Public health taking a deep look at poverty in the region
Data-based study hopes to inform community-based poverty action plans
GUELPH – Poverty is one of the social determinants of health and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH) has decided to help community partners work toward poverty reduction goals.
The board of health heard on Feb. 4 that staff are in the beginning stages of a study that will collect and share data with partners like Toward Common Ground and the Guelph and Wellington Poverty Elimination Collaborative.
Staff are also reaching out to similar organizations in Dufferin County.
Poverty influences everything, said Michael Whyte, manager of the data analytics team.
That includes access to food, to housing, transit, jobs, doctors, medicine – in general “the ability to participate in life,” he said.
These are well-known outcomes of poverty, but what’s not known is exactly what the data shows in Wellington, Dufferin and Guelph.
The study will be released in chapters over the next year and will capture systemic and structural drivers like housing, employment standards, colonialism, racism and gender inequity.
It will also include narratives of those with lived experience of poverty.
The study hopes to discover:
- who experiences poverty in the WDGPH region (demographic and geographic distribution);
- links between poverty and health outcomes;
- food and housing insecurity;
- cost-of-living pressures;
- working poverty and social assistance trends; and
- evidence-informed actions and community-led solutions.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Nicola Mercer said until now the health unit has really only considered poverty within its annual healthy food basket, which looks at the cost of eating a healthy diet in the region.
“We want something more tangible,” she said. “Doing this poverty series, we’ll see what [poverty] looks like in [the region].”
“Poverty is complex and deeply rooted,” Whyte added. “It’s real, it’s local and it’s personal.”
Board member Linda Busuttil, who is a Guelph city councillor and works with a local neighbourhood group, was extremely supportive of the initiative.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she said. “This is so important to informing policy development.
“Grounding in local is really important. This is very timely.”
The board received the report for information.
