[homeles_ot-l] Fwd: Forwarding 25 in 5 eBulletin
Terrie
mocharebyl at gmail.com
Fri Jun 18 16:17:00 EDT 2010
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Terrie <mocharebyl at gmail.com>
Date: 18 June 2010 16:11
Subject: Fwd: Forwarding 25 in 5 eBulletin
To: odspfireside at googlegroups.com, odspaction at googlegroups.com, odsp-issues
<ODSP-issues at yahoogroups.com>
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Income Security Advocacy Centre (ISAC) <isac at lao.on.ca>
Date: 18 June 2010 15:41
Subject: Forwarding 25 in 5 eBulletin
To: mocharebyl at gmail.com
Hi all,
Today's version of the 25 in 5 eBulletin talks about the Social Assistance
Review (see the Income Security Review piece - the Advisory Council's report
is out), so I thought I'd forward it for your information.
Sorry to those of you who will have received this already as a result of
being on the 25 in 5 email list.
Cheers and best wishes for the weekend,
Jennefer
25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction
*June 18, 2010: Take Action on Income Security Review and Affordable Housing
Strategy! *
------------------------------
*In this week's eBulletin:*
1. Quote of the Week
2. 25 in 5 Supports Call for Income Security Review
3. HNO: Ontario Delays Affordable Housing Strategy
4. Where’s Home? Report Highlights Urgent Housing Need
5. Local Ideas, Local Action: Ottawa Activists Host 6-Stop Affordability
Tour
6. 25 in 5 Leadership Forum Resources Available Online
------------------------------
*Quote of the Week:*
*"The stigma, the shame, and the pervasive assumption that if you're on
welfare you must be scamming the system; the incredibly foolish yet
intractable belief that being on social assistance means party-time 24/7,
contributes to breaking the spirits and hearts of those whose ‘lifestyle'
includes days and maybe weeks of hunger, isolation, boredom, and a pervasive
reality-based depression. The capabilities we are wasting, the talents and
initiatives we are burying under endless rules, the children we are
abandoning, the potential tax revenue we are losing - the only gains are in
the cost of keeping people idle and sick."*
*Who said it? *Pat Capponi, at the release of the Report of the Social
Assistance Review Advisory Council on June 14.
The Council's Report calls for a bold and transformative review of Ontario's
Income Security system, which would allow government to meet commitments
made in its 2008 Poverty Reduction Strategy.
Pat was a member of the Social Assistance Review Advisory
Council<http://www.cleonet.ca/maillist/lt/t_go.php?i=144&e=MzI2Nw==&l=http://cts.vresp.com/c/--Q-SocialPlanningToront/a283ca4507/32063a9c5c/c0fcceacd0>
* *and is lead facilitator at Voices From the
Street<http://www.cleonet.ca/maillist/lt/t_go.php?i=144&e=MzI2Nw==&l=http://cts.vresp.com/c/--Q-SocialPlanningToront/a283ca4507/32063a9c5c/3efce0c771>and
the People's
Blueprint for Social
Assistance<http://www.cleonet.ca/maillist/lt/t_go.php?i=144&e=MzI2Nw==&l=http://cts.vresp.com/c/--Q-SocialPlanningToront/a283ca4507/32063a9c5c/5b10796cbe>.
------------------------------
*25 in 5 Supports Call for Income Security Review*
*Toronto, June 17, 2010* - The 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction is
calling on the Ontario government to move forward on an income security
review by September 1, 2010.
Swift action would show the government is serious about implementing the
recommendations of its own *Social Assistance Review Advisory
Council<http://www.cleonet.ca/maillist/lt/t_go.php?i=144&e=MzI2Nw==&l=http://cts.vresp.com/c/--Q-SocialPlanningToront/a283ca4507/32063a9c5c/245386293d>
*, meeting the commitments it made to *poverty reduction in December
2008<http://www.cleonet.ca/maillist/lt/t_go.php?i=144&e=MzI2Nw==&l=http://cts.vresp.com/c/--Q-SocialPlanningToront/a283ca4507/32063a9c5c/514f54e3bd>
*- and, especially, improving the lives of low-income Ontarians across the
province.
