Question: What is the face of poverty?
The Answers:
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Poverty is associated with a host of health risks, including elevated rates of heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, infant mortality, mental illness, undernutrition, lead poisoning, asthma, and dental problems.
- Regina point-in-time count of individuals experiencing homelessness : 286 in 2018, and 488 in September 2021: https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/report-regina-sees-increase-in-homelessness
- According to Stats Canada, the poverty line for a single person living in Regina is approximately $22,500 a year. A person on SIS gets $10,320 a year, less than half that amount. For people in rural areas, the amounts given are even less, even though rural areas are generally no cheaper to live in overall.
- In 2018 the poverty rate for children and adults living in couple families was eight per cent. But 48 per cent of children living in female lone-parent families were poor.
From Poverty in Saskatchewan: http://uregina.ca/~gingrich/skp2018r.pdf - Low income people – especially the homeless – are more likely to be held in detention once they are arrested and charged by the police.
Poverty and Criminal Justice System Go hand in hand: https://johnhoward.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/counter-point-1-poverty-and-crime-is-there-a-connection.pdf - Poverty is not just about money, it’s about being excluded from community life.
From Poverty Free Saskatchewan Information on Poverty: https://povertyfreesask.ca/. - Poverty costs. It is very expensive. For example, according to the World Health Organization, poverty is the single largest determinant of health. Thus poverty places a huge burden, not only on the health of people living in poverty, but also on the healthcare and policing systems. According to a 2019 study, if Saskatchewan spent $540 million in social assistance the province would reduce the estimated $3.8 billion a year cost of poverty – to only one-seventh the cost.