Together Against Poverty Society

Canada and British Columbia used to have excellent social programs. We had very little actual poverty (defined as homelessness, hunger and lack of medical care.) Sadly, for years now, our government has cutback programs for the people; cutback the very programs that create and support the warp and weft of civil society in Canada. The result is that our citizens are increasingly ending up on the streets: Hungry, homeless and sick.

Victoria also has the enviable quality of having the most hospitable climate in Canada. So anyone who is homeless and mobile in Canada comes to either Vancouver or Victoria for the winter.

There are a number of organizations which help people who are on the street and we are looking into how we can help these organizations.

Barb and Leo both know just how perilous peoples so called secure lifestyles are. For most, it is one good illness or accident away. For others, it is slipping over the edge into a depression that loses the job, that loses the apartment, that loses the connections with friends and family, that ends up on the street and then into the pych ward – if there is room, then one final step into the morgue.

For Barb, it was arthritis. All of a sudden she could not work. Boom. On to an extremely meager pension. It could happen to any one of us.

The Together Against Poverty Society – TAPS does its best to help people before they end up on the street and help those who are being helped to stay healthy.

From the TAPS website :

TAPS is the only organization in Victoria providing free, face-to-face advocacy for people with income assistance, disability benefits and tenancy issues.

TAPS assists over 3,000 people in Victoria each year.

TAPS helps all types of people – from professionals who have just lost their jobs to people who have seen their health decline from living on income assistance (read more about who we help – link to ‘who we help’).

Barb was an advocate for handicapped persons entering the system for several years, until her own health forced her to quit. So, she painted Eating is a Beautiful Thing after an encounter with hungry people on the street and she gave it to TAPS to use for fundraising.

We are selling reproductions of the painting as a fundraiser for TAPS. We know that they will be able to put it to uses that will help us both sleep better at night.