What is child poverty and how do you combat it?
That's the question that will be asked next week during a Child Poverty Forum sponsored by Share Family & Community Services and Douglas College.
The forum will be held on Wednesday May 23 from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m., in Room C 1008 at the David Lam Campus of Douglas College in Coquitlam.
The forum will be facilitated by Barbara Grantham, who has 20 years experience as a senior executive and consultant in the non-profit and public sectors in British Columbia.
The intent is to find practical solutions that can lessen the impact of child poverty in the Tri-Cities.
"There is no doubt that our provincial and federal governments have important roles to play if we are going to decrease child poverty", said Martin Wyant, chief executive officer for Share in a statement. "But we also know that bringing about system-wide change is something that will take significant time and resources. There are ideas that we can be exploring now, that can have a more immediate impact on the lives of children and families in the Tri-Cities."
Gary Tennant, interim dean of Child, Family & Community Studies at Douglas College, believes the time is right for this kind of forum. "Poverty is a very difficult issue to tackle", said Tennant, "but we also know that there is some terrific work that is already being done in the Tri-Cities. Poverty touches all of our lives. We see its effects in our classrooms, on our streets, in our neighbourhoods and in our workplaces. We also know that there is a growing interest in tackling this issue and we hope that this forum will start a new conversation that can lead to better futures for children and families".
Participation in the forum is free. Interested participants are asked to pre-register by sending an e-mail message to valerie.hutton@sharesociety.ca,or by calling 604-529-5125. There is no charge to attend the forum.
