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Lack of transportation, services, housing
ISARC Social Audit 2010 Southwest Rural Ontario, March 31, 2010
by Alexandra Béasse [article in ISARC e-newsletter, April 2010]
[you can also read the social audit Results for Huron County]
Even though about 20% of the Canadian population lives in rural areas, public forums or hearings in rural regions to hear the unique concerns of rural people are rarely held.
A distinction of ISARC's 2010 Social Audits is that it is deliberately seeking input from rural areas to learn what is unique about rural poverty.
One of these took place in Huron County on March 31 and these are some of the initial findings.
The lack of public transportation has been acknowledged as an issue and has been a matter of study for at least fifteen years in Huron County. Greyhound Bus Lines provide transportation out of the County but runs only once a week and then only out of one community. Taxis or rides from friends are often the only options available.
Many government services have centralized offices, requiring people to travel long distances to access these required services. A couple of years ago, all government services such as Ontario Works and housing were relocated from five communities into one regional office. Administrators felt this was a much more economical solution and did not feel that it impeded service delivery.
And even when services such as foodbanks are located in small towns, people are still challenged to get supplies home and may need to rely on costly taxis to get around.
The use of foodbanks is increasing. While there are more and more food banks in more rural communities, many of them run by faith groups, use continues to rise and more and more food is being distributed.
The clientele at the food banks is also changing, with more people accessing service who have experienced layoffs from decent paying industrial jobs. They have exhausted their EI claims and are finding that they can no longer pay the bills. And, often volunteers at the food-bank are the ones who are assisting these people with applying to Ontario Works.
Soup kitchens have also been making an appearance in rural areas. Front line workers report that they have experienced not only an increased in the need for proper nutrition but also a need for learning how to eat healthy on a small budget. Often people do not know the basics of cooking for themselves and their families and how to prepare foods from scratch.
Housing is an issue in rural areas. Some people choose to find market rent accommodations after finding the subsidized housing was either unsafe because of poor quality, mold, or for neighbourhood factors. Others saw subsidized housing as finally giving them a safe place to live. This disparity suggests that there is an inconsistency in housing quality.
Housing is also an issue in relation to access to services. Some people felt they were being forced to choose between adequate housing and a community where their family belonged and access to the education, support or medical services they needed to maintain better quality lives. A case in point, was a county project for assisted housing units being planned in a central location where land was available. However, anyone wishing to move into those units would need to leave friends and community behind, not to mention absorbing the cost of moving from one community to another.
It is clear that people living in poverty in the rural areas share many things with their urban counterparts, they worry about how poverty affects their children, the low amounts provided by government services, and the increasing impersonalization of services.
But people living in poverty are also resilient and want to be able to provide for themselves. As one rural resident said, “I know something has to be done, and so here I am.”
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