By Andrea Klassen - Kamloops This Week
Published: July 28, 2012 2:00 PM
Kamloops' living wage is keeping up with inflation.
The latest calculations from the Changing Face of Poverty committee peg Kamloops' living wage at $17.95 an hour, up from $17.30 in 2011.
The wage is calculated based on the expenses of a family of four with two young children and two parents working 35 hours a week each and includes government transfers and deductions such as EI premiums.
While this year's wage is up 65 cents from last year, Jeff Hicks, a research assistant with the Kamloops Homelessness Action Plan, said much of that change is due to some adjustments to the calculation that bring it more in line with similar calculations done across the province.
Without the calculation changes, the real difference in this year's living wage is about two per cent, just slightly under the rate of inflation.
The Kamloops wage is lower than several other calculations.
Vancouver's living wage for 2012 was $19.16, Victoria's $18.07.
"It represents the lower cost of living and that would be expected, especially given shelter costs are much higher in Vancouver," said Hicks.
However, the measure of a community's health isn't how high or low its living wage is, he said, but "whether people's incomes match the expenses they face."
That number wasn't calculated for Kamloops last year, when the committee released its first living wage numbers.
But, it will come in the next couple weeks, once Hicks crunches income data from Statistics Canada.
"We'll be doing some comparisons of that, as to how many people roughly are below this household income that you require to meet the basic level of expenses," he said.
While other living-wage proponents have in the past pushed for the City of Kamloops to adopt a living-wage policy, Hick said the committee's calculations are more about raising awareness.
"We give this information to the community, but we're not pushing for a municipal ordinance, we're not pushing for an official campaign," he said.
Instead, employers may look at the data as they make choices about how to run their workplaces.
"This kind of information can factor into people's decisions in many different ways beyond wage conditions, whether it's simply being more lenient with their days off or making the work environment more family-friendly," he said.
"There's all sorts of decisions that having this information in the back of your mind could change the outlook of."
One key difference for the Kamloops area, compared to Vancouver, is that single parent families can get by on a far lower wage than their two-parent counterparts.
Here, the single-parent living wage is $13.59. In Vancouver, the standard living wage isn't considered enough money to support a single parent and children.
What the living wage includes:
Food, rent, a $40 phone plan, one car and a BC Transit bus pass, child care and up to $1,500 in non-MSP health care per year.
What it doesn't cover:
College funds for the kids, saving for home ownership, payments for any student loan debt.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Housing survey needs ideas, opinions from youth
25 Jul 2012
Kamloops Daily News
KEITH ANDERSON/THE DAILY NEWS
Several social agencies and non-profit organizations are being asked to help a newly formed committee gauge the thoughts of Kamloops youth — particularly their thoughts on being homeless.
The survey of nine questions is aimed at youth between the ages of 14 and 25 and is the first big step for the members of the Youth Services and Youth Housing Steering Committee.
Phoenix Centre executive director Sian Lewis is one of the founding members of the committee, along with retired school principal Chris Rose.
“When we started batting around this idea of youth services and youth housing, we thought, ‘Let’s do a survey. Let’s talk to the youth,’ ” said Lewis.
The survey will circulate for three weeks this summer and again in November.
Lewis said her committee, which includes representatives from ASK Wellness, the Homelessness Action Plan and KamloopsThompson School District, is looking for key information from the young people.
“We’re trying to keep it very straightforward, very simplified,” she said.
“Just getting at the heart of what is their experience with homeless, if any. . . . and we’ve kept the definition of homelessness quite broad because we really want to capture any youth who at any time feel they don’t have a safe place to go.”
It is also hoped the survey will reveal barriers to safe, affordable housing for youth in Kamloops.
Lewis said about 25 to 30 organizations are being asked to help distribute the questions. The committee is also getting help from two summer students, who have been hired as project leaders.
Survey participants will have the option of filling out their answers in print or online. Once the information is in, the committee will compile the results and prepare a detailed report for the public.
Lewis hopes the results give a clear picture of homelessness among youth, while at the same time revealing services that are needed to help address the problem.
“It’s not just about getting a roof over their head,” said Lewis.
Once the report is finished, the committee will decide its next steps.
“For example, are we going to build supported housing? Are we going to be maybe developing a care-home model where you’ve got families willing to take these youth in and you wrap around supports?” suggests Lewis.
“More specific to certain issues, do we need youth detox beds? Maybe we don’t. So, it’s going to be interesting to see what kind of information comes from this.”
