a greater focus on meaning. As a company with offices across Canada, we wanted to allow each local market to focus on what is meaningful in their own community. In order to change how we approached supporting our communities, we looked at the World Health Organization (WHO) determinants of health to understand what impacts the health and well-being of communities. From that assessment, Conroy Ross chose three areas to focus on: Income and Social Status, Health and Wellness, and Education and Literacy. At our annual colleague meeting in April, where our team shared strategies and goals, our colleagues chose Education and Literacy as the focus for our efforts this year.

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We give the campaign to our entire team and they drive it. Last year, we had 100 per cent participation. Our social committee chose a number of different fun activities, so people really wanted to take part in what we were doing. Outside of our campaign, our focus theme for the year, Education and Literacy, gives each market at Conroy Ross the opportunity to engage in their local community in a way that is meaningful and specific to their local needs.

5. What is the lasting impact you hope to achieve through your commitment to the community? We would like to look back with pride at what we have accomplished as a team. Our end goal is to help create a healthy and prosperous environment for all the people who call our communities home.

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Pathways

Going back to school can help young people work towards better futures by Alexandria Eldridge

Photography by Buffy goodman

t 11 years old, Marisa Castor was cooking dinner and taking care of her siblings by herself. She struggled when she got to junior high, bouncing around from school to school and never feeling like she really fit in. She started skipping class and began dating an 18-year-old guy. Eventually, like thousands of other students in Alberta, she dropped out of school. When she was 17, she found out she was pregnant. It was the most difficult time of her life.

HITTING THE BOOKS: Marisa Castor’s life-changing decision to complete high school creates a better future for her and her daughter.

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Fast-forward three years and the future looks a lot brighter for 20-year-old Marisa. She’s a single mother, living with her daughter Tulisa, and she’s about to graduate high school. She’s received early acceptance to the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Nursing which will make her the first person in her family to go to university. “I don’t want my daughter to have the same life that I had. I want her to be a child,” she says. “I know that for me to give her a better life – and for a better life for myself – I need to go to school.”

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breaking the cycle

STUDY AND PLAY: Thanks to the childcare offered at Braemar School, Marisa can visit her two-yearold daughter Tulisa for study breaks during the day.

Based on the statistics, Marisa is correct that While it’s clear that graduating is an important piece to a financiallyeducation is the path to a better future for her and her secure future, many of the province’s youth are not finishing high school. daughter. High school dropouts are, on average, the Alberta’s high school completion rate is one of the lowest in the country at lowest wage earn74 per cent and, though that rate ers and are more is increasing, there are still many Alberta’s high school completion rate is one of the likely to experiAlberta students who drop out of lowest in the country at 74 per cent and, though that rate ence prolonged high school. Vanessa Prudencio, a low income during youth advisor at the YMCA’s Youth is increasing, there are still many Alberta students who their lifetime. The Transitions Program, says other drop out of high school. unemployment issues often cause high school to be rate for high school pushed to the backburner for the dropouts between the ages of 15 and 24 is more than two young people she works with. “Many of our youth don’t have a stable home times higher than that of high school graduates. environment, so that’s their focus. It’s really hard for them to focus on math “It’s one of the first key steps – high school compleor social studies or even getting to school,” she says. “School doesn’t seem like tion. It’s that door that opens up other opportunities,” a very high priority for them.” says Karen Mottershead, executive director of the Terra The YMCA is working to try to change that through their Transitions at Centre, an organization that offers support to teen the Y school, offered through the Youth Transitions Program. The school parents. Terra works in conjunction with the Edmonton allows youth, many of whom have dropped out of school, to start working Public School Board to operate Braemar School for pregtowards high school graduation, one course at a time. One of those students nant teens and teen moms, where Marisa is a student. is 17-year-old Kaitlyn Kostiuk, who dropped out of school several years ago,

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Pathways

but has since come back and is graduating in a couple of months. “I’m really excited about it because I didn’t think I was going to graduate,” she says. While Kaitlyn has faced some major barriers to her education, she knew she needed to graduate to realize her goal of becoming a paramedic – and creating a better life. “I wanted to work with people in need and reassure them that there is something better out there in life,” she says. “I don’t want to be like my family members. I want to have something for my life.” For teen moms and parents, the barriers are similar to those faced by young people at the YMCA. Securing basic needs like food and shelter can take priority over school. For teen moms, financial challenges may mean they have to take a job in order to provide for their child, rather than going to school. Terra addresses that barrier through funds they administer from the provincial government that cover the living expenses for their students, including housing and food, provided they meet minimum attendance and grade requirements. “It provides me with the biggest thing a mother and a child need, and that’s stability,” Marisa says. Finding convenient and appropriate childcare is also a major challenge, so Braemar has a childcare centre attached to the school for children aged three weeks to two years. Moms can drop their kids off at the beginning of the day, visit during lunch, and pick them up at the end, and breastfeeding moms can still attend school. Programs like those at Terra and the YMCA have seen success because they offer supports like childcare, but also because they offer a community. At the YMCA’s Youth Transitions Program, giving young people the opportunity to interact with each other and form a community is a natural part of their programs, and school is no exception. “School brings a lot of different things beyond the academic. There’s the social aspect of education. A lot of our kids are extremely isolated in their situations,” Prudencio says. “They form a community amongst themselves with people that might not necessarily be going through the exact situation, but something similar.” At Terra, each student gets assigned a personal support counsellor who can work with them on anything they need, from career planning to securing housing. This fosters a community that is able to share in the successes of the students. This support system is made even more important because many of the young people who drop out of high school lack the support of family. Research has consistently shown that children whose parents didn’t graduate high school are less likely to

graduate themselves. “The students really see that what they’re doing is having to break that generational cycle,” says Mottershead. And even when youth make a decision to return to school and pursue high school completion, a lack of family support can be a major obstacle. “For a lot of these kids, their families are not invested in or they don’t value education. They didn’t finish school themselves – they don’t have the experience of knowing when you get education, when you get a good job, when you have good income, how different your life can be. Most of them have been born and raised in poverty and that’s all they know,” Mottershead says. Breaking that generational cycle or overcoming barriers makes graduating a major achievement that gives young people an important confidence boost and an understanding of their own strengths and skills. “A lot of these kids have not had a lot of successes in their lives,” Mottershead says. “We’re not always going to be around for them. We want them to experience success and to bring that out so they can understand their own strengths.” This confidence gives young people like Marisa and Kaitlyn what they need to go forward and create a better life. While a better financial future for themselves is certainly a byproduct of high school completion, their contributions will also benefit society as a whole. These youth will now have the chance to make a difference and an impact in their own ways. For Marisa, that means being a good mom and becoming a nurse. “When I was in labour with my daughter, it was 38 hours long and the nurses were exceptional. That’s what I want to do for women,” Marisa says. And because she’s graduating high school, she’ll have the chance to do just that.

