Welcome to Our Community!

Welcome to Our Community! COMMUNITY OVERVIEW BACKGROUND TODAY’S AGENDA TAMARACK POVERTY REDUCTION MISSION & VISION STRUCTURE & PROGRAMS ROLE OF BUSINESS STRATEGIC PLANNING GOVERANCE OUR PARTNERS CAREER EXPLORATION BUILD STRUCTURE CORPORATE GIVING

GOOD MORNING & WELCOME

POVERTY REDUCTION THROUGH COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY INITIATIVES

TODAY’S AGENDA • Review / Update on our Progress to Date • Frame What we Feel are the Key Policy Issues and Strategic Outcomes Around the Overall Goal of Poverty Reduction • Review Upcoming Integrated Round of Strategic Planning  Tamarack Phase II • Outline our Intended Outputs of Strategic Plan • Questions / Answers

POVERTY REDUCTION • WHAT DOES THIS MEAN • WHAT ARE THE IMPACTS • WHAT ARE THE ISSUES • PUBLIC POLICY IMPLICATIONS • WHAT DO WE SEE AS OUR ROLE AND VISION  AND • WHAT ROLE CAN YOUR ORGANIZATIONS PLAY • COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIC PLANNING NEXT STEP

POVERTY REDUCTION Understanding Poverty and its Root Causes

POVERTY & HUMAN IMPACTSFRAMING THE ISSUES • There are 39,060 single parent parent families in N.S. • 19,085 single parent family heads did not work (49% of all single parent families) • 18,515 low income families are headed by single parents in N.S. - 45% of all low income families • 70% of single mothers have low income in N.S. (GPI) • Average aggregate income among low-income husband/wife families with children was $12,925 in 1995 compared to $55,789 for non-low income families • About 50% of poor children are in single parent families 1996 Stats Canada Census

POVERTY & HUMAN IMPACTS FRAMING THE ISSUES • The incidence of low incomes for family heads with less then Grade 9 was 21.7% in 1995 and 20.8% for less then High School completion • 34% of visible minority families in N.S. have low incomes - more then twice the Provincial average • 39.8% of visible minority population have low incomes 1996 Stats Canada Census

POVERTY & HUMAN IMPACTS FRAMING THE ISSUES • Low - income women age 15-39 are 62% more likely to be hospitalized than women with adequate income; for age 40-65 = 92% more (GPI data) • Single mothers are 3 times more likely to consult health practitioners for mental/emotional problems (GPI) • 59% of N.S. inmates were unemployed prior to incarceration (GPI) • 42% of N.S. inmates have less then Grade 10 education (GPI) 1996 Stats Canada Census

POVERTY & HUMAN IMPACTS FRAMING THE ISSUES • HRM has 59,940 low income individuals (17.7% of the population) • HRM has 15,015 low income families • HRM has 7,000 low income single parents 1996 Stats Canada Census

POVERTY & HUMAN IMPACTS FRAMING THE ISSUES Now, let’s look at our specific situation in the Halifax Inner City

COMMUNITY OVERVIEW • Principally the area bounded by Cogswell, North, Argicola and Barrington • Appox. 5000 residents • Racially, culturally, economically, educationally and socially diverse • 40% African Nova Scotian • 60% of residents living in public housing • 20-25% unemployment

COMMUNITY OVERVIEW • High level of students not completing high school • Perception of rising violence • High concentration of Social Service Agencies and Non Governmental Organizations [ NGOs ] • Many Under-utilized Community Assets

HALIFAX INNER CITY BACKGROUND

BACKGROUND HICI BACKGROUND • HICI formed in 2000 by a group of concerned citizens and North End Council of Churches in participation with HRDC and NSDCS • Initial Mobilization of Community around Focus Hope Vision

MISSION & VISION OUR MISSION [ 2002 ]: To develop Employability and Well Being among the Citizens of a racially, economically, educationally, culturally and socially diverse Community by the means of Collaboration among all members and all resources within the Community.

MISSION & VISION Our Difference / How We [Should] Add Value • Embrace and Promote a Comprehensive, Inclusive Multi-Sector Strategy for Poverty Reduction • Support and Contribute to Building Competence & Capacity Structure(s) in the Community - NOT in the HICI • Fill the Facilitation Role with Government, Private Sector, NGO Service Providers, Institutions and Citizen Collaboration • Provide a Dedicated Focus on Policy & Process Issues to Help NGOs and Government which are concerned with service delivery - Provide link to Tamarack / Caledon Resource • Provide the Missing Link in work related Training and Learning for Job Generation and Income Growth in our Community

TAMARACK

MISSION & VISION OUR VISION IT’S ALL ABOUT…… • Help citizens living in our community to enable themselves to obtain personal and career development resources and improve their own living and well being.

Inner City Initiative Accomplishments to Date • Hippy – 95 families • Citizen Engagement • Pathways • Job Training - 60+ persons with over ½ now working • Collaborative Assessment Model & Career Exploration • Invited to become 1 of 13 Vibrant Communities and a Pan Canadian Learning Opportunity • Increased Strategic Linkage with Tamarack - now Trail Blazer Community • Governance – New Board now constituted • GPI • Inner City Portal • March 6TH Role of Business in Poverty Reduction • Community Outreach Workers • 2001 Study Tour of Flint Michigan – 28 Citizens

PARTICIPATION & JOB GENERATION *Under development

Community Engagement  Research Study Defining What Poverty Reduction Really Means in our Community

MISSION & VISION OBJECTIVES FROM COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Achieving the Overall Goal of Poverty Reduction  Which in our Community Means…...