Kamloops Daily News
KEITH ANDERSON/THE DAILY NEWS
Several social agencies and non-profit organizations are being asked to help a newly formed committee gauge the thoughts of Kamloops youth — particularly their thoughts on being homeless.
The survey of nine questions is aimed at youth between the ages of 14 and 25 and is the first big step for the members of the Youth Services and Youth Housing Steering Committee.
Phoenix Centre executive director Sian Lewis is one of the founding members of the committee, along with retired school principal Chris Rose.
“When we started batting around this idea of youth services and youth housing, we thought, ‘Let’s do a survey. Let’s talk to the youth,’ ” said Lewis.
The survey will circulate for three weeks this summer and again in November.
Lewis said her committee, which includes representatives from ASK Wellness, the Homelessness Action Plan and KamloopsThompson School District, is looking for key information from the young people.
“We’re trying to keep it very straightforward, very simplified,” she said.
“Just getting at the heart of what is their experience with homeless, if any. . . . and we’ve kept the definition of homelessness quite broad because we really want to capture any youth who at any time feel they don’t have a safe place to go.”
It is also hoped the survey will reveal barriers to safe, affordable housing for youth in Kamloops.
Lewis said about 25 to 30 organizations are being asked to help distribute the questions. The committee is also getting help from two summer students, who have been hired as project leaders.
Survey participants will have the option of filling out their answers in print or online. Once the information is in, the committee will compile the results and prepare a detailed report for the public.
Lewis hopes the results give a clear picture of homelessness among youth, while at the same time revealing services that are needed to help address the problem.
“It’s not just about getting a roof over their head,” said Lewis.
Once the report is finished, the committee will decide its next steps.
“For example, are we going to build supported housing? Are we going to be maybe developing a care-home model where you’ve got families willing to take these youth in and you wrap around supports?” suggests Lewis.
“More specific to certain issues, do we need youth detox beds? Maybe we don’t. So, it’s going to be interesting to see what kind of information comes from this.”
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
CHANGING FACE OF POVERTY Kamloops living wage pegged at $17.95/hour
By MIKE YOUDS Daliy News Staff Reporters
mikeyouds@ kamloopsnews.ca
CATHERINE LITT/THE DAILY NEWS
The Kamloops living wage — an hourly earning with which a household can
meet basic needs — has increased by 3.8 per cent to $17.95 in the past
year, according to figures released on Tuesday.
In an update based on a model used in other B.C. centres, the Changing Face of Poverty committee calculates that in a family of four with two working parents, each parent would have to earn a minimum of $17.95 an hour.
The figure is primarily a measure of the cost of living in Kamloops relative to other B.C. cities. Similar calculations have been made in Kelowna, Victoria and Williams Lake.
“We’re looking at it as a tool for understanding affordability,” said Tangie Genshorek, director of the Kamloops Homelessness Action Plan, which is part of the committee.
“We’re not looking for increased wages, we’re just looking at where we are in Kamloops.”
The figure represents a wage required once government transfers, such as the Universal Child Care Benefit, have been added to a family’s income and deductions (income taxes, employment insurance) have been subtracted.
In the four-member family model, both parents work 35 hours a week at the living wage. The family owns one car and one bus pass.
The most significant factor in the cost calculation for a family of four is child-care expenses, said Jeff Hicks, who used methodology developed by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, First Call B.C. and the Social Planning Council of Victoria to come up with the Kamloops figures.
“Single-child families receive a lot more government support via transfers,” he said.
In an update based on a model used in other B.C. centres, the Changing Face of Poverty committee calculates that in a family of four with two working parents, each parent would have to earn a minimum of $17.95 an hour.
The figure is primarily a measure of the cost of living in Kamloops relative to other B.C. cities. Similar calculations have been made in Kelowna, Victoria and Williams Lake.
“We’re looking at it as a tool for understanding affordability,” said Tangie Genshorek, director of the Kamloops Homelessness Action Plan, which is part of the committee.
“We’re not looking for increased wages, we’re just looking at where we are in Kamloops.”
The figure represents a wage required once government transfers, such as the Universal Child Care Benefit, have been added to a family’s income and deductions (income taxes, employment insurance) have been subtracted.
In the four-member family model, both parents work 35 hours a week at the living wage. The family owns one car and one bus pass.