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SUCCESS STORIES: United Way funded programs are helping individuals find their way out of poverty.

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Pathways

A new results-based approach by bobbi-sue menard

VER THE PAST 70 YEARS, UNITED WAY has dedicated efforts to addressing some of the most pressing social issues in the region. United Way’s scope and impact has been extensive. Together, with generous volunteers and contributors, and dedicated agency partners, United Way has supported a multitude of important services and made a difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. It’s a proud legacy, and one that has served our community well. But it is no longer enough to manage social problems. The time has come to change the way United Way and funded partner agencies respond to the urgent needs experienced by people in the Alberta Capital Region.

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CREATING PATHWAYS OUT OF POVERTY “Being part of one of the most prosperous regions in North America, we should be asking ourselves: Is it acceptable for 120,000 people in our region to be living in poverty? Is it acceptable for the many thousands more who live in the margins?” says Anne Smith, president and CEO of United Way of the Alberta Capital Region. “We know that the vast majority of the programs and services we support have always been about lifting people out of poverty, and preventing many others from falling into it.” For the past 18 months, United Way has refocused their process of delivering help to those who need it the most. The action is in response to the question: How do we as a community enable people to move out of poverty – permanently? Creating Pathways Out of Poverty is the result. Many Edmontonians know the fiscal constraints the city and province face, as they too face those tough decisions in their own lives. And while finances are being stretched, complexity is growing. Service organizations experience this complexity as an increase in administration and reporting. This combination of financial strain and complexity is not sustainable for service providers and organizations, and in the long-term it is the people who need services the most who will suffer.

FIND THE PATH “We have had to embrace a new way of thinking,” says Smith. “From a systems perspective, needs have grown beyond what was ever anticipated. There was a time when a simple intervention would suffice; today we look at the root causes.” That effort to discern a new way to address the needs of people experiencing poverty begins with several core realizations. For one, addressing poverty is not something that one organization or order of government can take on alone. It truly must be a collective, integrated effort with government, the not-for-profit sector, corporate partners and community members. The past two years have seen some of this important alignment taking place. On a provincial level, the Government of Alberta developed and released the Social Policy Framework, to help address social challenges faced by Albertans. Municipally, the City of Edmonton continues to make strides with the 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness, and has also launched the Edmonton Poverty Elimination Steering Committee, with United Way partnering to co-chair. In terms of service delivery, people must have priority over programs – the goal must be to “wrap around” people and meet their needs, rather than the needs of a program. And supporting children and families must be at the centre of any change. Smith says embracing this set of priorities is a common approach across a broad spectrum of agencies and service providers in the community, “These pieces are driving our work at United Way and the work of our partners as well.” The theory sounds great, but the reality is better. Smith points to how this thinking recently turned the approach to homelessness on its head and transformed lives. “We used to think that you couldn’t have housing until you were ready. It was a very entrenched viewpoint. When you consider that, the idea is backwards. How can a person effectively deal with their challenges when they don’t have a home?”

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Across the region, researchers, social workers, and agencies with skilled staff working at ground level reversed the old way of doing things and started to house people who needed a home. The plan used funding from the province, the city and the private sector to implement the 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness. The positive results are real and documented: fewer people are experiencing homelessness in Edmonton. Read a personal success story on page 24, as well as recent statistics in our “Milestones” story on page 42.

REPEAT THE SUCCESS This shift in thinking can only be effective with in-depth community consultation. “As a community we share a common vision and common goals. United Way has a strong history of being a part of the conversation that is focused on poverty in our community. At United Way we can make a contribution by facilitating what comes next,” says Smith. The research and conversations around what comes next identified the three focus areas that support prosperity: Education, Income (adequate resources) and Wellness. “In looking at those three areas, we asked: ‘Within the things that can be done, what things make sense for United Way to do?’” says Smith. These areas of Education, Income and Wellness bring greater clarity to United Way’s work in the community; however, now is the time to turn clear focus into significant results. Any new direction must be evidence-based, grounded in research and best practices. The new direction had to embrace and build upon the significant work of the past and the strengths of United Way. And any new direction chosen by United Way had to be relevant and as inclusive as possible. With this inclusivity a priority, United Way conducted consultations with community residents, donors and stakeholders in the fall of 2012. A collection of communitywide and donor surveys of nearly 600 people helped capture perceptions of United Way’s three focus areas (Education, Income and Wellness) and perceptions on poverty in the region. The results were clear: 84 per cent of respondents said that program delivery, collaboration and strategy development related to United Way’s work on addressing poverty is important. Now that the consultations have taken place and the basic research is complete, the next step is to develop comprehensive strategies to meet the goals. “The purpose of Pathways Out of Poverty is to create a direct line of sight between goals and results,” says Smith. “As we work in various areas, we will have specific outcomes to pursue.” wemagazine.CA

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TAKE THE JOURNEY Together, with partner agencies, government and community organizations, United Way identified 12 Desired Results (pictured below) – four within each of the three focus areas. These Desired Results target some of the most critical needs in the region and will make a significant difference in changing the lives of the thousands of people experiencing poverty and the many others at risk. Over the course of the next year, United Way and its partners will work together to develop specific strategies and measurable targets within each of the 12 Desired Results, moving toward the production of an annual scorecard, demonstrating the progress being made in this community effort. The benefits of implementation include results that are more measureable,

more often. There will be a range of ways for the community to engage. “We are quite proud of the relationships United Way has with our partners and the community and we are very excited about how all of us are working together,” says Smith. “We are aligned with all levels of government and our community and we are moving forward together – now is the time.” Most importantly, says Smith, “People who need support will be able to access it, how and when they need to do so. People will feel safe and supported and there will be the opportunity for them to be the best that they can be.”

Creating Pathways Out of Poverty FOCUS AREAS EDUCATION

INCOME

Vision: Children and youth have the opportunities they need to learn, grow and succeed.

Vision: Families and individuals have stability and independence.

WELLNESS Vision: Neighbourhoods are vibrant and residents experience a sense of safety and well being.

DESIRED RESULTS • Increase access to quality, early childhood development opportunities for children aged 0 – 3.

