Group challenges Calgarians to live on $7 a day to raise poverty awareness
This morning, Franco Savoia will begin his daily routine with money on his mind, knowing he’ll have just $7 to stretch across the next 24 hours.
Savoia is the executive director of Vibrant Communities Calgary, one of the groups behind an effort to raise awareness of the day-today hurdles facing the 122,000 Calgarians living in poverty. This month, they are asking residents to take the $7 A Day Challenge. That’s the amount they say is left in the pockets of those low-income individuals once basic necessities such as rent and bills are covered.
Savoia can already anticipate how tough it might be to stick to the confines of that $7. After a typical morning coffee, that leaves about $5 for the rest of the day.
“If you all of a sudden have a big headache and you don’t have any Tylenol with you, you might have to go and buy Tylenol, and you might not be able to afford it, because you’ve already spent your money on coffee,” he said. “This is all you’ve got as disposable income. And the reality is, for 122,000 people, this is their daily life.”
That number represents about 10 per cent of Calgary’s population who are living below Statistic Canada’s low-income cut-off, according to Vibrant Communities, including single mothers, seniors and newcomers.
The poverty line is currently is $22,352, Savoia said. According to the group’s living-wage calculations, the annual cost of necessities such as rent, utilities, basic groceries, transit and basic health premiums is $19,629. Divide the remainder by 365 days, and that leaves just over $7 for expenses such as additional medical bills.
The inaugural $7 A Day Challenge coincides with what has been declared End Poverty Month in Calgary, and with the United Nations’ International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on Oct. 17.
Savoia hopes that Calgarians will take part in the challenge and share their experiences with others. He compared the number of residents living in poverty to Albertans affected by the 2013 floods.
“If at least it gets us talking about it, maybe, not unlike the flood, we can do something,” he said.