Sudbury and District Health Unit launches 3-part strategy to reduce poverty

The Sudbury and District Health Unit is rolling out a new program in an attempt to get more people out of poverty.

The three part program is in various stages of being implemented in the city. The first is called Bridges Out of Poverty, says Dana Wilson, manager of health equity at the health unit.

Wilson says it's a training program with the goal of increasing awareness about poverty.

"We certainly do target those who are not currently experiencing poverty to attend our workshops," she said.

"They learn about the realities of living in poverty."

She says the goal is to inspire and increase compassion in the community. So far, 12 workshops have been held and 350 people have attended.

"For those who have taken introductory workshops that are three hours, they want more," she said.

"So we have a six hour workshop as well that allows for a lot more individual and group reflection on challenging our assumptions about poverty."

The second part of the program is a six week initiative targeted at people living in poverty, Wilson said.

"The real thrust of the program is for individuals to complete a life assessment of where their current resources are at and really make a plan to get out of poverty," she said.

"So figure out where their future scenario could look like … and the steps along the way to get there."

Promising results

Wilson say the first session of that program started last week, with 9 people taking part.

Part three is a program called Circles which will get underway in February. Wilson says the program matches someone looking to get out of poverty who has taken the second part of the program with someone from the community looking to make a difference.

She says meetings will be held twice a month for each side to share a meal together and discuss what's working and what's not when it comes to getting out of poverty. Wilson says both sides are asked to commit to the program for 18 months.

"You can't exit poverty overnight," she said.

Wilson says the Circles program first started in the United States a couple of decades ago. Since then, it has spread into Canada.

"It's certainly been promising in the communities where it has been introduced," she said.

"More recently, it has been introduced into Ontario, places like Sarnia, Barrie, London and Guelph are doing Circles."

She says between 30 to 50 per cent of participants in other areas have achieved economic sustainability.