• Increase the number of people who are able to access and maintain quality housing.

• Increase the number of children entering school with age-appropriate early literacy skills.

• Increase the number of people who are able to access healthy, affordable food.

• Increase the number of children and youth who have access to the community supports they need to succeed in school.

• Increase individual capacity to obtain and retain employment that provides for basic economic security.

• Increase the number of children and youth who participate in quality out-of-school time programming.

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• Increase individuals’ understanding and capacity to manage personal finances and build assets.

• Decrease wait times and improve access to supports for people experiencing abuse and/or domestic violence. • Increase access to interventions that help youth overcome the challenges they face in resisting and avoiding crime and gang involvement. • Decrease barriers to community-based mental health supports. • Increase access to information about programs and services available in the Alberta Capital Region.

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THE FIRST STEPS: After experiencing homelessness, Regena Bull knows the value and stability of having a home.

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by John Hardy

Pathways

Home is Where the Support is Photography by BUFFY GOODMAN

Edmonton is redefining what it means to help people experiencing homelessness

ousing First. It is an idea and a

program that has revolutionized how Canadians can help our neighbours who are experiencing homelessness. Housing First finds a home for a person experiencing homelessness before any other service solution and then looks to help the newly-homed person with necessary services: health care (including mental health), addiction management and recovery, and skill development. It is a direct reversal of the traditional approach to homelessness, which demanded that people were only helped into a home if they had overcome any existing health issues or found a job. Twenty years ago in New York City, Dr. Sam Tsemberis launched the Pathways to Housing, a Housing First model and pilot project. The idea was to give a home to a person suffering from homelessness, and chronic medical

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and social problems, and then combine a stable home with the provision of services. It proved to be so effective that 10 years after the New York-based project, a fivecity (Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, Moncton and Winnipeg) Canadian study, At Home/Chez Soi was launched. The At Home/Chez Soi mandate was completed in March 2013. Preliminary results show that 86 per cent of people who participated in the program were living in their first or second apartment, one year after receiving the keys to their home. The social benefits of a stable home are profound to the participating clients. The At Home/Chez Soi Interim Report detailed community-wide benefits: â&#x20AC;&#x153;For participants who were using the most services before the study began (high users), this results in an overall savings to government of $9,390 per person per year. In other words, for every

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HOME IS WHERE THE SUPPORT IS

dollar that is spent on Housing First for these participants, $1.54 is saved through the reduction in other shelter, health and justice services.” In Edmonton, local service providers came together to form the Edmonton Committee to End Homelessness. In January 2009, the committee released A Place to Call Home, Edmonton’s 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness. The results have been similar to At Home/Chez Soi, real gains in the number of people who now have a home after experiencing homelessness. See the numbers in our “Milestones” story on page 42.

One of the organizations providing homes and working with people who experience homelessness is Homeward Trust, a not-for-profit organization that uses a community-based approach toward the goal of ending homelessness in Edmonton. Homeward Trust works with other local agencies and

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all levels of government to respond to housing needs within the community. Homeward Trust has performed many roles in the effort to end homelessness. Since 2001, Homeward Trust has funded the development of new units and helped people access market units. The organization’s mandate includes co-ordinating the provision of support services for its clients and doing community planning and research. Homeward Trust works closely with the aboriginal community and stakeholders, reflecting the challenges they face, in particular the issues related to homelessness. Susan McGee, CEO of Homeward Trust, has a genuine passion for helping people who experience homelessness.

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Pathways

“Our focus is housing. That’s what it’s ultimately about. I enrolling in courses, making it to a doctor’s appointment am so convinced that we can absolutely end homelessness. and all the other basic routines.” Unfortunately, people will always have housing issues but Returning to normal life is an important piece of the homelessness as we know it, the cruel fact that some people puzzle. Bull says the stigma of homelessness is a massive in Edmonton live on the street for years, is something we barrier to being a part of the community. “There is don’t have to tolerate,” she says. definitely a stigma. I felt it a lot and it hurt,” says Bull. “I The results of Housing First and other initiatives invert don’t drink. I don’t smoke. I was honest about my situation the old ways of thinking about homelessness. It is time to but, when landlords found out about my situation and my move past attitudes and ideas that protected the status kids, all of a sudden they said, ‘Sorry, it’s rented.’ ” quo of chronic homelessness, says McGee. “For a long time, The stigma of homelessness is removed by the simple governments and agencies expedient of providing access to a worked hard and did their best home. But home provision is not enough All of the kids are now in but our responses were shortto help people who have experienced school. I am so grateful for the term solutions for short-term homelessness to reconnect with the help. An important part of our needs. Individuals who were broader community. Service providers already marginalized just also value stability: it drives down the family routine is that we pray became marginalized-withoverall cost of service delivery and and give thanks. benefits. Don’t get me wrong, makes it more effective in the long term. benefits are vitally important McGee says, “The goal is moving but long-term strategies and support matter more.” towards a client-centered service delivery model. The Regena Bull has first-hand experience of the unseen client’s needs dictate the service they receive rather than benefits of a stable home. She prefers not to dwell on the organizational processes. Housing is just the beginning of past but, when asked, she tells a painful story about years of the journey. Much more is needed for each person who is living with domestic abuse. During that time, her constant newly housed to regain their health and to become part of a priority was to look after her six children. Her hope was new community.” that someday their miserable and dangerous home life Regena Bull smiles when she shares the benefits of would get better. It didn’t. having a stable home. “Last year the program [Homeward “My ex-husband was an alcoholic so, unfortunately, Trust] helped me move into an apartment and it turned I know from first-hand experience how that destroys lives,” our lives around. All of the kids are now in school. I am Bull says. so grateful for the help. An important part of our family Bull and her children first experienced homelessness routine is that we pray and give thanks.” in 2008. It happened after her mother could no longer house Bull and all of her children. “My Mom was the only For many members of the community, having person who was there for me. She always rescued me and a home is part of normal routines and social structures and even when I finally got the courage to leave, she took us in. it is difficult to imagine how quickly that can unravel. But But she lives in a very small house and there were six of us many Edmonton families live only a paycheque away from sharing one small bedroom. I knew it couldn’t be long term.” financial distress. More people experience housing inseMcGee points out that homelessness often occurs when curity and homelessness than a quick look at our general everyday people run out of social resources, time and prosperity suggests. money. “Homelessness drains a person’s social network, “It’s all very inspirational, levelling and humbling in like who to call when there’s a problem,” McGee says. terms of humanity. There are so many stories of personal “Supportive housing is just that: housing and support. strength and positive accomplishments,” McGee says. People who have experienced homelessness who now Bull would wholeheartedly agree with McGee’s have an affordable apartment can also access the kinds perspective. “It’s all about pride and self-worth. With the of support the rest of us take for granted. The support of kids in school, it’s time to concentrate on me and I am family and friends, maybe just to listen. When there is a enrolled in school to become a carpenter. I do look back and problem and they need someone to talk to, when they just I feel good about what I can accomplish and overcome. And don’t feel well, or they’re having a tough time finding a job, after everything, I am still standing.”

