Category: ESPC in the News

by:  Sheila Pratt

EDMONTON – Edmonton is losing the battle against obesity among teenagers while a whopping two-thirds of families don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables, says a report released Tuesday.

The city’s rate of overweight and obese youth is rising, as it is across the country, said Dr. Christopher Sikora, Edmonton’s chief medical officer of health, on Tuesday.

Though Edmonton incomes are generally higher than in the rest of Canada ($57,200 median income compared with $50,700 nationally), that extra cash is not necessarily being spent by families on healthy food, according to the report Vital Signs, which offers a snapshot of community health and economic indicators. It was released by the Edmonton Social Planning Council and the Edmonton Community Foundation.

Only 36 per cent of Edmontonians managed to eat their five daily servings of fruit and vegetables – less than the national average of 40 per cent, says the report.

Sikora said the rising rate of obese and overweight children means many young people are heading for health problems as adults.

The city needs a strategy that tackles both problems – getting people more active and reducing “over consumption” of unhealthy food, he said.

“People need 30 to 60 minutes of activity, and children even more, and sadly they aren’t getting it,” he said.

Poor nutrition is also connected to higher rates of diabetes in the Edmonton area – 5.6 per cent compared with the provincial rate of 5.27 per cent, said the report.

Lack of access to enough healthy food (called food insecurity) is a problem among low-income earners, who are often renters and may also have little education. About 35 per cent of single-parent families in Edmonton experienced food insecurity in 2012, the report said.

Coun. Amarjeet Sohi said the city has been trying to build more walkable communities to encourage less reliance on cars and more physical activity, but mostly, it isn’t working.

“I’ve noticed there’s an issue of major traffic jams at schools even in new communities because everyone drives, even though they could walk,” said Sohi, who attended the report’s release along with food advocacy groups.

“It’s a cultural thing that happens. Maybe people are too busy, or have no time,” he said.

The community needs to address an activity gap in a city that relies heavily on organized sports to keep kids active. Middle-class families can afford fees for hockey, soccer and other sports that are out of reach for low-income families.

To combat the growing issue of food insecurity and its related health problems, the Edmonton Community Foundation announced it will award new grants of $100,000 for each of the next three years to community groups that are willing to address these issues.

Meanwhile, a new coalition of health advocates is lobbying on a variety of fronts, including to get junk food out of city recreation centres, to tax sugar-sweetened drinks, to convince school cafeterias to reduce servings of french fries and to restrict advertising of unhealthy sweetened food to children.

“These measures are aimed at prevention” of obesity, which can lead to other chronic diseases, said Kayla Atkey, of the Alberta Policy Coalition for Chronic Disease Prevention.

Meanwhile, the social planning council’s annual report on income, rents and other economic factors reinforced the message that food security is a major issue and is connected to poverty, said researcher John Kolkman.

While Edmonton’s economy had a strong recovery from the 2008 crash, and boasts high employment, there are still thousands of people stuck in low-paying jobs, he said.

About 128,900 people earn wages of $15 an hour or less, he said.

On the positive front, Edmonton also recorded a substantial reduction in homelessness (down by 29 per cent from 2008) thanks to a provincially funded 10-year plan to end homelessness, said Kolkman.

“That’s a positive indicator, but data on the rental market gives me pause,” he said.

The rental market today is already at a very tight 1.2-per-cent vacancy rate – a rate last seen in 2006 at the height of the boom, when rents jumped by 20 per cent, Kolkman said.

That tight rental market could make more people homeless, and will also eat into the incomes of many families, he said.

 

by: Slav Kornik

Edmonton – A new report shows about 12 per cent of Albertans can’t afford healthy and nutritious food.

“That’s really what we’re concerned about. We know there’s a problem,” says John Kolkman, Research Coordinator with the Edmonton Planning Council.

“Vital Signs Edmonton – a report on food security” has been released by the Edmonton Community Foundation (ECF) and the Edmonton Social Planning Council (ESPC). The focus of the report is how to help more people have access to health and nutritious food.

According to the study, the average family of four spends $210 per week on healthy and nutritious food or over $800 per month. Kolkman says families on a limited income are left with a decision to make.

“People have to pay their rent, have to pay their utilities or they’re going to end up homeless and it’s food where they often shortchange themselves simply because they can’t afford to purchase healthy nutritious food.”

Kolkman says initiatives like the Food Bank, community gardens, farmers markets, and meal programs in schools can help to reduce the problem.

According to “Vital Signs,” one in five workers in metro Edmonton earns $15 an hour or less.

The ESPC has also released the 2013 edition of “Tracking the Trends.” The report provides detailed analysis of social and economic trends in Edmonton.

Kolkman says “Tracking the Trends” shows the city’s economy has recovered from the 2009 recession, but it has benefitted those with the highest income the most.

