Blogroll | Congregation Darchei Noam

On August 31, 2015, DN member Valerie Hyman, on behalf of Congregation Darchei Noam's Social Justice Advocacy Committee, addressed a City of Toronto committee dedicated to poverty reduction. The full text of her deputation follows:

POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGY DEPUTATION FROM THE SOCIAL JUSTICE COMMITTEE AT DARCHEI NOAM AND THE MULTI FAITH ALLIANCE TO END HOMELESSNESS

August 31, 2015

SUMBITTED BY VALERIE HYMAN

The Social Justice Advocacy Committee of Congregation Darchei Noam is committed to the protection of social justice in Canada.  As Jewish citizens informed by the principles of “Justice” (Tzedakah) and “Repairing the World” (Tikkun Olam), and by international commitments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we aim at eliminating injustice and poverty within our city. Our activities are non-partisan and dedicated to the protection and improvement of public policies and programmes at all levels of government.

We are also members of the Multi Faith Alliance to End Homelessness (MFATEH), which is a diverse group of faith communities and organizations in the Toronto area, and the Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition (ISARC) which is a provincial organization.  

Based on our shared values of fairness, compassion, justice and social inclusion, we advocate to our political representatives for policies that would ensure adequate income and secure and affordable housing for all in our community.

We congratulate Mayor John Tory, Deputy Mayor Pam McConnell, Councillor Joe Mihevc and the City for initiating this important poverty reduction strategy.

We live in a prosperous city, yet over the last twenty years poverty has increased, and the city has become more economically divided. One in four children now live in poverty, homeless people beg on every major street corner, and thousands are accommodated in Out of the Cold programs in the winter, and are fed meals by the Streets to Homes and other programs in Toronto.

Ninety thousand people are waiting for affordable housing in the city. The time to address these disturbing trends is now, not only because it is the right thing to do, but if we don’t act now despair, anger and the possibility of civil disobedience is more likely to occur. Hunger, homelessness and helplessness leads to despair and desperation.

It has also been researched and stated many times that the cost of providing safe, adequate and affordable housing costs less than allowing people to remain without housing.

We ask you to  consider the associated costs of health care, criminal activity, welfare, children dropping out of school or going to school hungry that  are a few of the costs associated with homelessness.

The interim strategy needs to commit to targets, such as funding, timelines and benchmarks such as 2,000 new affordable units a year and follow through with it.

Certain recommendations for improvement will not be a cost to the City. Others will require short and longer term investments, but without funding and targets the Poverty Reduction Strategy is meaningless.

Adequate, safe affordable housing allows people to maintain dignity, increases employment, encourages children to stay in school and complete their education and generally increases the standard of living. We have examples from Scandinavian countries, and we have research and documented proof that meeting the basic housing needs of our populations increases the well being of all the citizens of Toronto.

We support the recommendations to address the urgent needs of our most vulnerable citizens. We know that affordable housing is the foundation and urge the city to make this a priority. Stable housing is a gateway to employment, education and a better life. Currently too many families are unable to afford housing without compromising on nutritious food, transportation, or clothing for their children.

Furthermore, we urge city staff who interact on a daily basis with those living on the margins, or who lives in Toronto Housing, to be respectful, polite and civil with this community. The foundation of many faiths is to “love thy neighbor as thyself” which implies that we are all entitled to dignity, respect and acceptance.

We also would like to recommend to the committee that the language in the final report be simplified, as it is too technical, cumbersome and stylish. We have had feedback from a number of communities who said they found the report difficult to fully comprehend. We hope that everyone, who chooses to read the report, will find it easy to understand and follow.

We would like to congratulate the committee for creating a very collaborative process that truly listened to those most in need, as well as many others in the City, such as the business community and advocacy groups. We would like to see this collaborative process continue, hopefully, after the final report is accepted by Council. We also like to see firm timelines, benchmarks and other tools to measure the impact of the strategy.

I would like to end with a quote from anthropologist Margaret Mead who wrote:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed it is the only thing that ever has”.