Breaking the social assistance cycle

When it comes to reducing poverty, Regina Younker would like to see a little less conversation and a little more action by government. Younker, a committee member of the Poverty Reduction Advisory Council (P.R.A.C.), knows all too well what it means to live in poverty. A single mother of three, Younker has been on social assistance for more than a decade because up until this week, there wasn’t any incentive to enter the job force. “I was only supposed to be on this social assistance for six months,” she said, while responding to a government announcement Thursday regarding changes to social assistance benefits. “It’s been 12 years because there was no incentive. Now there’s an incentive.” In the evening following the announcement, P.R.A.C. held a community conversation on poverty reduction in Montague, where Younker was in attendance. During the public event, Younker spoke to some of the residents who said affordable housing is the biggest barrier facing those who live in poverty, which also greatly affects the senior population. There was also a healthy dose of skepticism from the crowd, something Younker said was founded, and that it’s time government takes action rather than merely pay lip service to an issue affecting thousands of Islanders. The Cornwall resident said an analogy she learned in AA applies to this issue. “You can be sitting in a car and turn it on, but unless you can steer the damn thing and take action, nothing moves,” she said. “(Don’t) just keep the conversation going, but let’s put action into the conversation.” On Thursday, Family Services Minister Tina Mundy announced changes to social assistance that will help Islanders overcome barriers and become more self-reliant, which Younker said is a great start. “I’m blown away, I’m totally emotional,” she said. “They have a really good insight as to what it’s been like, and things haven’t changed for years.”