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by martin dover

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Illustration by RAYMOND REID

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llness creates challenges for all of us – certainly for the person who is ill, but also for his or her loved ones. For some families, the challenges presented by illness are particularly difficult to overcome. The onset of illness can be like tipping the first domino and setting in motion a host of issues that go far beyond the scope of the illness itself, yet remain intrinsically connected to it. For families living paycheque to paycheque, illness can launch them into an intractable cycle of poverty.

Pathways

Many Albertans live one paycheque from poverty. The onset of illness can be the impetus that drops the first domino 20 per cent lowest income earners in the province spend nearly double the amount of days in the hospital than the wealthiest 20 per cent. In short, the costs of poverty to the health-care system are large, but the costs of the health care system to people in poverty (or those just one medical bill away from poverty) are much larger.

Case Study

Michelle Zenon is no stranger to the financial crises that illness can cause. She appears healthy, happy and worry free, but her Nowhere is that razor’s-edge balance between barely managing diagnosis of estrogen-sensitive breast cancer in 2009 means that and sliding into punishing poverty more apparent than in Alberta. she faces tremendous pressure. Zenon had two surgeries before This province has a higher debt-to-income ratio than the national Christmas that year and spent most of Christmas Eve at the Cross average – 165 per cent to 136 per cent. And in this province, where Cancer Institute learning about her future treatment options. sick days remain an unlegislated benefit offered by the employer, She was a self-employed, single mom to an eight-year-old girl. it’s easy to see how chronic illness impacts “I told no one, I had no one I could tell. not just the patient, but their family and After my first surgery, I stayed with a the whole community. girlfriend to recover. Then I went to an Statistics show that the depth Poverty is often cyclical and is tied to open-house with a drain-bag from the and breadth of a patient’s social physical and mental health. A 2012 study surgery under my shirt and watched as supports positively impacts a Poverty Costs: An Economic Case for a clients toured the home.” patient’s recovery Preventative Poverty Reduction Strategy Zenon’s former partner was expein Alberta demonstrates how, in poverty, riencing difficulties of his own. And trying to solve one problem can exacerbate Zenon’s elderly parents and extended another. “A rundown apartment can exacerbate a child’s asthma, family lived in Toronto and weren’t able to help. Since she was which leads to a call for an ambulance and generates a medical bill self-employed, Zenon did not qualify for employment insurance, that cannot be paid,” write co-authors Alexa Briggs and Celia R. she didn’t qualify for CPP disability (which requires a longer peLee. “This can ruin a credit record, which hikes the interest rate riod of disability), and the province wouldn’t help as she had one on an auto loan and forces the purchase of an unreliable used car, tenuous asset: her home. Going to work soon after her multiple which, in turn, jeopardizes a mother’s punctuality at work and surgeries and during her year of painful chemo was her only limits her promotions and earning capacity, confining her to poor option. housing.” “Statistics show that the depth and breadth of a patient’s social The effects of an illness reach well beyond the physical and supports positively impacts a patient’s recovery, and we regularly mental health symptoms. The financial side effects are often still get calls from patients who are without support, financial or othfelt long after the illness is treated. With thousands of people in erwise,” Teresa Skarlicki says. Skarlicki is a social worker at the the Capital Region living close to poverty, an extended period Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton, providing psychosocial and without pay isn’t a realistic option. Add to that other expenses, spiritual resources for clients. She sees the potentially ruinous from hospital parking fees to prescription pills, and financial financial side-effects of critical illness every day. As such, she and instability can take away from a patient’s primary focus: wellness her colleagues receive daily inquiries from patients needing crisis and recovery. financial assistance. “We try to help people be empowered, and Having a larger demographic living in poverty also puts a great- we try to provide them with social supports,” she says. er strain on the health-care system. Poverty Costs states that the Skarlicki says that many patients do not have supplemental

