Financial worries of back-to-school shopping hard on low-income families

Students across Metro Vancouver head back to school next week but for youth living in low-income communities, this time of year can be particularly challenging.

Trevor Stokes, a teacher at the inner-city Britannia Secondary School, said not being able to afford the right clothes, gadgets and supplies is highly stressful for families as the school year starts. He works with at-risk youth in the Streetfront Alternative Program.

"It's amazing the gymnastics that families will go through to let their kids have as normal a life as possible," Stokes told CBC's guest host of The Early Edition Stephen Quinn.

This can mean taking a financial hit to buy the right pair of shoes to fit in, to sign up for an after-school activity or to simply access the basic necessities like a washing machine.

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"Sometimes, families live in such transition that they just don't have access to wash their clothes and they are doing everything they can to make ends meet," Stokes said.

Recent statistics show that one in five children in B.C. live in poverty. In many cases, Stokes said, it falls on the teachers to fill in the gaps as discreetly as possible — from offering to quickly do a load of laundry while the student is in gym class or to passing on donations of clothes.  

Fitting in through fashion

Less dire situations of having clean clothes, but not the right ones, can be upsetting for a student too, Stokes said. 

"There is a lot of stress on the family to try to fulfil the wishes of the kids," Stokes said. "It's tragic that these things that we wear on our backs or that we have on our feet define who we are — they don't. It's a sort of a fallacy but we all experience that."

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Stokes said he's noticed a direct impact on learning when students feel like they don't fit in.

"I've had lots of kids who haven't been able to come to school for some of the reasons that I'm saying. They didn't have clothes to wear, they were embarrassed," he said.

Missing out on 'extras'

When it comes to paying mandatory school fees and class trips, Stokes said, students struggling financially are covered by the school board. But the extras, like after-school activities and extracurriculars, are missed.

"Athletic programs, that's a difficult one, it's sort of seen as an extra," he said. "That's a really big part of the high school experience, being a part of the school teams."

Stokes said community donations and support programs make a big difference for schools and students who are in need.

"The community kind of rallies around it and recognizes the idea that we are not going to leave anyone behind," he said. "It's a public education system where 'public' should really define what we are doing."

To listen to the full interview, click on the audio link below:

With files from The Early Edition.