I saw this article
"Rosedale affordable housing gets nod from Calgary committee despite 'soul-destroying' public opposition" on CBC website today.
The fact that there are still many uneducated rich people today in Rosedale saying that people with low incomes don't belong in their community has made me very upset.
The reason it has struck a personal chord with me, is because I have always been living in poverty according to Statistic's Canada's low income cut off line (LICO) from the time I was born. My parents worked very hard to support me and my brother as we went through school. Music was an important part of our schooling. It taught us discipline and brought us great joy. It is because of what we learned in those early years we gone on to finish school. I finished school at SAIT as a health care worker, and eventually became an instructor over there teaching people with low incomes how to access computers. My brother has become University of Toronto graduate working as a counselor for new Canadian youth.
When we were in elementary school we both had the privileged to join the Calgary Youth Choir (which is now known as the Calgary Children's Choir). We were a member of that choir for over 8 years. We practiced 2x a week at Rosedale elementary school. No one knew we were living in poverty, yet we were. Because no one knew we were living in poverty we were treated well, but not fully accepted. We could never be fully accepted because we never felt safe enough to reveal the fact we were living in poverty. Yet we enjoyed our time playing with the kids in Rosedale especially those in the choir. The kids were not the problem. They accepted us quite easily. It was the parents who often kept to themselves, alienated. Our parents were not what people typically think of when it comes to people being poor. Both of them were working full time jobs. One was working for the Government of Canada as a Customs Inspector processing people coming into Canada from other countries at the airport, and the other was working as a data entry clerk for Greyhound Canada full time during the day, and a data entry clerk part time in the evening for West Canadian. Both had respectful jobs and were contributing members to society. Both stayed in their jobs for over 30 years before they retired.
Like I stated earlier I am on AISH due to the fact I have cerebral palsy, AD/HD, general anxiety disorder and nonverbal learning disorder. Because of my disabilities I can't work full time. Yet unlike the Rosedale residents perceptions of people living in poverty- I am definitely not lazy! I volunteer both with Alberta Parks as a Push To Open Ambassador helping people with disabilities go outside, and with City of Calgary Parks as an Exhibit Host at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. I am an advocate for the disabled and the poor. I work together with the Disability Action Hall and their network partners including Poverty Talks and Vibrant Communities Calgary to make sure all Calgarians have access to the things they need like affordable housing, and affordable public transportation (for example: I helped encourage the city to have a sliding scale so more people can afford to ride Calgary Transit so that they can live in a community like Rosedale and go to work, school, doctors appointments etc... just like the rich residents of Rosedale do!)
I feel blessed to live in a community that is rich in nature, history and culture. I feel blessed to live in a community that welcomes me in with open arms, that accepts me for who I am, that allows me to live in peace, and in a community that supports my ability to thrive. I wish everyone had the opportunity I been blessed to have over the last 3 years of living in such a wonderful community without having to break the bank while just trying to survive.
Now here is my turn to quiz the residents of Rosedale:
1. How well do you know your neighbours now? Do you know if some of them are struggling to pay their mortgage or their rent?
I bet there are some neighbors who are:
-struggling to pay their rent/ mortgage because they recently lost their jobs.
-using the food bank because they can't afford to pay for food on top of paying for other daily living needs.
-some are house poor. They need to sell their house but can't because they can't afford another place to live. For example a person may not have started off as disabled at age 18, been working full time with a good job and got a house in Rosedale as a result. But they may have become disabled due to accident or illness, unemployed, put on AISH (Assured Income For The Severely Handicap). AISH clients only get $1588 a month to pay for all their daily living needs (utilities/ rent/ mortgage/ food/ transportation). They are only allowed to have assets up to $100,000.00. They may need to renovate their home in Rosedale to make their home accessible to them, but can't afford to do so. They may try to sell their home in Rosedale only to realize that AISH would take whatever they get over $100,000.00 or kick them out completely from the AISH program. Either way, they lose. They are trapped in their home. They are house poor and in their neighbor's eyes: invisible.
2. Are some of your neighbors students at SAIT, U of C, Ambrose University, St. Mary University, or Bow Valley College? (Please note many students are struggling to make ends meat because they got to pay for school aside from their daily living expenses)? If they are they may be skipping out on things like healthy meals 3x daily just so they can afford to pay for the rising cost of tuition, books, school supplies etc...on top of rent, and other daily living expenses.
3. If there was a fire (like the one in Fort McMurray earlier this year) or a flood (like the one Calgary had in 2013) and it destroyed your home would you be homeless or can you afford to purchase another house rather quickly (say within a month or less) without going bankrupt?