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crisis and chronic illness insurance – including critical illness and mortgage insurance – which it’s beyond the reach of many in the Capital Region. can help defray the costs that pile up during an illness. Skarlicki clas“Disability benefits usually provide 60 to 70 per cent of sifies some of the hidden costs of treatment for which a patient may be your income for as long as you qualify,” Teresa Skarlicki responsible as medical, although she stresses non-medical costs can be says, while government programs like employment insurjust as financially draining. ance illness benefits only provide 55 per cent of a person’s “Chemotherapy medications are covered by Alberta Health,” says income and, even then, the weekly maximum is $501. Skarlicki, but medications that support that treatment are not. “If you “This benefit is taxable and is only good for 15 weeks,” are prescribed a certain type of chemotherapy, without supplemental says Skarlicki, “but some patients need months of treatmedical coverage, you may not be able to cover the support drugs.” ment. The Canada Pension Disability program is modest Support drugs may counter crippling nausea or pain, both of which and is only for people who are classified as being severely could mean the difference between a patient being able to work, or a ill for a prolonged period.” Skarlicki says the program is family sliding into poverty. underutilized, and “not an income replacement.” Zenon knows this first hand. “At the time I had a co-payment for the For qualifying families, organizations like the Alberta required drugs that I had to take before my chemo, but I could barely Cancer Foundation have assistance programs that provide afford even that. Plus I had to pay $24 per day for parking while in short-term help so families can focus on recovery. Another chemo and bring a bag lunch because the cafeteria costs money.” Like option is the Alberta Works Income Supports or, as people most of us, Zenon never imagined how know it, welfare. To qualify, financially ruinous an illness could be. you have to have limited The effects of an illness reach well beyond “It is safe to say that a diagnosis not assets and income, although physical and mental health. The financial only bankrupts our health care, but also home ownership is allowed. our bank accounts,” says Dr. Konrad A single person will get about side effects are often longer lasting. Fassbender, the inaugural scientific $800 a month. director of the Institute of Palliative Both Fassbender and Care for Covenant Health in Edmonton. “Out-of-pocket expenses like Skarlicki are proponents of changes to the provincial and drug costs that are not covered through federal benefits can be tens of federal health-care legislation. But they caution that the time thousands of dollars every month,” he says. These are treatments that are for advocacy is the present, not when a patient or caregiver’s clearly out of reach for all but the wealthiest and best-insured among us. focus is on their health. “We need to advocate for proper Fassbender also includes the income lost by caregivers, which he says medications,” says Fassbender. “The time of crisis is not the can be significant, under the label of nonmedical expenses. “Approxiright time for planning.” mately one third of caregivers are income earners, which means they Three and a half years have passed since Michelle Zenon’s lose that income when absent from work.” Even for those who do work diagnosis. She works as much as she can as a realtor and has while being treated, the illness itself requires time off, and lost earnings, deals pending but, at 54 years old and the mom of an almostfor appointments and poor health. “I had to keep working,” Zenon says, teenager, she is still stressed about making the bills and “but in the first year of my treatment I felt so awful, I lost many of the works a second job on top of her realtor’s duties. She knows social contacts and events that are a part of being a realtor.” And one she’ll never catch up. domino crashed into the next: Since her treatment was so debilitating, Zenon has learned to be positive, try everything she can to she couldn’t commit to full-time work, which meant she couldn’t arrange extend her health and be grateful that her disease is treatfor childcare for her daughter. able, because 10 years ago, it would not have been. Zenon’s intertwined health and financial journey continues, and she’s Make it Better philosophical. “You make your decisions,” she says, “and do “To me, one of the easiest answers to how we alleviate the financial what you can.” burden of illness is to enact appropriate medical treatment,” says Zenon is typical. Like most of us, she never dreamed an Fassbender. “The Canada Health Care Act was adopted in a large illness could undermine her financial prospects – and her part because of large and unexpected health-care expenditures for daughter’s – in the manner it has. A healthy society means Canadians.” that every family should be able to gain the support services “It has been shown that patients with a terminal diagnosis incur bethey need to build resiliency and deal with the issues at the tween $40,000 and $60,000 in costs during the last six months of life. root of their family’s problems. We should be able to provide While 70 per cent of those costs are public through the Canadian healthsupport before families hit bottom to interrupt the cycles care system, the remainder is still a substantial cost to the patient.” And that can entrench a family in poverty.

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PHOTO: BUFFY GOODMAN

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX: Edmonton Food Bank workers organize supplies for delivery.

Capital Region

Food Banks How three communities have different approaches to meet their needs by Elizabeth Chorney-Booth

ost people have a working idea

of what a food bank does – the public donates canned goods, boxes of pasta and jars of peanut butter at food drive events and maybe gives a monetary donation during the holidays or volunteers to sort food or pack hampers. Meanwhile, people in need – be it suburban families who are going through a

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tough month, elderly or disabled people whose social assistance doesn’t cover all of the basics, or individuals experiencing prolonged poverty – can access food banks if they don’t have the means to get to the grocery store. While this perception of food banks is generally true, there’s much more to the story of each individual food bank in the Alberta Capital Region. we • SUMMER/FALL • 2013

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FRONT LINE FOCUS: Marjorie Bencz runs a tight ship with multiple distribution points.

PHOTO: BUFFY GOODMAN

Capital Region Food Banks

SOCIAL CONNECTION: Suzan Krecsy and Fay Lucy have created space at the St. Albert Food Bank to meet the non-food needs of the community.

Any food bank’s key job is to provide individuals in need of others,” says Edmonton Food Bank executive director Marjorie Bencz, who with food to get them through a time of need, whether points to the Edmonton Food Bank’s relationships with community kitchens it’s a long-term situation or a time of temporary crisis. and organizations like the WECAN Food Co-op. “We have so many great In reality, however, most food banks end up being much networks in place, so creating energy with those partners is important.” more than a warehouse that simply doles out food. The Edmonton Food Bank distributes food through more than 200 Food banks have to look at the needs of their commuagencies, churches and food depots, rather than distributing solely out of a nity and develop a plan of action that best fits the needs central location. This not only helps with efficiency, but also makes it easier, of their clients, while making the most efficient use of both physically and emotionally, for clients to access food. available resources and forming partnerships with other “For example, it would be very problematic for a family to come all the way local agencies and services. While most communities in from Mill Woods to the Edmonton Food Bank to get food, especially when the Capital Region see the transportation is a barrier,” Bencz says. “There’s same kind of client demoenough stress with living in poverty or when you Food banks have to look at the graphics accessing the food have a crisis in your household to go through needs of their community and banks – a mix of people of all multiple intake processes.” develop a plan of action that best ages and ethnicities with a While the goal in Edmonton is to complement fits the needs of their clients. disproportionate number of existing agencies and work through them to children, single parents, and distribute food, the food bank people suffering from mental illness and other health in St. Albert has a very different mandate. Operating in an area with a problems – different food banks need to create unique smaller population, St. Albert Food Bank director Suzan Krecsy found that policies and figure out what works best for their area. families in crisis didn’t always know how to access local social services. The Edmonton Food Bank (also known as the St. Albert is viewed by many as an affluent suburban community, so poverty, Edmonton Gleaners Association) is the largest and mental illness and domestic violence often fall off of many residents’ radars, most well-known food bank in the region. Providing leaving them unsure of where to turn if they find themselves in need. clients with approximately 15,000 hampers and 350,000 Since the food bank is often the first place people turned when they found meals and snacks through affiliated agencies every themselves in tough times, it became a de facto intake centre for the city’s month is not an easy task. With such a large area to other agencies. serve, the Edmonton Food Bank’s operating policies foTo accommodate the function that the food bank was already unofficially cus on organization and clear communication with other serving, Krecsy transformed the facility from a standard food bank into a agencies within the community. Community Village, in a renovated space that does much more than provide “We’re not here to duplicate the resources and services food. Krecsy hired social worker Fay Lucy to consult clients who have

