This year marks 25 years since the unanimous House of Commons resolution to end child poverty in Canada. But in Alberta, child poverty rates are virtually unchanged. According to a report released Monday by the Alberta College of Social Workers, Public Interest Alberta and Edmonton Social Planning council, rates have only decreased 0.2 per cent since 1989, and the net number of children living in poverty has increased by 28,670 after population increases. Edmonton alone has more than 100,000 people living in poverty, 27,000 of which are children.
Adrienne, 50, never thought she would be poor. She’d always worked, spending nine years as a cashier in a grocery store and raising four children with her ex-husband in B.C. But when her recent relationship turned violent after an argument last February, she found herself running out of options.
She qualified for Income Assistance, which is $1247 a month, but quickly found she couldn’t keep up to her rent. After she fell behind, she was given 48 hours to vacate their townhouse in October. Since then, she and her son John have been living in a motel room. The transition and upset of routine was stressful for John, who has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The government is paying for their stay, so her monthly benefits have been reduced to $701 a month for food, transportation and all their other needs.
Adrienne is looking for a better place to live that will fit her limited budget and plans to go back to work but is currently a part of a transitional program for women who are escaping domestic violence. She says if poverty can happen to her, it can happen to anyone.
John, age nine, peeks out from the motel where he is living with his mom in Edmonton, Alberta.
Adrienne is still driving her ex's Jeep because she says her life would be so much worse without a vehicle.
Adrienne and John have a rare breakfast out as a break from the frozen foods and convenience foods they can have in the motel, which is only equipped with a microwave and mini-fridge.
Wiping frost from the window of the Jeep.
John colours in the living area of the motel room.
Adrienne gets medicine for John's cold on the desk she uses as a makeshift food prep area.
Adrienne prays with her son John in the motel they have been living in since October in Edmonton, Alberta.
Adrienne takes a minute to herself after John goes to bed. She is currently going to school five days a week as part of a transitional program for victims of domestic abuse but used to work as a cashier.