4. Are you prepared for the time you lose your job due to illness, accident, bad economy or injury to pay for all your daily living needs? Let's face it. It's harder for someone with a disability to get a job than it is an able bodied person. Some employers do employ people with disabilities, but even a smaller percent of those employers give the person with a disability a living wage (See Huffington post website: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/curtis-l-decker-jd/people-with-disabilities-_3_b_8303198.html). A living wage is different than minimum wage. A living wage is set to the cost of living in the area the person is working. It is meant to keep people out of poverty. Minimum wage doesn't help anyone get out of poverty- it keeps people in it.
Poverty can happen to anyone at any time for any reason. Some people are born into poverty, some become poor after experiencing an accident either in their personal lives or at work, some become poor because they get sick (for example someone who develops cancer, has to undergo chemotherapy, and be off work for a long time), some become poor due to natural disasters (ie. some of the residents who lost their homes in Fort McMurray due to the fire, and some who lost their homes in Calgary due to the flood). No one from the Fort McMurray fire ever thought their million dollar homes would go up in flames, and that they would become homeless, yet many of them did. No one impacted from the 2013 flood within the rich communities along Calgary's river banks thought their homes would be gone in a flash, yet they were. Poverty and homelessness can happen to anyone including you, your love ones, and your friends. If your love one was homeless (for example your son/ daughter/ mom/ dad/ grandpa/ or grandma) would you still say no to having Calgary Housing (or any other housing agency) build an affordable housing building in your community, knowing that this type of housing can keep your love ones safe, dry, and warm? I think not. I think you'd want to keep them safe and dry in a place that looks like it's in an nice community that cares about all Calgarians.
People living in poverty, are people just like you and me. They deserve to have a place to live in that is safe and affordable. We all do. In order for someone to have a chance to get out poverty they need a safe and affordable place to live. Inglewood and East Village have homes for people with low incomes in them mixed with people who are rich. Those are 2 communities I feel safe in. I'd rather be there in those 2 communities, then around a community that openly expresses there distaste for the poor. I am scared to be in Rosedale, scared that some rich person would hurt me just because I am poor. Scared because even without the affordable housing there and without getting to know how capable the poor are at contributing to society, the rich are already expressing anger, despite the fact that no poor person has ever put them in danger. They are the ones putting the people in danger, not the poor. They are the ones that need change to happen in their community. I'd rather be in a community that welcomes everyone in with open arms and treats everyone with care and respect.
To learn more about how anyone regardless of age, race, religion, ability etc...can end up in poverty while living in Calgary please visit the websites below.
1. United Way Of Calgary's information about Calgarians living in poverty:
http://www.calgaryunitedway.org/images/uwca/our-work/poverty/public-policy-research/finalwhy.pdf
2. The City of Calgary: Who does poverty affect?
http://www.calgary.ca/CSPS/CNS/Documents/Social-research-policy-and-resources/Who%20Does%20Poverty%20Affect.pdf
To learn about why it's important to allow someone to live in a safe affordable home please visit the website below
http://www.calgary.ca/CS/OLSH/Documents/Affordable-housing/Housing%20Needs%20Assessment%20June%202012.pdf?noredirect=1
If you still don't want people with low incomes living in your community please answer the questions below:
1. If you have an adult son or daughter going to school do you have the balls to tell them to get a job, start earning money? Do you have the courage to throw them out of your home and on to city streets since they are living in poverty and not a "suitable candidate" to live in your community by your standards (since you and your friends did set the standards that everyone in your community should be rich.)How would you feel as a parent if one of your neighbours told you that your kids should move out since they aren't earning money, just spending it?
2. If your neighbour is a senior, do you have the balls to talk to them and tell them to leave their beloved community of Rosedale? Did you know that many seniors worked hard to make this city and the community of Rosedale a good place to be in? When seniors retire often times their income goes down, making it hard for them to stay in the homes that they love. How many seniors would like to stay in a place like Rosedale after they have seen their neighbors put down other Calgarians on lower incomes? How many seniors are now scared that their neighbours in Rosedale will send them packing to an nursing home just because their income isn't high anymore?
3. If you recently lost your job, how would you feel if you saw your neighbours on TV saying that people with low incomes don't belong in Rosedale realizing now that you are one of those people they are talking about? What would you do if they came to your door, to pack up and leave?
Do the last bunch of questions make you mad? If so, good that is my intention. They should make you mad. They should also make you realize. Poverty is a very emotional issue, as is homelessness. Both can happen to anyone at any reason. No one should be asked to leave their community because there income is low. Just no body should be turned away from living in a community just because they don't fit the community idea of being a rich person.