"The government now has the advice it sought from experts in the field - it
is time for the Premier and Cabinet to act, without delay," said 25 in 5
Network co-chair Greg de Groot-Maggetti. "We urge government to appoint two
income security commissioners and an advisory council, and lay out a broad
public consultation schedule, by September 1."
"We especially welcome the Council's recommendation to immediately increase
the incomes of adults without children who are on Ontario Works," said Mike
Creek, co-chair of 25 in 5. "They bear the largest burden of poverty and
make up a significant number of the people on assistance. No one anywhere in
Ontario can live on the current single adult benefit of $580 per month."
"And we would extend the recommendation to the incomes of everyone on
Ontario Works and ODSP. There are many ways to do this, such as the $100
Healthy Food Supplement, a Housing Benefit for all low-income tenants, or
increased tax credits."
*Read the entire press release at
**www.25in5.ca<http://www.cleonet.ca/maillist/lt/t_go.php?i=144&e=MzI2Nw==&l=http://cts.vresp.com/c/--Q-SocialPlanningToront/a283ca4507/32063a9c5c/60ff65eff4>
**.*
*Note that 25 in 5 members and supporters should feel free to use this press
release as a template for local releases in your own community. *Contact us
at info at 25in5.ca for advice and assistance, if needed.
*Read the entire report of the Social Assistance Review Advisory
Council<http://www.cleonet.ca/maillist/lt/t_go.php?i=144&e=MzI2Nw==&l=http://cts.vresp.com/c/--Q-SocialPlanningToront/a283ca4507/32063a9c5c/0d07f14d11>
**. *
*Take Action on Income Security Review!*
*Send a message to Premier McGuinty* to start the Income Security Review by
September 1!
*Email* *dmcguinty.mpp.co at liberal.ola.org*
*Tell him: *
"I want you to keep the promise you made in the Poverty Reduction Strategy.
You now have advice from experts in the field. I want to see the Income
Security Review up and running by September 1.
As a member of 25 in 5, I support the recommendations of the Social
Assistance Review Advisory Council to immediately increase the incomes of
adults on Ontario Works or ODSP, by bringing in a $100 monthly Healthy Food
Supplement, a Housing Benefit for all low income tenants, or increased tax
credits.
I look forward to your response."
[your name, address, and email]
------------------------------
*Housing Network of Ontario: Ontario Delays Affordable Housing Strategy *
*McGuinty government fails to meet own deadline on housing strategy,
low-income Ontarians told to sweat it out until the fall *
*TORONTO, June 16, 2010* - In February, Minister of Municipal Affairs and
Housing Jim Bradley promised to release the eagerly anticipated long-term
affordable housing strategy by June 21 of 2010, but the plan's release has
been delayed until the fall of 2010, according to Ministry sources.
"Poor housing is directly linked to poor health, and the delay in
delivering, and implementing a provincial affordable housing strategy will
be costly to individuals, communities and the economy," says Michael
Shapcott, Director of Affordable Housing and Social Innovation at the
Wellesley Institute and co-chair of the HNO. "The Ontario government's
failure to meet its own timeline underlines a concern raised by the
provincial auditor-general that the housing ministry lacks the capacity to
do its work. In its 2009/10 budget, the provincial government said it would
match federal housing investments as a placeholder until its own housing
strategy was in place. Ontario has missed the 2010/11 budget and risks
losing the 2011/12 cycle as well - pushing back solutions for yet another
year."
*Read the entire press release at
www.stableandaffordable.com<http://www.cleonet.ca/maillist/lt/t_go.php?i=144&e=MzI2Nw==&l=http://cts.vresp.com/c/--Q-SocialPlanningToront/a283ca4507/32063a9c5c/07b6f53f22>
*
*Take Action on Affordable Housing!*
*Send a message to Premier McGuinty and Minister Bradley*.
*Email* *dmcguinty.mpp.co at liberal.ola.org* and *
jbradley.mpp at liberal.ola.org *
*Tell them: *
"I am very frustrated by the delay in your government's Affordable Housing
Strategy.
I want you to renew and strengthen the commitment you made to poverty
reduction by bringing in a fully-funded, comprehensive affordable housing
strategy.
I support the Housing Network of Ontario's call for the affordable housing
strategy to meet the Five Tests they set out earlier this year.
I look forward to your response."