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PHOTO: Nancy Critchley

PHOTO: BUFFY GOODMAN

particularly complex needs. Since a lack of food is usually the symptom of a larger problem, the goal is to help clients deal with the root cause of whatever is bringing them into the food bank. “It’s a very empowering program that we have here,” Krecsy says. “I think within the system a lot of folks are just told what to do and then they have to go and try to figure it out. We’ll walk along with them and support them along the way, but we do empower them.” Lucy helps clients as needed, be it to personally help young single parents search for jobs or to simply refer people to outside services. The more than 600 families and individuals that the St. Albert Food Bank currently has on file can also access additional in-house services such as a wellness room, mental health services, financial and food literacy help, and a number of other programs. With the Edmonton Food Bank focusing on the distribution of food and the St. Albert Food Bank filling the necessary gaps in its community, the Leduc and District Food Bank Association falls somewhere in between. The Leduc facility serves a fairly large geographic area within Leduc County, with a population of about 75,000, slightly smaller than that of St. Albert. Gert Reynar, the Leduc Food Bank executive director, has struck a balance between the Edmonton approach of focusing on food distribution and the St. Albert philosophy of offering a more holistic approach to poverty issues. The Leduc Food Bank distributes a single hamper of food (enough food for 10 to 20 days) to an average of 125 families every month, or almost 600 per year. While the food bank previously had an area where clients could access snacks and other items in between their monthly hampers, the board of directors decided that it was best for the bank to tighten its mandate and focus on what Reynar calls, “the collection of food for those in need and trying to increase the nutritional content of the food.” This doesn’t mean that Reynar simply distributes without any extra services, however. She’s

EFFICIENCY QUEEN: Gert Reynar collects and distributes toiletries from the Edmonton International Airport.

worked to create programs to help her clients stretch the content of their hampers and increase their level of food education. “You have to be very careful that you don’t enable people to become dependent on the service, but give them the tools to move them forward,” Reynar says. “Giving them the hamper is one thing, but if we can give them the knowledge of how to use it to the best of their abilities, not only have we helped them, but we’ve helped the next generation.” Reynar brought in a program called A Case for the Basics, a series of classes where clients can learn to enhance the nutritional value and longevity of their monthly hampers. To best stretch her own resources, Reynar takes part in a number of creative funding programs, including picking up the still usable discarded bottles and containers of personal hygiene items from the nearby Edmonton International Airport. The items are also shared with inner city agencies and other food banks. While at the airport, Reynar also collects empty bottles then takes them to the recycling depot and uses the money to buy fresh food for the hampers. These examples illustrate that even in a single greater municipal area, individual food banks face different challenges, levels of need, and available resources. With creativity, community co-operation, and sensitivity to the needs of their clientele, area food banks have adapted into models that best serve their specific communities. we • SUMMER/FALL • 2013

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The right equipment makes a huge difference

by Lewis Kelly

Photograph by ryan girard

he packs go everywhere: to almost every school in the city. And they find welcome wherever they land, slung proudly over shoulders, paraded through hallways and rummaged through when a pencil point breaks. They are backpacks, filled with supplies, distributed through Tools for School – a United Way of the Alberta Capital Region program – and they do more than you think.

EQUIPPED TO LEARN: New school supplies provide the necessary tools to learn.

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A backpack filled with binders, pens, crayons and looseleaf paper might seem less useful to someone in dire straits than, say, a bowl of hot soup and somewhere warm to sleep. And while the utility of a backpack is more abstract than the utility of a bed and a meal, Shaun Hains has seen up close how school supplies work their magic. “It’s powerful. It makes a difference. When those kids receive those backpacks, they know they’re staying in school,” says Hains, assistant principal of the Aspen Program, a K-12 school in Edmonton’s west end. “Dignity is everything in education.” Hains should know. A 30-year veteran of the classroom, her PhD research focused on causes of students dropping out of high school. “What I find in high school is students are looking for stability. Putting a new backpack in their hands gives them a little bit of hope,” says Hains. Once a student turns 16 and dropping out

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TOOLS FOR SCHOOL Dermott is confident that the program will meet demand this year, but last year finding the volunteers needed to stuff all of the packs with materials was difficult. An emergency call on social media secured the required bodies, but with almost 2,500 more packs likely needing assembly in 2013, finding enough people willing to donate their time might be a greater challenge. Plus there’s always more that can be put into the packs to assist students in need. “Because we distribute so many backpacks, we try to do bare essentials,” Dermott says. And a big-ticket item like a graphing calculator, vital for high-level math, is something Dermott can only dream about for now. Still, the program has come a long way since its beginnings. Until Staples got involved nine years ago, the packs were assembled wholly from donated materials. That resulted in a bit of a motley assortment of items in some of the bags – not quite ideal for something used in an environment where not having the latest shoes or a lunch box of the appropriate colour can single a child out for unwanted attention. “There are lot of kids that are going to the same school, that may be in the same classroom, that are receiving these backpacks,” says Dermott. “It’s quite unfair for one child to becomes an option, a hole opens up in the social safety net that the unreceive a pack of crayons and one child to not receive that wary can fall through. pack of crayons.” Tools for School does its best to mend that hole, providing backpacks Staples lets United Way purchase supplies at a discount filled with supplies to kids who need them from the first day of kinderrate. In addition to adding consistency to the backpacks, the garten until they finish their diploma office supply chain’s involveexams. Depending on the age of the ment helps Tools for School Since it began in 1994, Tools for School student, the pack gets filled with get more value for the funds has delivered tens of thousands different materials – kids in Grade 1, it raises. Each pack contains of backpacks to nearly every school for instance, get pencil crayons, white around $75 worth of paper, glue and other classroom necessities, pens and other supplies. in the city. while high school students receive This also means the promore paper, highlighters and other gram prefers cash donations supplies. But whatever the contents of the pack and wherever it goes, it to material ones: $100 worth of supplies, purchased at retail finds a student who needs it. and donated to Tools for School, yields less than a donation of Since it began in 1994, Tools for School has delivered tens of thou$100 that is used to buy supplies. The program still accepts sands of backpacks to nearly every school in the city. It’s moved more donated supplies with gratitude and good cheer. And it’s hard and more packs each year, with the exception of 2012, when the number to argue against ensuring backpacks wind up in the hands of declined to 9,700 after 12,000 packs went out in 2011. everyone who needs them. Jenn Dermott, who co-ordinates the program for United Way, Hains, who until this year acted as an area co-ordinator explains that last year demand for the packs increased, but a reworked for the program, remembers one student who came to Aspen distribution process let Tools for School get by with fewer actual packs. after leaving his previous school under something of a cloud. This year, though, she expects volunteers to stuff and deliver upwards of The student had lost all of his school supplies because of the 11,000 packs. move. Hains offered the student a backpack and saw his face “Edmonton grows at such an amazing rate,” says Dermott. “There are light up. always families moving into the capital region. They might be coming “I’ve worked at schools without Tools for School, and we from another country or the other side of our country, and they may not just scrounged. Teachers paid for it, but it didn’t have that have resources to purchase school supplies for all of their children. We polish,” Hains says. “There’s nothing like the smell of new want to make sure that we have enough backpacks on hand.” school supplies.”