Now take a look at the communities that are full of people with mixed incomes. Communities like Inglewood, Kensington, East Village, and many others. Despite the fact these communities house people with low incomes, all of these communities are rich in culture, and history. They are thriving.
For example East Village is the home of the Calgary Drop In Center, 3 affordable housing apartment buildings for seniors with low incomes and people with disabilities, YWCA, the National Music Center, and soon the new Calgary Public Library. It is also home to St. Patrick's Island, and Fort Calgary. Soon there will be a brand new grocery store there as well. Business their is booming.
Another example is Kensington, most recently in the news for the big outdoor slip and slide, and because it was transformed into Diagon Alley (a place mentioned in the Harry Potter books). Thousands of people went their this weekend to enjoy the festivities. Kensington is also home to a building that houses battered women and children who are escaping from abuse. Most women and children who escape from abuse don't escape with a lot of money in tow. They escape with what they got, which often isn't much. Kensington welcomed these women and children in with open arms into safety. Kensington is also home to some co-op housing buildings that house low income tenants. Like East Village Kensington is a very happening and hip place to be in full of fun, history and culture despite the fact they house people with a wide variety of incomes ranging from low to high.
Inglewood, is the oldest community in Calgary. It's over a hundred years old. Like Kensington it has a building that houses women and kids escaping from abuse. Inglewood is a very eclectic community. Inglewood is home to the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, Calgary Zoo, Pearce Estate Park, Bow Habitat station. It's also home to many local businesses. Some of the homes cost $600,000 or more to purchase. Yet in Inglewood they also have many tenants with low incomes living there. Some of them live in rather old buildings, and some live in ones that are less then 10 years old. Like Kensington and East Village, Inglewood is thriving. It is very rich in culture and community. Inglewood community members work hard at making sure everyone living in the community has a sense that everyone belongs there regardless of income. This becomes evident when neighbors can be seen hosting events like Neighbor day to thank fellow neighbors for helping out during the 2013 flood.
Did you know that the Inglewood Community garden, harvest a lot of food to give to organizations that help feed a variety of people including people with low incomes, people escaping abuse, and people who are just overall hungry? Well it's true. On average they harvest around 2000 lbs of food on a weekly basis to give to people in need.
None of the communities I just mentioned (Inglewood, Kensington, East Village) are suffering because they got people with low incomes living in them. Quite the contrary!! They are all thriving because everyone in those communities live side by side peacefully and work together to make their communities great to live in!! Don't you want your community of Rosedale to be great? Don't you want other Calgarians to know that Rosedale is a community in which neighbours help each other out in their time of need, rather than exclude them?
If I was a buyer looking to buy a home in a community, Rosedale wouldn't be the community I'd want to go to at this time. I'd want to invest my hard earned money into a community that welcomes everyone with open arms. I'd want to invest my money and live in a community that is free from discrimination, not a community that alienates it's fellow Calgarians.
To me what makes a community really rich, is it's people. It is the people who are willing to help one another out when needed. It is the people who aren't afraid to make friends with their neighbors even though their income, their race, and their ability isn't the same. It's the people who care, that make a community really rich. Don't you want to live in a community full of people who care about you and your love ones, and who aren't afraid to make you and your love ones belong unconditionally?
Like I stated earlier I am on AISH due to the fact I have cerebral palsy, AD/HD, general anxiety disorder and nonverbal learning disorder. Because of my disabilities I can't work full time. Yet unlike the Rosedale residents perceptions of people living in poverty- I am definitely not lazy! I volunteer both with Alberta Parks as a Push To Open Ambassador helping people with disabilities go outside, and with City of Calgary Parks as an Exhibit Host at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. I am an advocate for the disabled and the poor. I work together with the Disability Action Hall and their network partners including Poverty Talks and Vibrant Communities Calgary to make sure all Calgarians have access to the things they need like affordable housing, and affordable public transportation (for example: I helped encourage the city to have a sliding scale so more people can afford to ride Calgary Transit so that they can live in a community like Rosedale and go to work, school, doctors appointments etc... just like the rich residents of Rosedale do!)
I feel blessed to live in a community that is rich in nature, history and culture. I feel blessed to live in a community that welcomes me in with open arms, that accepts me for who I am, that allows me to live in peace, and in a community that supports my ability to thrive. I wish everyone had the opportunity I been blessed to have over the last 3 years of living in such a wonderful community without having to break the bank while just trying to survive.
Now here is my turn to quiz the residents of Rosedale:
1. How well do you know your neighbours now? Do you know if some of them are struggling to pay their mortgage or their rent?
I bet there are some neighbors who are:
-struggling to pay their rent/ mortgage because they recently lost their jobs.