[your name, address, and email]
------------------------------
*Where’s Home? Report Highlights Urgent Housing Need*
While the economic situation in Ontario may be improving, low and modest
income households across the province still struggle to access the most
crucial and basic aspect of economic and personal success - a safe and
affordable home.
The 2010 edition of *Where's Home? *authored by the Ontario Non-Profit
Housing Association (ONPHA) and the Co-operative Housing Federation of
Canada Ontario Region (CHF Canada Ontario Region), analyzes 22 separate
housing markets across Ontario and highlights the urgent need for more
affordable rental housing. Key findings include:
- While vacancy rates are stabilizing, after tightening up the last four
years, rents are still rising faster than incomes of renter households.
- Average rents increased three times the rate of inflation across the
province in 2009.
- Waiting lists for assisted housing are long and they are growing,
swelling to about 142,000 households throughout Ontario.
- One-in-five Ontario renter households are still spending more than half
their income on housing.
- There is a growing gap in the incomes of tenants and homeowners.
- Demand for affordable units is conservatively estimated at 10,000 homes
a year for the next decade.
- Over the last ten years in Ontario, factoring in demolitions and
conversions, less than 900 units/year have been added to the stock.
- An astonishing 95% of the housing starts in the last five year period
were in the ownership market, with rental accounting for only 5%. Just 15
years ago, rental construction accounted for over a quarter (27%) of the
market.
"Housing is fundamental to success in every aspect of our lives," said
Sharad Kerur, ONPHA's Executive Director. "We understand that the Province
is facing major challenges in the years to come. Meeting those challenges
will require a bold vision that promotes economic prosperity, poverty
reduction and sustainable urban growth - promoting access to affordable
housing is the foundation of success in all three of these areas."
*Read the entire "Where's Home?" report at**
**www.onpha.on.ca<http://www.cleonet.ca/maillist/lt/t_go.php?i=144&e=MzI2Nw==&l=http://cts.vresp.com/c/--Q-SocialPlanningToront/a283ca4507/32063a9c5c/ff2f02f060>
**or **www.chfc.ca<http://www.cleonet.ca/maillist/lt/t_go.php?i=144&e=MzI2Nw==&l=http://cts.vresp.com/c/--Q-SocialPlanningToront/a283ca4507/32063a9c5c/31a020b12e>
**. *
------------------------------
*Local Ideas, Local Action: Ottawa Activists Host 6-Stop Affordability Tour*
To raise local awareness of the types of and need for affordable housing in
their city, housing activists in Ottawa began holding a weekly *6 Stop
Affordable Housing Tour* on May 21.
Each Friday in May and June, the Tour takes a local Ottawa MPP and the media
to visit a successful affordable housing project in their riding. A local
press release accompanies each visit.
The visits are timed to keep up the local pressure for an effective
Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy that the province has promised, and to
showcase what HNO Ottawa wants to see in the strategy.
*Now that the government's Housing Strategy is delayed, the summer is the
perfect time to show your own MPP and local media what "Long-Term Affordable
Housing" means by hosting a tour in your own community.*
The Ottawa Tour started with a visit to Ken Steele Court with Ottawa-Orleans
MPP Phil McNeely, followed by stops at the Woodland and Cayhill Communities
in Ottawa South (Premier McGuinty's riding), and in the ridings of
West-Nepean, Ottawa-Centre, Ottawa-Vanier, and Nepean-Carleton.
*Check out* great Tour coverage in a local paper, the Orléans
Star<http://www.cleonet.ca/maillist/lt/t_go.php?i=144&e=MzI2Nw==&l=http://cts.vresp.com/c/--Q-SocialPlanningToront/a283ca4507/32063a9c5c/57296a99c2>
*Download* the HNO Ottawa's Press Release to get ideas for your own tour and
press release<http://www.cleonet.ca/maillist/lt/t_go.php?i=144&e=MzI2Nw==&l=http://cts.vresp.com/c/--Q-SocialPlanningToront/a283ca4507/32063a9c5c/9b87499e66>
"Our community needs every MPP in the Ottawa region to be active champions
of affordable housing," said Eugene Williams, co-chair of HNO Ottawa. "We
are urging MPPs to adopt and act on the government's Long-Term Affordable
Housing Strategy when it is released. And we'll assess the strategy using HNO's
Five Tests For Success<http://www.cleonet.ca/maillist/lt/t_go.php?i=144&e=MzI2Nw==&l=http://cts.vresp.com/c/--Q-SocialPlanningToront/a283ca4507/32063a9c5c/17a490662e>."
