Working families hit hard by economy

The Regina Leader-Post
Annie McLeod

REGINA -- Souls Harbour Rescue Mission in Regina is reminding people to remember the poor, even though Saskatchewan's economy is relatively strong.

Michelle Porter, executive director of the mission, said the boom Saskatchewan has experienced has actually been detrimental to many less fortunate families.

"The rising cost of groceries and gas, and whatever else has been going up recently, has affected the working poor," she said. "People who used to ... barely make ends meet can no longer make ends meet."

Combined with an expansion in programs the mission offers, such as the women and family emergency shelter, there has been a change in the number and type of people coming to the mission for assistance.

Porter said that while the traditional type of people, such as those with life control problems, are still attending the mission, there has been an increase in the number of families coming in.

"We are seeing moms with their children and single dads, and even some intact families," she said.

A number of families coming to the mission have been evicted from their homes. Porter said they get evicted because their landlords will not fix the homes. Because of the lack of affordable housing in the city, the people have nowhere to go.

"When the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and I just want to remind people that we're still open 365 days a year, serving 300 meals a day, and sleeping a hundred homeless people a night," said Porter.

Wayne Hellquist, CEO of the Regina and District Food Bank, said he has seen the same trend in terms of a larger number of people who can no longer afford the costs of living, despite good economic conditions. The trend at the food bank is mainly affecting the working poor, who are often chronically underemployed and earning minimum wage, as well as seniors on fixed incomes.

"As costs for housing go up, as costs for food supplies go up, and as costs for home heating and other essentials continue to rise, those people are impacted the most," said Hellquist. "There are many people who are benefiting greatly from the economy, but certainly those who were being challenged previously are probably more at risk today than they were previously."

Another challenge the food bank faces is that even though the number of people needing its support is increasing, there hasn't been a subsequent increase in cash donations. The food bank has actually seen a decrease in corporate support.

"We continue to be concerned about the issues, we continue to be concerned about the trends that we're seeing, and like Souls Harbour, we have limited capacity to be able to address increased demand without ongoing support from the public," said Hellquist.