-using the food bank because they can't afford to pay for food on top of paying for other daily living needs.
-some are house poor. They need to sell their house but can't because they can't afford another place to live. For example a person may not have started off as disabled at age 18, been working full time with a good job and got a house in Rosedale as a result. But they may have become disabled due to accident or illness, unemployed, put on AISH (Assured Income For The Severely Handicap). AISH clients only get $1588 a month to pay for all their daily living needs (utilities/ rent/ mortgage/ food/ transportation). They are only allowed to have assets up to $100,000.00. They may need to renovate their home in Rosedale to make their home accessible to them, but can't afford to do so. They may try to sell their home in Rosedale only to realize that AISH would take whatever they get over $100,000.00 or kick them out completely from the AISH program. Either way, they lose. They are trapped in their home. They are house poor and in their neighbor's eyes: invisible.
2. Are some of your neighbors students at SAIT, U of C, Ambrose University, St. Mary University, or Bow Valley College? (Please note many students are struggling to make ends meat because they got to pay for school aside from their daily living expenses)? If they are they may be skipping out on things like healthy meals 3x daily just so they can afford to pay for the rising cost of tuition, books, school supplies etc...on top of rent, and other daily living expenses.
3. If there was a fire (like the one in Fort McMurray earlier this year) or a flood (like the one Calgary had in 2013) and it destroyed your home would you be homeless or can you afford to purchase another house rather quickly (say within a month or less) without going bankrupt?
4. Are you prepared for the time you lose your job due to illness, accident, bad economy or injury to pay for all your daily living needs? Let's face it. It's harder for someone with a disability to get a job than it is an able bodied person. Some employers do employ people with disabilities, but even a smaller percent of those employers give the person with a disability a living wage (See Huffington post website: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/curtis-l-decker-jd/people-with-disabilities-_3_b_8303198.html). A living wage is different than minimum wage. A living wage is set to the cost of living in the area the person is working. It is meant to keep people out of poverty. Minimum wage doesn't help anyone get out of poverty- it keeps people in it.
Poverty can happen to anyone at any time for any reason. Some people are born into poverty, some become poor after experiencing an accident either in their personal lives or at work, some become poor because they get sick (for example someone who develops cancer, has to undergo chemotherapy, and be off work for a long time), some become poor due to natural disasters (ie. some of the residents who lost their homes in Fort McMurray due to the fire, and some who lost their homes in Calgary due to the flood). No one from the Fort McMurray fire ever thought their million dollar homes would go up in flames, and that they would become homeless, yet many of them did. No one impacted from the 2013 flood within the rich communities along Calgary's river banks thought their homes would be gone in a flash, yet they were. Poverty and homelessness can happen to anyone including you, your love ones, and your friends. If your love one was homeless (for example your son/ daughter/ mom/ dad/ grandpa/ or grandma) would you still say no to having Calgary Housing (or any other housing agency) build an affordable housing building in your community, knowing that this type of housing can keep your love ones safe, dry, and warm? I think not. I think you'd want to keep them safe and dry in a place that looks like it's in an nice community that cares about all Calgarians.
People living in poverty, are people just like you and me. They deserve to have a place to live in that is safe and affordable. We all do. In order for someone to have a chance to get out poverty they need a safe and affordable place to live. Inglewood and East Village have homes for people with low incomes in them mixed with people who are rich. Those are 2 communities I feel safe in. I'd rather be there in those 2 communities, then around a community that openly expresses there distaste for the poor. I am scared to be in Rosedale, scared that some rich person would hurt me just because I am poor. Scared because even without the affordable housing there and without getting to know how capable the poor are at contributing to society, the rich are already expressing anger, despite the fact that no poor person has ever put them in danger. They are the ones putting the people in danger, not the poor. They are the ones that need change to happen in their community. I'd rather be in a community that welcomes everyone in with open arms and treats everyone with care and respect.
To learn more about how anyone regardless of age, race, religion, ability etc...can end up in poverty while living in Calgary please visit the websites below.
1. United Way Of Calgary's information about Calgarians living in poverty:
http://www.calgaryunitedway.org/images/uwca/our-work/poverty/public-policy-research/finalwhy.pdf
2. The City of Calgary: Who does poverty affect?
http://www.calgary.ca/CSPS/CNS/Documents/Social-research-policy-and-resources/Who%20Does%20Poverty%20Affect.pdf
To learn about why it's important to allow someone to live in a safe affordable home please visit the website below
http://www.calgary.ca/CS/OLSH/Documents/Affordable-housing/Housing%20Needs%20Assessment%20June%202012.pdf?noredirect=1
If you still don't want people with low incomes living in your community please answer the questions below:
1. If you have an adult son or daughter going to school do you have the balls to tell them to get a job, start earning money? Do you have the courage to throw them out of your home and on to city streets since they are living in poverty and not a "suitable candidate" to live in your community by your standards (since you and your friends did set the standards that everyone in your community should be rich.)How would you feel as a parent if one of your neighbours told you that your kids should move out since they aren't earning money, just spending it?
