BY CLAIRE THEOBALD | FIRST POSTED: MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2016 04:36 PM MST | UPDATED: MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2016 04:46 PM MST

Poverty in our community can be hard to see, but it’s even harder for thousands of impoverished families in Edmonton to escape.

In Edmonton alone, nearly one in five children live in poverty. That’s more than 32,000 children living in situations where even basic necessities can be out of reach.

While it might be easy to try to blame the issue on irresponsible parents, a tough economic climate in Alberta has shown just how dangerously close many working families are to sliding over the poverty line.

In November alone, Alberta lost 13,000 jobs. With 11,000 more people looking for work, Alberta’s unemployment rate reached nine per cent, the highest it’s been since 1994.

Between December 2014 and April 2016, 3,853 oil and gas extraction jobs were lost in Alberta, with another 29,196 positions in careers supporting oil and gas extraction slashed as gas prices continue to languish.

Employment insurance benefits were extended to help lessen the blow, but good jobs have been slow to return.

Even for those lucky enough to hold onto their jobs over the Christmas season, many working families still don’t have the resources they need to cover the costs of their basic needs.

Nearly a quarter of Alberta’s labour force is employed in low-wage jobs earning less than $16 per hour, and well over half of those low-wage earners are older than 25.

In order to be able to afford a basic standard of living in Edmonton, the Edmonton Social Planning Council estimates that two working adults caring for two children would each have to earn at least $17.36 per hour — and that’s with government support factored in.

Nearly 60 per cent of children living in poverty in Alberta have at least one adult working full time in their household.

Read the rest of the story in the Edmonton Sun.

This year's Vital Signs report sheds light on changing Edmonton demographics.

We're young, pet-friendly and having a rough time with the economy.

Alex Boyd | Metro | Oct 6 2016

More immigration, more women, more dogs – the face of Edmonton is changing, as illustrated by this year's Vital Signs report.

The changes are a nod to the fact that our whole structure is changing, said Elizabeth Bonkink, with the Edmonton Community Foundation, which produces the report every year.

Bonkink points out that women outnumbering men may have something to do with the oil downturn, but there's larger forces at work, too.

When you look at Edmonton's demographics, you'll notice that most people don't have children, so the whole way we live our lives is changing, she said.

Originally life was around the family and having lots of kids to help the farm grow. But in recent years there's a lot more singles and a lot more couples living together without children.”

Read more on metronews.ca.

'Vital Signs' report shows new immigrants still attracted to Edmonton

Without current immigration levels, or increased fertility, the population will start to shrink in 20 years

Min Dhariwal | CBC News

Immigrants settling in Edmonton are more likely to be younger than the average population, more likely to be self-employed, and the vast majority arrive as economic-class immigrants.

Those figures are just some of the dozens of statistics released on Tuesday in the annual Vital Signs report, by the Edmonton Community Foundation. 

The report is like a snapshot of Edmonton's demographics. 

For example, it shows the number of people arriving as 'permanent residents' in Edmonton has increased 178 per cent over the last ten year and stood at 16,739 in 2015.

Read more on the CBC.

Opinion: Beefed up child benefits are a poverty game changer

Viewed through a social policy lens, the biggest story coming out of the federal and provincial budgets were the enhancements to child benefits.

Starting in July, an Alberta family with two children making $30,000 annually will receive $4,300 more per year from the federal and provincial governments. These improvements are child poverty game changers.

The launch of a new Alberta Child Benefit and increases in federal child benefits, both on July 1, go some distance toward guaranteeing a basic income to all Alberta families with children.

Non-taxable child benefits are the most effective way to reduce poverty because they put money directly into the pockets of low-income families.

Low-income working families receive the same amount as those on government income support at the same level of income. Administrative costs are negligible. Amounts are calculated by the Canadian Revenue Agency from tax returns. This makes it more important than ever for all low-income families to file tax returns regardless of whether they pay tax or not.

Click here to read the rest of the article in the Edmonton Journal.

Affordable housing, transit access part of Edmonton plan to lift 10,000 families out of poverty in five years

Elise Stolte | Edmonton Journal

Published on: May 20, 2016 | Last Updated: May 20, 2016 10:58 AM MDT

Edmonton’s plan for dealing with poverty was released Thursday with a list of 35 projects and a focus on the working poor.

The city-sponsored task force is hoping better transit access, affordable child care, secure housing and more awareness of racism will lift 10,000 families out of poverty in the next five years. It means reducing stress and giving security to those families currently working two or three jobs and still struggling to pay for food, rent and child care.

“Poverty is quiet, invisible, but it’s affecting kids,” said Anglican Bishop Jane Alexander, co-chair of the task force EndPoverty Edmonton.

The Edmonton Social Planning Council found more than 100,000 people in Edmonton were living in poverty in January 2015. Fifty-nine per cent of the children living in poverty belong to families where one or both parents are working full time. 

Click here to read the full article.