Chatham-Kent leaders will be looking to larger cities for inspiration on how to fight poverty.
Chatham-Kent Community Leaders Cabinet Coordinator Karen Loney, and Prosperity Roundtable Coordinator Kate Do Forno have just returned from the "Cities Reducing Poverty: When Mayors Lead" conference in Edmonton. Loney says their mayor, Don Iveson, explained how they've been combating a number of poverty factors.
"Eliminating racism, obtaining livable income, focusing on affordable housing, transit and child care, as well as accessible mental health services," explains Loney.
She adds, although larger cities face poverty on a different scale, they all face the same barriers.
"We certainly aren't going to have big subways, but we still have people who need to see doctors, and who need access to childcare," says Loney. "We need to have that conversation in Chatham-Kent."