The Bruce Grey Poverty Task Force has released a Poverty Impact Report for this year.
Some areas addressed in the 13-page report include access to rental housing, food security, health equity, income and employment security and other indicators.
The task force says 20 per cent of Grey Bruce households are considered ‘Food Insecure,’ while the Ontario average is 15.5 per cent. They say 70 per cent of households that rely on social assistance are food insecure.
According to the report, in 2019, Grey Bruce had its lowest unemployment rate in 19 years at 2.4 per cent. However, it also notes, 13.3 per cent of households in Bruce County are considered low-income and 15.5 per cent are considered as such in Grey County. Ontario sits at 14.4 per cent. The task force says almost 1 in 5 children in Grey Bruce live in a low income household.
Access to rental housing is 1.4 per cent in Bruce County and 1.7 per cent in Grey County. The task force says a healthy vacancy rate is 3 per cent.
Meanwhile, the task force says one in four households is not affordable. They say 9.3 per cent of Bruce households and 11.4 per cent of Grey households are in ‘core housing need.’ The report says a household is in ‘core housing need’ if the house is not an adequate size, not in adequate condition or costs more than 30 per cent of before tax household income.
Meanwhile, for renters, the Task Force says the number of people in core housing need is much higher at 29 per cent in Bruce and 30.5 per cent in Grey.
Some suggestions the report makes for people who are struggling include attending a Community Volunteer Income Tax Program which they say can help low-income people access different tax credits and other forms of aid and benefits.
The report sets out some strategic directions for the future including creating Community Food Centres and a pilot program with a FoodRescue.ca distribution hub. (foodrescue.ca helps bring fresh food from Zehrs in Owen Sound to OSHaRE, the local soup kitchen).
They plan to take ‘intersectoral action’ on housing issues using things like the RentSafe Project which is led by the Canadian Partnership for Children’s Health and Environment. It aims to address unhealthy housing conditions.