Strategies to Make a Community Poverty Free

THUNDER BAY – Poverty is an issue many talk about solving. It is at the root of what are seen as issues that hit many people in Thunder Bay.

On May 9th 2014, in Thunder Bay, the Lakehead Unitarian Fellowship presented the fourth lecture in the Ken Morrison -Big Ideas and Hard Questions for Our Time – Lecture Series.

The guest lecturer was Dr. Evelyn Forget, an economist, professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba.

She is an adjunct scientist with the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy. Her current research focuses on the health and social consequences of anti-poverty interventions and the cost effectiveness of healthcare interventions.

At a time of year when many are making very needed and vital contributions to charities, including the United Way, Shelter House, Our Kids Count, and many other worthy causes, perhaps a goal in 2015 in Thunder Bay should be looking toward finding ways to fully solve the poverty issue.

Our community struggles from issues with addiction, a shortage of affordable housing, and racism.

All of those issues, created by people, can be solved by people.

Dealing with the issue of poverty in a full effort toward solving it is likely with many to be as controversial as it was in Manitoba in the test community that Dr. Forget shares in this video.

Breaking the cycle of poverty would make a massive difference in Thunder Bay. How that could possibly be controversial is something that speaks to the cause of some, but not of all.