MISSION & VISION OBJECTIVES FROM COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT • Being able to pay the bills on time - getting a month ahead • Having Choices related to employment and education • Addressing race and class issues • Social and economic inclusion • Having a Living Wage • More balance in Business, Recreation and Education

MISSION & VISION OBJECTIVES FROM COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT • Having the government and NGO service providers REALLY LISTEN to Us • Having some control over / say in the Community • Enabling the Community Development Process IN THE CITIZENS of the Community - Courses / PD • Being able to afford University Education [students] • Being able to live comfortably in your old age [seniors]

POVERTY REDUCTION Now, Derek is going to review what we believe are the key strategic elements & process for us to achieve our overall goal of Poverty Reduction

THE OVERACHING STRATEGIC APPROACH TO POVERY REDUCTION WE ARE WORKING WITH IS BASED ON COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY INITIATIVES Sherri Torjman and Eric Leviten-Reid, March 2003

COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY INITIATIVES Comprehensive Community Initiatives, is a wide range of promising best practices of holistic and inter-linked strategies and policies for Community Development.

COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY INITIATIVES “The new synthesis rejects addressing poverty, welfare, employment, education, child development, housing and crime one at a time. It endorses the idea that the multiple and interrelated problems of poor neighbourhoods require multiple and interrelated solutions… [Its proponents] insist on combining physical and economic development with service and education reform, and all of these with a commitment to building community institutions and social networks.” [Schorr 1997: 319].

COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY INITIATIVES CCIs are Neighbourhood-based efforts that seek improved outcomes for individuals and families as well as improvements in neighbourhood conditions by working comprehensively across social and economic sectors.

COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY INITIATIVES Additionally, CCIs operate on the principle that Community Capacity Building is a necessary component of the process of transforming distressed neighbourhoods. Community Capacity Building includes, for example, strengthening institutional capacity at the local level, enhancing social capital and personal networks, and developing local leadership capacity.

COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY INITIATIVES CCIs are also concerned with fostering a neighbourhood or community’s capacity to solve its own problems – such as high rates of crime or unemployment.

COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY INITIATIVES They are holistic Comprehensive community initiatives seek to break down the artificial boundaries of compartmentalization which characterize the way that governments and communities generally tackle various social and economic issues.

COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY INITIATIVES They are multisectoral Comprehensive community initiatives encourage partnering and collaborative work arrangements. They recognize the value of contributions from diverse backgrounds, networks and areas of expertise.

COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY INITIATIVES They are developmental A major principle that underlies comprehensive community initiatives is that they are not simply remedial interventions which seek to reduce or compensate for identified problems. Rather, these efforts aim to build the capacity of the community in a positive way from the perspective of decision-making and resilience.

COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY INITIATIVES They are inclusive Comprehensive community initiatives seek to be not only comprehensive but also seek to be inclusive with respect to the diversity of community members they involve. CCIs typically include the many diverse voices of groups, such as people with disabilities, recent immigrants, youth, seniors, Aboriginal Canadians and members of racial minorities and can reach across barriers with such approaches as inter-faith groups.

COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY INITIATIVES The inclusion of low-income community residents as full participants in governing our community-based poverty reduction initiative is fundamental to our governance model

COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY INITIATIVES They are concerned with both Objectives AND Process CCIs must not only have a sense of what they are seeking to achieve, with clear objectives/ outputs and carefully track and measure performance to objective CCIs must also build the capacity and infrastructure of the Process by which these objectives are reached.

COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY INITIATIVES Process Indicators - for example, • The creation of new partnerships between and among organizations that had not worked together in the past • The secondment of staff and other resources to the initiative • A review by local government or private business of their respective policies and practices • Career & Personal Development of Community Residents in CCI

COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY INITIATIVES The real value-added of CCIs is to establish effective structures that can enable the community to reduce poverty, change policy and introduce innovation. In fact, improved Process may be the major outcome of the community effort

COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY INITIATIVES So, how do we see using this planning doctrine in our strategic planning process to achieve our overall goal of Poverty Reduction

POVERTY REDUCTION OUTCOMES OUTPUTS MEASUREMENTS

POVERTY REDUCTION BROAD STRATEGIES STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

POVERTY REDUCTION So, where do we go from here?

STRATEGIC PLANNING • Currently underway  Phase II Comprehensive Community Strategic Plan • Collaborative Involvement of all Stakeholders • 1ST Round Draft by July

STRATEGIC PLANNING Outputs of Phase II Strategic Planning • Formal, Written Plan • Specific and Measurable Outputs / Objectives  3 Years • Longer Term Objectives  Address Structural and Root Causes • Detailed Implementation Plan with Costing and Funding Requirements • Successfully move to Phase III with Tamarack / McConnell

So, in closing, what are we asking for…

STRATEGIC PLANNING • Asking for your partnership with the Halifax Inner City Initiative in developing a Comprehensive Community Initiative Strategic Plan • Asking how can we work together in an inter-departmental and Multi Sectoral Collaborative Comprehensive Community Initiative here in the Halifax Inner City • Testing this new Model in the Halifax Inner City offers future opportunity to expand our successful test and our lessons learned to other neighbourhood communities in HRM and Nova Scotia • Opportunity for other community groups in HRM / NS to attend our planning meetings as observers • Engage the Corporate Sector and Non Government Organizations as key partners

THANK YOU NOW, LETS OPEN UP FOR DISCUSSION AND QUESTIONS

Welcome to Our Community!