Every human being needs a range of basic necessities, such as food, water, clothing, shelter, education, and health care, for his or her daily life. The economic condition of lacking these essential goods and services to meet basic needs of life is called poverty.

While poverty exists everywhere, it is most severe in developing countries, where more than one person in five lives on less than $1 a day – the threshold, which is being used by the World Bank to define extreme poverty. In 2001, over 1 billion people lived in extreme poverty and nearly half the world’s population (2.8 billion) lived on less than $2 a day.

In developed countries, poverty results in wandering homeless people and poor suburbs and ghettos. In these cases we talk about relative... (more)

Every human being needs a range of basic necessities, such as food, water, clothing, shelter, education, and health care, for his or her daily life. The economic condition of lacking these essential goods and services to meet basic needs of life is called poverty.

While poverty exists everywhere, it is most severe in developing countries, where more than one person in five lives on less than $1 a day – the threshold, which is being used by the World Bank to define extreme poverty. In 2001, over 1 billion people lived in extreme poverty and nearly half the world’s population (2.8 billion) lived on less than $2 a day.

In developed countries, poverty results in wandering homeless people and poor suburbs and ghettos. In these cases we talk about relative poverty (in contrast to absolute poverty), which is measured by comparing one group’s situation to the situations of those who are more advantaged.


INDIGENOUS PERSPECTIVE

Poverty affects Indigenous Canadians (on and off reservations) of all ages, but statistics show that Native Youth are the most likely to experience various levels of homelessness in comparison to the rest of Canada. Half of the Indigenous population is under the age of 25 and quickly growing in numbers, with 25% of youth living in poverty on the reservation, and affecting 40% off-reserve youth. (Canadian Census 2001) The available statistics indicate only the youth accounted for, the number of youth living in poverty and struggling with homelessness is much higher than stated.

The extremity of Indigenous poverty is influenced by the obvious income-related factors, low-income, income-insecurity, job-insecurity, and the lack of education and resources, but more so related to the loss of traditional lifestyle and the loss of arable land and safe drinking water from increasing pollution and environmental degradation by industrial companies. Individuals that relocate from the reservation into towns and cities have difficulties in adapting to an urban lifestyle, often encountering racism, discrimination in addition to low levels of education and skills, an inability to afford housing, as well as suffering from culture-shock.

In urban areas where Native homelessness and poverty is the highest, Indigenous Organizations are investing into affordable housing initiatives, education and skills-based training, and employment resources. There is concentration on healing and wellness to encourage personal growth and emotional stability, and a variety of cultural and language programs, traditional healthcare, substance abuse counselors, elders, daycare, to provide the individual with a supportive community.

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The causes of poverty vary: lack of education, war, natural disasters, political corruption, mental illness, and disability are among the most common causes.

Eliminating poverty in developing countries is the goal of international development initiatives and the many international organizations working in the field. Strategies on how to eradicate poverty are, however, as numerous as the causes of poverty itself. The World Bank’s anti-poverty strategy, for example, depends heavily on reducing poverty though the promotion of economic growth.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which are part of the Millennium Declaration, signed by the member states of the United Nations at the Millennium Summit in 2000, regard the elimination of extreme poverty as a much more complex task. Empowering women, combating HIV/AIDS and other diseases and ensuring sustainable development are among the goals and are all seen as necessary if extreme poverty is to be alleviated.

TakingITGlobal Theme page: Millennium Development Goals

References:

Urban Aboriginal Homelessness in Canada. Web Address:
http://action.web.ca/home/housing/resources.shtml?x=67148&AA_EX_Session=8b46d68eb91a7e97c195dc648f80763e

Urban Aboriginal Child Poverty. Pdf Address:
http://www.ofifc.org/ofifchome/page/Document/UP_FILE/20070723101231NVN.pdf

Structural Determinants of Aboriginal Youth Homelessness. Web Address:
http://www.fncfcs.com/pubs/vol3num3/Baskin_31.pdf

Poverty and Policy in Canada. Dennis Raphael, York University, 2007.


Organizations:

A multi-purpose resource site focusing on homeless and street-involved youths. Web Address:
http://www.streetconnect.org/

An international site for street kids around the world, information, resources, and advocacy. Web Address:
http://www.streetkids.org/

National Association of Friendship Centres. Web Address:
http://www.nafc-aboriginal.com/