*Make it happen in your community too! *
------------------------------
*25 in 5 Leadership Forum Resources Available Online*
Living Wage campaigns. Active engagement in the upcoming Social Assistance
Review. All Candidates' Meetings and events across the province during this
fall's municipal elections.
These are just some of the issues and ideas that the more than 120
grassroots activists and advocates from 17 communities across Ontario raised
at the 25 in 5 Leadership Forum on May 17 and 18.
Resources from the Forum are now available online on the 25 in 5 website.
Click here to download the "Where We've Been" powerpoint
presentation.<http://www.cleonet.ca/maillist/lt/t_go.php?i=144&e=MzI2Nw==&l=http://cts.vresp.com/c/--Q-SocialPlanningToront/a283ca4507/32063a9c5c/940b8e84f7>
Click here to download the "Update on Key Issues"
presentation.<http://www.cleonet.ca/maillist/lt/t_go.php?i=144&e=MzI2Nw==&l=http://cts.vresp.com/c/--Q-SocialPlanningToront/a283ca4507/32063a9c5c/caab9e6222>
Click here to download the "Summary
Report".<http://www.cleonet.ca/maillist/lt/t_go.php?i=144&e=MzI2Nw==&l=http://cts.vresp.com/c/--Q-SocialPlanningToront/a283ca4507/32063a9c5c/81401aa6df>
In the months ahead, the 25 in 5 Network will remain a hub where activists
can connect on emerging issues, share information on what each other is
doing, and take joint action to achieve tangible progress towards sustaining
employment, livable incomes, and strong and supportive communities.
*Thanks to all who attended, and who continue to bring their commitment and
dedication to the eradication of poverty to the 25 in 5 table.*
------------------------------
About the 25 in 5 eBulletins
**The 25 in 5 Network is steered by a coalition of Ontario organizations
including Campaign 2000, The Income Security Advocacy Centre, The Interfaith
Social Assistance Reform Coalition, The Colour of Poverty Project, the
Ontario Coalition for Social Justice, Voices From the Street, among others.
This is a bulletin from 25 in 5 to its contact list of supporters and
interested parties across the province. The Bulletin is intended to keep you
up to date on the implementation of a poverty reduction plan for Ontario and
to let you know how you, your organizations and networks can help make it
happen.
For more information visit
www.25in5.ca<http://www.cleonet.ca/maillist/lt/t_go.php?i=144&e=MzI2Nw==&l=http://cts.vresp.com/c/--Q-SocialPlanningToront/a283ca4507/32063a9c5c/055b918ce5>
Follow us on Facebook<http://www.cleonet.ca/maillist/lt/t_go.php?i=144&e=MzI2Nw==&l=http://cts.vresp.com/c/--Q-SocialPlanningToront/a283ca4507/32063a9c5c/fef935ff8b/v--E-wall>and
Twitter<http://www.cleonet.ca/maillist/lt/t_go.php?i=144&e=MzI2Nw==&l=http://cts.vresp.com/c/--Q-SocialPlanningToront/a283ca4507/32063a9c5c/80aacd3cbd>
.
Click here <info at 25in5.ca> to sign up for this e-Bulletin.
The 25 in 5 Network runs exclusively on volunteer contributions from our
partners. Any financial contribution that you or your organization is able
to provide to the Network would be most appreciated. To make a financial
contribution to 25 in 5, please contact John Campey at
jcampey at socialplanningtoronto.org.
**********************************************************
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http://www.cleonet.ca<http://www.cleonet.ca/maillist/lt/t_go.php?i=144&e=MzI2Nw==&l=http://www.cleonet.ca>
To subscribe or unsubscribe to this list visit:
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************************************************************
--
Terrie ( mocharebyl at gmail.com )
“If you see an injustice being committed, you aren't an observer, you are a
participant.” June Callwood
Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and
renders the present inaccessible. Maya Angelou
--
Terrie ( mocharebyl at gmail.com )
“If you see an injustice being committed, you aren't an observer, you are a
participant.” June Callwood
Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and
renders the present inaccessible. Maya Angelou
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