2. If your neighbour is a senior, do you have the balls to talk to them and tell them to leave their beloved community of Rosedale? Did you know that many seniors worked hard to make this city and the community of Rosedale a good place to be in? When seniors retire often times their income goes down, making it hard for them to stay in the homes that they love. How many seniors would like to stay in a place like Rosedale after they have seen their neighbors put down other Calgarians on lower incomes? How many seniors are now scared that their neighbours in Rosedale will send them packing to an nursing home just because their income isn't high anymore?
3. If you recently lost your job, how would you feel if you saw your neighbours on TV saying that people with low incomes don't belong in Rosedale realizing now that you are one of those people they are talking about? What would you do if they came to your door, to pack up and leave?
Do the last bunch of questions make you mad? If so, good that is my intention. They should make you mad. They should also make you realize. Poverty is a very emotional issue, as is homelessness. Both can happen to anyone at any reason. No one should be asked to leave their community because there income is low. Just no body should be turned away from living in a community just because they don't fit the community idea of being a rich person.
Now take a look at the communities that are full of people with mixed incomes. Communities like Inglewood, Kensington, East Village, and many others. Despite the fact these communities house people with low incomes, all of these communities are rich in culture, and history. They are thriving.
For example East Village is the home of the Calgary Drop In Center, 3 affordable housing apartment buildings for seniors with low incomes and people with disabilities, YWCA, the National Music Center, and soon the new Calgary Public Library. It is also home to St. Patrick's Island, and Fort Calgary. Soon there will be a brand new grocery store there as well. Business their is booming.
Another example is Kensington, most recently in the news for the big outdoor slip and slide, and because it was transformed into Diagon Alley (a place mentioned in the Harry Potter books). Thousands of people went their this weekend to enjoy the festivities. Kensington is also home to a building that houses battered women and children who are escaping from abuse. Most women and children who escape from abuse don't escape with a lot of money in tow. They escape with what they got, which often isn't much. Kensington welcomed these women and children in with open arms into safety. Kensington is also home to some co-op housing buildings that house low income tenants. Like East Village Kensington is a very happening and hip place to be in full of fun, history and culture despite the fact they house people with a wide variety of incomes ranging from low to high.
Inglewood, is the oldest community in Calgary. It's over a hundred years old. Like Kensington it has a building that houses women and kids escaping from abuse. Inglewood is a very eclectic community. Inglewood is home to the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, Calgary Zoo, Pearce Estate Park, Bow Habitat station. It's also home to many local businesses. Some of the homes cost $600,000 or more to purchase. Yet in Inglewood they also have many tenants with low incomes living there. Some of them live in rather old buildings, and some live in ones that are less then 10 years old. Like Kensington and East Village, Inglewood is thriving. It is very rich in culture and community. Inglewood community members work hard at making sure everyone living in the community has a sense that everyone belongs there regardless of income. This becomes evident when neighbors can be seen hosting events like Neighbor day to thank fellow neighbors for helping out during the 2013 flood.
Did you know that the Inglewood Community garden, harvest a lot of food to give to organizations that help feed a variety of people including people with low incomes, people escaping abuse, and people who are just overall hungry? Well it's true. On average they harvest around 2000 lbs of food on a weekly basis to give to people in need.
None of the communities I just mentioned (Inglewood, Kensington, East Village) are suffering because they got people with low incomes living in them. Quite the contrary!! They are all thriving because everyone in those communities live side by side peacefully and work together to make their communities great to live in!! Don't you want your community of Rosedale to be great? Don't you want other Calgarians to know that Rosedale is a community in which neighbours help each other out in their time of need, rather than exclude them?
If I was a buyer looking to buy a home in a community, Rosedale wouldn't be the community I'd want to go to at this time. I'd want to invest my hard earned money into a community that welcomes everyone with open arms. I'd want to invest my money and live in a community that is free from discrimination, not a community that alienates it's fellow Calgarians.
To me what makes a community really rich, is it's people. It is the people who are willing to help one another out when needed. It is the people who aren't afraid to make friends with their neighbors even though their income, their race, and their ability isn't the same. It's the people who care, that make a community really rich. Don't you want to live in a community full of people who care about you and your love ones, and who aren't afraid to make you and your love ones belong unconditionally?