Kolkman points out several concerning trends the report identifies:

• Between 1990 and 2010, the share of the top one per cent of Edmonton income earners rose by almost three percentage points to 8.9% after tax
• 39,000 children living in poverty in the metro Edmonton area in 2011, more than double the 16,000 in 2006
• A record 59.2 per cent of poor children live in families where at least one parent works full-time for the full-year
• While homelessness is down 29.4 per cent over all age categories since 2008, there was a 68 per cent increase in the number of homeless youth in 2012
• A 1.2 per cent rental vacancy rate in April 2013, tied with 2006 as the lowest on record. Rent is up 4.2 per cent compared to a year earlier

Kolkman points out the “Tracking the Trends” isn’t all “doom and gloom.” He says the report has also found positive trends, like strong employment growth (the number of employed Edmontonians has increased by 31.5 per cent between 2002 and 2012 according to the report), women are narrowing the earnings gap with men, and the report shows the number of people receiving social assistance, employment insurance and food bank use has dropped.

by:  Katherine Griwkowsky

The Edmonton Community Foundation will be giving up to $100,000 per year for three years to registered charities that come up with solutions for food insecurity.

Vital Signs reports were conducted across the country by community foundations in 26 municipalities, including Edmonton. The Food Security report in Edmonton was a joint effort between the Edmonton Community Foundation and the Edmonton Social Planning Council.

Carol Watson, spokeswoman for the Edmonton foundation, says the money will help give more structure to the volunteer-based effort.

Edmonton’s report, released Tuesday, shows groceries in Edmonton have steadily climbed in price, from $133 per week for a family of four to $210 per week in 2013 — an increase more than double the inflation rate.

“It’s expensive to live in Edmonton,” she said. “Poverty and food security are so intertwined.”

Registered charities can apply for funding.

In Edmonton, youth obesity is increasing, while fruit and vegetable consumption is declining. In 2012, 36% of Edmontonians ate the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables compared to 40% in Canada, according to the local report.

Youth obesity was 29.9% in 2012, up from 18.5% in 2005.

Christine McVea, program manager at WeCan, says her food buying society helps bring food to low-income people.

McVea said people buy fruit, veggies and meats from WeCan at the beginning of the month and receive the packages in the third week of the month.

“It’s a surprise; we try to buy what’s in season,” she said, adding her group tries to buy Albertan or Canadian products whenever possible.

Marjorie Bencz, executive director of Edmonton’s Food Bank, likes that the report looks not only at food-security related problems like diabetes and obesity. She said food security is important to all of Edmonton, not just those with low-income.

Gail Hall, a local chef, started paying closer attention to food after a diagnosis of breast cancer meant she had to watch out for foods that convert to estrogen.

As a chef, for example, she says there is a taste difference between locally-grown, heirloom tomatoes and ones grown in the U.S. for their ability to withstand shipping.

Edmonton is getting better at water use, with the lowest residential use in the six largest cities.

The average Edmontonian uses 144 litres per day, compared to 226 litres in Calgary

Global Morning News Edmonton – July 31 2013

“A proposed transitional housing development in Terwillegar Towne has stirred controversy. John Kolkman, with the Edmonton Social Planning Council, has looked into the project and is here to talk about it.

Watch the video here.

 

by:  Patricia Kozicka

EDMONTON – The debate surrounding a controversial supportive housing proposal for Terwillegar Towne has been heating up, but the issue is not a foreign one to a number of other Edmonton communities.

Homeward Trust, the organization helping back the development in Terwillegar Towne, has already completed 59 similar projects in Edmonton as part of its mission to help end homelessness.

One of them is Edward Street, located on 124th Street and 116 Avenue. The three-storey building is described as a secure building that houses mentally ill people in need.

Unlike the 60 units proposed for the Terwillegar Towne facility, the Edward Street building only has 27 units. It is also more centrally located, with easy access to transit as well as other services and amenities. Residential communities are just a half block away, though. There’s also a park nearby, and the more affluent community of Westmount is located a little further south.

One resident, who has two young children, is not concerned about living a few blocks away from the Edward Street Building.

“It’s all safe, they’re all supervised. They’re in housing. They have to have a place to go, a safe place,” he says.

There’s no denying that no two projects are exactly the same. Susan McGee, CEO of Homeward Trust admits that the Terwillegar Towne project is not only one of the larger ones they’ve funded, but is also located further from downtown than any other previous application. Still, it does have its supporters.

“I think that people simply don’t understand that new, affordable housing projects like the one proposed for Terwillegar can in fact be good neighbours,” says John Kolkman with the Edmonton Social Planning Council. “And really these developers are about finding permanent homes for people so they can make a positive contribution to society.”

Not everyone, however, is willing to have a supportive housing facility in their backyard.