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DONOR PROFILE

Group Effort KPMG encourages staff members to volunteer in the community in ways that are meaningful to the employee. The company believes in individual philanthropy and provides financial and social support to employee selected causes

by Kelley Stark

very year, at the beginning of the campaign for United Way, on the corner of Jasper Avenue and 102 Street, you can find employees of KPMG, along with several other local companies including Enbridge, Royal Bank and the Edmonton Journal, serving burgers, chips

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and pop to the public to celebrate the campaign’s launch. But giving to United Way is just one of many ways the employees of KPMG volunteer and contribute to the community.

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DONOR PROFILE Free the Children KPMG partners with Free the Children to bring We Day to Alberta. Children from all over the city are invited to discuss social change with rock stars and speakers such as Martin Sheen, Hedley, and Marc and Craig Kielburger. KPMG also sends members of its staff to Kenya, India and Central America to help Free the Children with its various projects. Michelle Smarsh, manager at KPMG, went to Kenya in July of 2011 to work with the Kipsigis and the Maasai tribes. KPMG staff members visited schools and homes and saw the role that Free the Children plays in the families’ lives. Before going on the trip, Smarsh prepared herself to deal with the extreme poverty and famine that we see in the World Vision commercials on TV. What she saw instead was much different. “What we saw was that the programs of Free the Children were really about alternative income and really helping the community sustain itself versus just having a lot of donations and money sent over to Africa. And I really liked that the question was: ‘What programs can we help you build that the people there can just take off and run with?’ ” While there, Smarsh helped build part of a medical clinic. She says it was gratifying to contribute and that she got so much out of the experience because of meeting the kids and the families who would be using the clinic. “It was so interesting,” she says. “Everything is by hand. You mix the cement

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by hand, we chipped the rocks, we brought the rocks over, the grouting, everything. It’s nice that you start on day one and there’s just the foundation and then by the time we left they were ready to put the roof on.”

Community Leader Strategy Mike Capus’s parents instilled a sense of philanthropy in him at a very young age. The senior manager for KPMG donates a large portion of his time to many different organizations. He sits on the board for Santa’s Anonymous, is very involved in United Way and volunteers with a variety of organizations supported by KPMG. He is also one of the chairs of the Community Leader Strategy in Edmonton. KPMG promotes volunteerism as part of the job, so employees are encouraged to donate their time. “We live in this community, we work in this community, we play in this community, so we should be contributing to making it a better place,” says Capus. The Community Leader Strategy takes into account employees’ personal volunteer commitments as well as their other responsibilities. “We like to recognize that people’s time is important and valuable and where they choose to give it needs to be meaningful to them rather than meaningful to the firm.” This could mean that the employee can volunteer as his child’s soccer coach, allowing him to both give back to the community while spending time with his child. KPMG understands that being socially responsible is not just about money. The firm appreciates companies that donate money but believes that time is also important and makes sure its employees have the time to contribute. To make the strategy even more attractive, though, time is tied in with money. “We provide financial incentives to non-profit organizations based on the number of hours our people volunteer with them. So, if people volunteer a certain amount of hours with an organization, they can then apply to get funding to be filtered towards that organization. It’s a really cool thing and it gives people an incentive to give back.” The Community Leader Strategy began four years ago. Prior to that, KPMG would hold “Volunteer Day” where staff members would dress up in their blue shirts and fan out over the city spending time with different organizations. The company has since realized that volunteering cannot be fully accomplished in just one day out of the year. “Volunteering is kind of a year-round thing,” Capus says. Capus feels that the employees really believe in the strategy and is proud of them for taking part. “People have embraced the concept of what it means to give back and to be involved in the community in some capacity and I think that’s probably the coolest success that we’ve seen so far.” wemagazine.CA

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Financial Training for Non-Profit Organizations and what the role of the organization is.” KPMG knows its own strengths and weaknesses. “We recognize that we’re not experts at solving social issues, I don’t think you could ask anyone at KPMG how you solve homelessness or eradicate poverty and they’d be able to tell you how to do that. I don’t think you want us out there building houses for people; we’re happy to help out where we can, but that’s not our expertise,” Capus says. Where the company’s expertise lies is in audits and taxes and financial advice. And staff use their strengths to help not-for-profit organizations understand these things as well. KPMG works with the Edmonton Chamber of Voluntary Organizations to deliver financial training sessions. KPMG approaches the organizations the same way it approaches its private sector organizations to help the not-for-profits run more efficiently. Capus explains: “Specifically, we discuss what forecasting is, how to understand a financial statement, what an audit is. What the role of the auditor is, wemagazine.CA

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The company has done this now for two years and helped organizations such as the Historic Edmonton Telephone Exchange and the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers. This year, it has added community sports organizations to the roster. “If you think about a lot of the soccer teams and hockey teams that exist, they need to prepare financial statements; they’re associations after all. And a lot of them don’t have the skills, or they don’t have the right staff to do it. Usually people kind of fall into the role of treasurer without ever actually understanding what that means or how to do it.” KPMG believes that the people who solve social problems are amazing. “They tackle these problems that are challenging and it’s stuff that most people don’t think about on a day-to-day basis, and we recognize that we want to support them but we want to support them in a way that can use our skills to actually help them to be better,” Capus says. we • SUMMER/FALL • 2013

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BUSINESS WAY

Start With a Bang Christy Dean Photography

A first-time campaign has outstanding results by BOBBI-SUE MENARD

sometimes The first try is the hardest, but Matt Zivanov, general manager of Reliance the Furnace Company, believes that the first United Way campaign happily leads to the second. This year the team at Reliance ran its first campaign for United Way of the Alberta Capital Region. The 2012 campaign featured fun activities and raised just over $14,000. “The group of people who we have in our company, they want to be involved. Our team sees the benefits of a campaign for United Way and they are more than willing to step forward and contribute,” says Zivanov. Reliance is a homegrown Edmonton company that opened its doors in 2001 as The Furnace Company. The team has grown to 36 people who care deeply about the community. In 2011 Reliance Home Comfort, an Ontario company, purchased The Furnace Company as part of its initial expansion into Western Canada and Reliance the Furnace Company was established. Zivanov, a 13-year Reliance employee, happily moved to Edmonton to take part in the transition. He was able to bring Reliance’s longtime support of United Way. “It made sense to run a campaign here in Edmonton,” says Zivanov.

