The City of Delta is looking for residents from diverse backgrounds to participate in a new Delta Community Voices Table to work together on projects aimed to reduce poverty.
Indigenous, racialized and new immigrant residents are encouraged to apply.
There are eight positions at the table and participants are to meet up to six times over the next 10 months.
The group will advise service providers and community partners to help identify and eliminate barriers and, according to the city, they will have an opportunity to develop and work on a project that improves the well-being of Delta’s most vulnerable residents.
The deadline to apply is Oct. 26.
Discussed at city council earlier this year, the new Delta Poverty Reduction Action Plan contains recommendations that are to be incorporated into Delta's Social Action Plan.
The report notes that while Delta is a relatively affluent community, with a smaller proportion of low-income residents than that of Metro Vancouver, higher average annual household incomes, fewer homeless people, and a lower crime rate, pockets of poverty do exist throughout the city.
It impacts a disproportionate number of seniors, youth, immigrants, Indigenous residents and people with disabilities.
Current estimates show that around 10,000 people in Delta live below the poverty line (about 10 per cent). That number increases to 14 per cent for visible minority groups and 30 per cent for recent immigrants. Those groups are especially vulnerable during this period of high inflation and the rising cost of living.
There has also in the last 10 years been a significant increase in Delta households on the BC Housing wait list.
According to the Delta Housing Needs Assessment, more than 30 per cent of renter households were identified as being within a core housing need in Delta, compared to seven per cent for homeowners in Delta.
In the last decade, there has also been an increase in residents who are on the BC Employment and Assistance Program.
The Poverty Action Plan document notes that hidden poverty is by nature difficult to address due to a lack of understanding of who is being affected and the barriers they face.
For more information about the Delta Community Voices Table, email Delta’s Poverty Reduction Coordinator at [email protected] or visit https://www.delta.ca/community-culture/social-planning/reducing-poverty-delta.
