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Delta granted $50K for poverty-reduction project

Aim to improve access to food, affordable transportation for racialized and Indigenous residents
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Delta City Hall. (James Smith photo)

The City of Delta is getting $50,000 as part of the latest round of provincial funding for poverty-reduction projects.

On Tuesday (May 10), the province announced Delta, Langley Township, Richmond and Whistler would be getting a total of $250,000 in grants to support local projects from the third intake of the Union of B.C. Municipalities’ (UBCM) Poverty Reduction Planning and Action Program, which supports local government projects or plans to reduce poverty at the local level, according to a press release.

The intent of the funding is for local governments to develop initiatives that are aligned with the province’s poverty-reduction strategy, TogetherBC.

“Local governments are best suited to identify chronic and emerging issues in their own communities,” Nicholas Simons, Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, said in a press release. “These grants will support action at the local level. Municipalities will work with community partners to develop strategies that can break the cycle of poverty, strengthening communities and improving the lives of all British Columbians.”

Delta will use the funds for its Building Back Fairer project, which aims to improve access to food and affordable transportation for racialized and urban Indigenous residents.

SEE ALSO: City commits $2,000 a month to fight food insecurity in North Delta

Other projects funded include a food program at Aldergrove Community Station House ($50,000), a monthly community resource drop-in session in Richmond to better connect people in need ($50,000), and research to better assess food insecurity in Whistler, Squamish, Pemberton and the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District and identify solutions ($100,000).

All the projects will involve key community partners such as community-based poverty-reduction organizations, people with lived experience of poverty, local First Nations or Indigenous organizations and local businesses.

“These projects build upon local government relationships and will aid participants in identifying the unique needs of vulnerable and low-income people in each community,” UBCM president Laurey-Anne Roodenburg said in a press release. “This collaborative approach will assist in building ownership locally along with strategies that address the grassroots challenges in each place.”

Around the province, 18 projects spanning 24 local governments will receive a total of more than $1 million from this intake. To qualify, projects, plans and strategies must focus on one or more of TogetherBC’s priority action areas, which include families, children and youth, education, housing, employment, income supports, and social supports.



editor@northdeltareporter.com

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James Smith

About the Author: James Smith

James Smith is the founding editor of the North Delta Reporter.
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