Child poverty in South Delta is much more extensive than first thought, according to research presented by the Canadian Federation of University Women South Delta.
The CFUW gave a presentation on Delta's poverty situation to Delta council at a workshop earlier this month, a meeting that also included representatives from Deltassist and the Delta Children and Youth Committee, which represents more than 25 organizations that work with children and youth.
CFUW representatives noted their preliminary research, based on inter-views last fall, indicates that child poverty is more extensive in Ladner and Tsawwassen than initially believed. It's a situation that has some children going to school hungry, while many families with children, people with disabilities and seniors are dependent on a food bank or charity for the basic necessities of life.
"We found that no elected body is measuring or monitoring the extent of child and family poverty in Delta or researching the gaps in resources for families and individuals, or looking at how they can be addressed," co-presidents Mary Watson and Shelley Lyons stated in a letter to municipal politicians.
They said their research has only scratched the surface, but are convinced that a qualified and experienced social planner would benefit Delta.
The findings seem surprising given the Statistics Canada profile of Delta, which found fewer Deltans fell into the low-income category than the B.C. average and that Deltans received a lower percentage of government transfers as part of their total incomes.
However, the CFUW's Joan Wallace told the Optimist poverty in many communities is prevalent but hidden, especially in a place like Tsawwassen.
"They were surprised when they did this research.
Where the poverty is in Tsawwassen, it's hidden in places like basement suites. A lot of the people living in suites are single mothers and they don't have much money to live on," she said.
Saying poverty is prevalent in every part of Delta, Wallace noted a social planner is needed to help deal with those issues, including finding out what provincial and federal programs are available.
Doug Sabourin, executive director of Deltassist, agreed that Delta needs a social planner, noting it's surprising the municipality doesn't have one.
"It's about livability. We are more than streets and roads and lighting. We're about the quality of life, and what a social planner and social plan does is really look at the long-term livability in a community," Sabourin said.
Sabourin said it's surprising that of all the big issues facing the community, according to the Corporation of Delta, none are about people specifically.
Coun. Bruce McDonald, a member of the Delta Children and Youth Committee, said it's important to take a closer look at the poverty question before coming to a conclusion there's widespread despair in Delta.
He said Delta had looked into child hunger issues with the Delta school board and found a few families spread across the municipality would fall within that poverty threshold, but no one school had anything in double digits.
As far as Delta taking a bigger role, developing a social plan might be a good idea, he said, but it might not require a new staff person at municipal hall.