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AWARD DINNER: United Way Red Tie Gala in February. From right to left are Dave Mowat (ATB Financial), 2012 Campaign Cabinet Chair, Matt Zivanov: Employee Campaign Chair at Reliance – The Furnace Company, and Gary Bosgoed (Worley Parsons) 2013 Campaign Cabinet Chair.

Because Zivanov had experience organizing workplace campaigns in Ontario, it was straightforward to get the campaign rolling. But he says the team effort was vital to a successful campaign. “Many of the team members here in Edmonton are also involved in other charitable endeavours. It was easy to find people to help organize what was needed to run a campaign for United Way.” The team at Reliance came up with different activities including fun games such as marble rolling and 50/50 draws. “We tried to make it fun for everyone while understanding that it is important to see that there are people in our community who need our assistance.” United Way’s sponsored campaign representative (SCR) program participant Doug Morrison was a big help in launching the campaign and helping the team at Reliance understand the importance of its efforts. Morrison is an Imperial Oil employee who was “on loan” from his company to the SCR program. Morrison attended the Reliance campaign kickoff and spoke about

the impact its fundraising would have in Edmonton. “He resonated with our team members and it really benefited our campaign when our employees understood what they could accomplish.” The Reliance campaign ran for two weeks. The games and activities raised more than $600, and payroll contributions made up half of the remaining total. The Reliance head office matched the funds raised through payroll, providing a major boost to employee giving. “Matching dollars is a huge part of it. It is something Reliance does at all their branches across Canada. It’s great that we are the first Reliance location in Alberta,” says Zivanov. Next year’s campaign is already being considered. Zivanov expects that with this successful first experience and key team members ready to take on leadership roles, the 2013 campaign will be even better. “It brings you together as a team when you raise money for people in the community who are less fortunate and you can make a difference for them.”

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L EADING EDGE

Helping Hand A new program at the Royal Alex emergency department will do more than just offer acute care by Alexandria Eldridge

man comes into the emergency room to be treated for frostbite. It turns out he is also experiencing homelessness, living in poverty and has a substance abuse issue that he’d like to deal with. And, even though he just came in for the one medical issue, the hospital can address all of his needs. That’s the vision that Dr. Kathryn Dong has for the Royal Alexandra Hospital. Dong is helping develop a program for high-risk users – individuals who suffer from mental illness, have addiction problems or are socially vulnerable due to living in poverty or unstable housing situations. Such people are also often frequent users of the health-care system. “We’re not specifically focused on frequent users,” Dong says, “but we recognize that, at the Alex, we see a subset of patients who would benefit from more than just stabilization of their acute medical issue.” Dong is an associate clinical professor in the faculty of medicine and dentistry at the University of Alberta and is a co-director of the Edmonton Inner City Health Research and Education Network (EICHREN). Through her work there, she found that many patients were coming into the emergency room for one problem but could’ve used treatment in other areas as well. “We don’t have a systematic way of identifying people who might benefit from a more intensive approach in the emergency department, so it’s very hit or miss,” she says. But it’s treating these problems, like addiction and mental illness, that can really impact patients, Dong says. “The broader social context of patients can sometimes have a greater impact on their overall health outcomes.” Based on her research with EICHREN, Dong made a proposal to the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation, and secured funding for the new Inner City Health and Wellness program, to be launched in the coming months. The new program will aim to provide enhanced clinical services to patients who need it, potentially offering access to social workers and addictions counsellors. “There’s still a lot of stigma attached to mental illness, to addiction, to poverty, to wemagazine.CA

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being homeless. We need to break down some of those stereotypes and really change the culture in health care,” Dong says. For that reason the program will also focus on educating health-care professionals at the Royal Alex, specifically in the area of addictions. The third arm of the program will be research, which will measure if the new approach is making a difference. One of the outcomes measured will be subsequent health-care utilization as a result of the initiative. The goal is to improve efficiency, by making interaction with the health-care system more effective and finding people appropriate services. “We hope to do that by focusing on some of the social determinants of health, so helping people get housing, income stabilization or whatever we can do,” Dong says, “will help them take that next step towards being healthier.” we • SUMMER/FALL • 2013

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MILESTONES

Home for Good

by Alexandria Eldridge

The number of people experiencing homelessness in Edmonton is consistently falling

Between 1999 and 2008, the number of people experiencing homelessness in Edmonton just kept going up, increasing by an average of eight per cent every year. But after the implementation of A Place to Call Home, Edmonton’s 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness those numbers are finally falling. Between 2008 and 2012, the number of people experiencing homelessness fell by 29 per cent, with 1,000 fewer people on the streets this past year than in 2008. “We’ve really rounded the corner,” says Jay Freeman, executive director of the Edmonton Homeless Commission (EHC), an organization that stewards the implementation of the plan. The positive downward trend in the number of people experiencing homelessness has been evident since

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work on the plan began in 2008. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the numbers have started to go down since we’ve implemented that 10year plan,” Freeman says. Funded in large part by the provincial government, but also by the federal and municipal governments, the plan has taken the approach of housing first. “Instead of saying, ‘Let’s ready someone for housing,’ the vast majority of people first need a home and then support to help them succeed in their home,” Freeman says. Between 2008 and 2012, the EHC has overseen the housing of more than 2,300 people, through Homeward Trust and 10 housing first agencies. The vast majority of people who received access to a home have retained their housing.

In order to house even more, a large part of the plan centres on building more affordable housing, as well as creating permanent supportive housing for people who have mental health conditions that mean they need support on an ongoing basis. Freeman points out that, while 2,300 people have received a home, the number of homeless has only fallen by 1,000. This is a key part of what the plan is trying to achieve. “What we’re talking about is ending chronic homelessness,” Freeman says. “While, regrettably, people are likely still, going to fall into homelessness for a variety of reasons, we want to make sure that it’s a very short period of time that they’re homeless. We’ll still need to have emergency shelters, but we don’t want that to become a substitute for a home.” While the strides we have taken to end homelessness are good from a humanitarian perspective, Freeman adds that it is also positive for the city in an economic sense. Housing people helps prevent them from becoming frequent users of hospital emergency rooms and emergency services. “We’ve clearly documented that it is more cost-effective to get people housed and supported, even when we’re subsidizing their housing, than it is for them to remain on the streets and in our shelters.” “Ending homelessness isn’t just the right thing to do,” Freeman says. “It’s the smart thing to do from a dollars and cents point of view.”

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