APRC to host People’s School on Poverty session

The Antigonish Poverty Reduction Coalition (APRC) will host a People’s School on Poverty session Tuesday, Nov. 27.

The gathering will take place, from 5 to 8:30 p.m., at The People’s Place community room on Main Street.

As a poster announcing the event indicates, the focus will be ‘what communities are doing to address poverty and what we can do going forward.’

“For this final event, we are inviting folks to join us to hear about the conversations that have taken place in the People’s Schools in Upper Big Tracadie, Paqtnkek, Antigonish and Pomquet, and to discuss next steps moving forward,” Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Martha justice ministry co-ordinator Amy Brierly said in an email interview.

The APRC – an alliance of approximately 50 individuals, groups, and organizations concerned with poverty alleviation – formed in 2010 ‘to address how poverty affects the health and well-being of our community and each of us.’

They conducted focus groups in Antigonish town and county, between June and December 2011, where more than 100 community members provided feedback on how things can improve, in dealing with poverty issues, along with what needs to happen for health and well-being to be shared by everyone.

From these engagements, the APRC formed a five-year action plan to help guide and support communities’ work in eight key areas: transportation, recreation, childcare, health services, housing, food security, income security and education.

Brierly noted APRC members continue to work on and advocate for change on these critical issues.

The recent series of People’s Schools on Poverty have brought people together, five years later, to discuss what is happening in our communities in relation to poverty, what has worked, what still needs to be achieved and how we might work together for these collective goals.

“We always welcome new members and hope you will join us in these continued efforts,” she said.

We always welcome new members and hope you will join us in these continued efforts. Amy Brierly