Hamilton invests in human infrastructure - targeting poverty

NRU
May 11, 2016
By Leah Wong

The City of Hamilton is prioritizing its human infrastructure in an eff ort to reduce poverty levels in the city and improve housing for its most vulnerable residents.

Last week Hamilton general issues committee voted to invest $50-million in poverty reduction initiatives over the next 10 years. About $20-million will be allocated to creating additional affordable housing units and repairing existing units.

“Human infrastructure is our most important infrastructure,” Mayor Fred Eisenberger told committee. “If people do not have a path to prosperity I think that is a huge challenge that we cannot ignore.”

While Hamilton has found ways to improve the lives of some residents living in poverty, Eisenberger noted that the city hasn’t been successful in reducing poverty rates. About 19 per cent of Hamilton residents live below the low-income cutoff threshold and child vulnerability rates in the city have been stagnant over the last decade.

By committing to reduce poverty over the next decade Ward 5 councillor Chad Collins said the city is signalling to senior levels of government that more needs to be done to address poverty levels in the city. He said this commitment shows that while the city wants help from the provincial and federal governments, it is willing to be proactive and start addressing the issue.

“We’re saddled with these issues from the province and the feds,” said Collins. He noted that since the province downloaded responsibility for social housing the city has been struggling both to maintain existing units and to build more.

Hamilton will continue to leverage existing programs and resources and work with community partners in its efforts to reduce poverty. The $50-million committed by the city will come from two sources. The $20-million for affordable housing will come from the extension of the payback terms for existing city loans to affordable housing providers by five years.

An additional $3-million annually over 10 years is expected to be drawn from the dividend uplift the city expects from the merger of Horizon Utilities and other local utilities.

Supporters of the initiative said that this investment makes financial sense. In a deputation to committee Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton acting president Marvin Caplin noted that higher poverty rates tend to result in greater policing and public health costs and can hinder economic development.

“[This investment] makes economic sense ... People choose to bring businesses to a community because of the way that the community operates and the nature and tone of that community,” said Caplin.

Flamborough Chamber of Commerce executive director Arend Kersten agreed that there are economic benefits associated with reducing poverty. He says economic development plays an important role in poverty reduction and the entire community benefits when there are more job opportunities.

But the city must include limits to the support some residents receive.

“As partners in a caring community we acknowledge that some of our vulnerable and most impoverished neighbours will need a lifetime of support,” said Kersten. “But, the [chamber] also believes that where ever possible Hamilton’s approach to poverty reduction should be reflective of a time-limited hand up strategy as opposed to a limitless hand-out one.” While committee has approved $50-milion over the next decade to reduce poverty, the city has yet to develop its poverty reduction plan.

Several council members were concerned about committing funding before a plan is in place. Ward 12 councillor Lloyd Ferguson indicated that he would have preferred council to direct staff to create a detailed plan before allocating funding. The federal government has yet to release its plans for housing in the country and he is concerned that the city does not know how its plan will link to federal priorities.

Committee directed staff to develop an integrated poverty reduction plan and present it to committee in October. The plan will be developed following consultation with stakeholders including community partners, service providers and residents living in poverty. The plan will include a set of indicators that the city can use to measure the success of its initiatives.