“We moved here and now it seems like they’re bringing all those people from downtown area to southwest where we just came out from,” Gloria Zelli said Monday evening after a meeting about the project. “They’re shadowing us here. And we really don’t need that, we don’t want it.”

“There’s a lot of units that are for sale where we are now, and now we’re just starting to find out why. And so we’re probably going to sell as well,” added Abby Carrothers. “I’m not going to stay at a building that’s going to put my four-year-old at risk.”

Many of the roughly 500 attendees at Monday’s meeting voiced their concerns about what they feel has been a lack of consultation on the project. The fact that the developer, Murray Soroka of Jasper Place Health and Wellness, was also not there to answer residents’ questions did not help the situation.

Soroka told Global News on Tuesday that he was originally told the meeting was for community members only; and by the time he received an invite late last week, he had already left for holidays.

On the matter of who the tenants will be – which many residents expressed concern about – he says applicants will range from men and women to single mothers and families.

“These are people, let’s be clear. These are individuals who need a second chance into rebuilding their lives. They’re not dangerous people, they’re not…rapists or murderers. These are people that need an opportunity to get their lives back on track… plus there’ll be support in the building, as well as external support from the Housing First program.”

He also rejects the claims of some residents who believe the project will go ahead, no matter what.

“The funding is conditional,” he explains. “And we haven’t met the condition yet from both of our funders, and part of the conditional funding is to have these open meetings and to discuss with the public. So, this is nowhere near being a done deal.”

There are two upcoming meetings scheduled to be held at the Holy Trinity Church: August 8 and 15 (5 to 8 p.m.). A community information session is also scheduled for August 22 (7 p.m.).

With files from Vinesh Pratap and Quinn Ohler, Global News

By Alicja Siekierska, Edmonton Journal

EDMONTON – Starting in August, nearly 1,000 lower income Edmonton households relying on monthly rent subsidies will find themselves short a crucial $50.

The Capital Region Housing Corporation (CRHC) in Edmonton is reducing the maximum rent supplements given to 916 households that rely on the subsidies, from $550 a month to $500.

In the March provincial budget, the government cut rent supplement funding across the province by $6.6 million, forcing the CRHC to make program cuts and reduce their maximum amount of direct-to-tenant rent supplement going toward lower income households.

CRHC executive director Greg Bounds said the reduction was the best way to ensure those households currently receiving rental assistance would continue to do so.

“We had a reduction in the amount of dollars available in our budget, but we wanted to ensure that we could continue to supply rent supplements to everyone who is using our programs today,” said Bounds.

Many are criticizing the government’s rent supplement cuts, saying the reduction will have a drastic impact on Edmonton’s most vulnerable population that relies on the subsidies each month.

“It’s going to put these families in a position where they are forced to make an impossible choice,” said NDP Municipal Affairs critic Deron Bilous at a news conference earlier this week. “Either they pay their rent and keep a roof over their heads, they pay the bills or they can feed their families.”

Members of the opposition are calling on the government to restore the rent supplement funding in the province.

“The impact of these cuts for these families is significant,” said Bilous. “Many of the families that are receiving this supplement are recipients of (Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped) funding or other forms of income support.”

Municipal Affairs spokeswoman Trisha Anderson said the rent supplement budget was reduced based on spending allocations from previous years. She said the government will still be able to supply more than 12,000 households across Alberta with rent subsidies each month.

John Kolkman, a research co-ordinator for the Edmonton Social Planning Council, believes the reductions are going to be damaging given the current state of the city’s rental market.

“It’s a very challenging time to be implementing these kind of cuts,” said Kolkman “They are coming when vacancy rates are dropping, and while rental rates are going up. It’s very much becoming a landlord’s market.”

According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.’s most recent market survey, out of every 100 rental units in the city, only one is available. The apartment vacancy rate in Edmonton dropped from 2.7 per cent last year to a mere 1.2 in April 2013.

The survey also indicated that while vacancy rates continue to decline, rental rates are rising. In Edmonton, the average cost of a two-bedroom suite increased by 4.2 per cent from April 2012 to April 2013.

“Not only should the cuts be reversed, but the province should be investing more in rental assistance programs,” said Kolkman.

Kolkman said rent assistance, including the direct-to-tenant rent supplement program, can act as a homelessness prevention measure.

“If you cannot afford to pay your rent, there is a real risk you may become homeless.”

The households currently qualifying for the rent subsidies will see their monthly payments reduced starting Aug. 1, however, the new maximum will only be implemented after each individual client’s annual income review date.

Bounds said the process of switching over to the reduced subsidy will happen gradually.

“This isn’t happening overnight. It will be implemented in stages over the next year.”

Bounds said the direct-to-tenant supplements are the only rent subsidies affected by the budget cuts. He said the CRHC will continue to accept new, qualified clients, although they can expect to be put on a waitlist.