The most significant factor in the cost calculation for a family of four is child-care expenses, said Jeff Hicks, who used methodology developed by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, First Call B.C. and the Social Planning Council of Victoria to come up with the Kamloops figures.
“Single-child families receive a lot more government support via transfers,” he said.
The living wage here is slightly lower than those for Vancouver, where it rose to $19.60 from $18.81 over the past year.
“I think most people would expect it to be lower here,” Hicks said. “I would expect the big difference is shelter costs.”
The 65-cent increase since 2011 includes a 2.3 per cent increase represented by the provincial inflation rate. There were also methodology changes to education and non-MSP healthcare expenses that further boosted the calculation.
Hicks pointed out that the living wage index shouldn’t be confused with the official poverty line.
“I think what this really shows is not what’s needed to get a family out of poverty, but what’s needed to get to a very modest lifestyle.”
With that wage, families would be free of severe financial stress and a basic level of economic security.
“But it is also a conservative, bare bones budget without the extras many of us take for granted,” the report states. The wage excludes such cost factors as savings for home ownership and children’s education, or paying off student debt.
While many service-sector employers couldn’t match the living wage, the idea is to encourage alternative supports, such as employee child care or more leniency with sick days, Hicks noted.
Aside from the City of New Westminster, a number of other organizations have adopted living wages for their employees. The 2012 Summer Olympics are the first living-wage Olympic Games, Hicks said.
For more background on the calculation, visit kamloopshap.ca/LivingWage2012/
“I think most people would expect it to be lower here,” Hicks said. “I would expect the big difference is shelter costs.”
The 65-cent increase since 2011 includes a 2.3 per cent increase represented by the provincial inflation rate. There were also methodology changes to education and non-MSP healthcare expenses that further boosted the calculation.
Hicks pointed out that the living wage index shouldn’t be confused with the official poverty line.
“I think what this really shows is not what’s needed to get a family out of poverty, but what’s needed to get to a very modest lifestyle.”
With that wage, families would be free of severe financial stress and a basic level of economic security.
“But it is also a conservative, bare bones budget without the extras many of us take for granted,” the report states. The wage excludes such cost factors as savings for home ownership and children’s education, or paying off student debt.
While many service-sector employers couldn’t match the living wage, the idea is to encourage alternative supports, such as employee child care or more leniency with sick days, Hicks noted.
Aside from the City of New Westminster, a number of other organizations have adopted living wages for their employees. The 2012 Summer Olympics are the first living-wage Olympic Games, Hicks said.
For more background on the calculation, visit kamloopshap.ca/LivingWage2012/
Monday, July 9, 2012
HPS Funding Announcement
The Homelessness Partnership Strategy is essentially the same program that has been funding homelessness initiatives across Canada for over a decade. What has changed recently is the City of Kamloops' role in assisting with distributing the funds. This is great news because more of the decisions will be made locally, and the process will be more respionsive, saving time and money:
City
takes on $1-million responsibility for the homeless
The federal government is entrusting the City of Kamloops
with $1 million in homelessness funding to be dispersed until 2014.The funds resulting from the Homelessness Partnership Strategy needed an administrative and accountability component before they could be handed over.
The City was happy to step into that role, said Peter Milobar during a joint federal-municipal announcement on Thursday.
"When we were asked if we would be the community agency to see the money flow through for homelessness in Kamloops it was a very easy decision for council to make and agree to," said Milobar.
"(The agreement) gives Ottawa that ease which they need to make sure the taxpayers' dollars are being spent with accountability."
The funding has already been earmarked for a variety of programs and projects thanks to the Kamloops working group on homelessness, a community advisory board that drafted the disbursement plan four months ago after receiving applications, according to Dana Lee Baker, member of the Homelessness Action Plan, which sat on the community advisory board.
Housing and homeless support programs, which remain unnamed until future federal funding announcements, will receive money on a monthly basis until 2014.
"This is a great step forward in trying to address homelessness issues in Kamloops," said Milobar. "We've seen great strides already with work that the Homelessness Action Plan is doing in terms of bringing groups together and trying to co-ordinate and work collaboratively with all the agencies that are all trying to provide housing and different resources for those in the community at risk."
The Homelessness Partnering Strategy connects provinces, federal departments, communities and the private and not-for-profit sectors to bring stability into the lives of displaced and vulnerable residents.
The strategy is a more efficient and logical approach to dealing with homelessness than a federal one-size-fits-all solution, said McLeod.
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