PROJECT AIMS TO SHINE SPOTLIGHT ON ‘INVISIBLE’ POCKETS OF POVERTY
A new project backed by numerous West Island community organizations aims to bring to the forefront the issue of food insecurity and the fact there are pockets of poverty in the area. The campaign wants to dispel the perception the West Island is wealthy through and through and without struggles.
Launched last Friday with 22 community groups represented, the West Island Food Security Awareness Campaign is an offshoot of the Collective Impact Project funded through Centraide of Greater Montreal. The list of participating groups includes AJOI, Bread Basket Lac St-Louis, Concertation Ouestde-l’Île and West Island Mission.
“It’s the first time all of these groups are coming together to work on one mission. Usually what happens is everyone works on their own to serve the needs of the population. Now we’re all coming together, which is pretty impressive,” said Karine Saba, spokeswoman for the West Island Community Resource Centre, which is facilitating the collaborative food-awareness project.
Brainstorming for the project started two years ago.
“We need to address poverty in the West Island. We decided to do this by going through food security. This starts with eating well and having access to other elements as well,” she said. “The first step is to attack the poverty. We need to make the West Island population aware of the problem.”
A perception of wealth leads to covering up real-life struggles and makes West Islanders in need invisible.
“We have a misconception that the West Island is wealthy. What happens is that people who are struggling become what we call ‘invisible.’ You don’t hear or see them because everything looks great. But there are pockets of poverty.”
Their five-year objectives are to increase awareness of the issues regarding food insecurity as well as highlight the resources available in our community, nutrition education and, finally, political action, Saba said.
“We’re hoping to get government action. So political strategy to either change policy or to get more involved,” she added.
Some statistics to back up the awareness campaign includes the fact that almost 27,000 West Islanders live below the poverty line. About 6,900 people — with more on waiting lists — are helped monthly by a local food bank or receive assistance.
About 48,000 meals per year, via Meals on Wheels programs, are served to seniors, a demographic that is known to be growing in the West Island. Senior isolation and lack of mobility also compound food security issues, Saba said.
Future activities will include workshops, nutrition newsletters, creating a testimonial awareness video as well as hosting information kiosks at summer community events. An action plan will be unveiled in the fall, Saba said.