Eradicating poverty has a positive impact on an individual’s health and the health of populations
October 17, 2024
By Marco Campana, Knowledge Mobilization and Social Action Coordinator, Access Alliance
On October 17th, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, we are reminded of the importance of our work. We are reminded how our clients and communities navigate the challenges that face them with resiliency and strength.
According to the United Nations: “Poverty is not solely an economic issue, but rather a multidimensional phenomenon that encompasses a lack of both income and the basic capabilities to live in dignity.”
The UN further explains that “Persons living in poverty experience many interrelated and mutually reinforcing deprivations that prevent them from realizing their rights and perpetuate their poverty.”
We facilitate access to services and address systemic inequities. Toronto’s diverse communities navigate systemic barriers and poverty with resiliency. Our vision is that our communities achieve health with dignity. We work with Toronto communities to meet the challenges the UN has identified, including:
Limited access to health care
In line with the UN declaration, we believe that healthcare is a basic human right and that everyone, irrespective of immigration status and socio-economic background, should have equitable access to healthcare services. We endorse, and are engaged in, a number of campaigns, such as Status for All, Health Network for Uninsured Clients, that champion universal healthcare access to all residents, and the creation of publicly funded coverage for prescription drugs and dental care.
Our research projects under this theme explore innovative health system level solutions to overcome access barriers to healthcare services and advance health equity. We work with relevant partners to pilot test innovative tools and models of healthcare.
Our Primary Health Care Team provides primary health care, illness and disease prevention and health education services to vulnerable immigrants and refugees of all ages who live in the City of Toronto. We also work in our local communities with people who are affected by the social determinants of health, which often include poverty, racialization of poverty, lack of status and health insurance, and other barriers.
Our Health Information Workshops and Groups give individuals and communities good information about what impacts their health and wellbeing, to help them make better choices.
In its seventh year of operation, the Non-Insured Walk-In Clinic (NIWIC) is a crucial service that operates under the umbrella of Health With Dignity.
Dangerous work conditions
We mobilize evidence to support advocacy campaigns geared at promoting fair wages and decent work, and reducing poverty and inequality, with attention to racialized communities. Our Community Services program also runs Employment and Workers’ Rights information sessions.
Unsafe housing
Racialized groups living in Toronto experience disproportionate levels of poverty, homelessness and inadequate housing, discrimination, and barriers to health care. We see research as a powerful social tool not just for better understanding the world, but also for creating a better world that is more equitable, fair and just. Our research priorities, projects and activities are guided by five values and principles: relevance, rigor, quality, ethical practice, and positive impact.
Our research focuses on historically marginalized communities who face disproportionate and systemic inequities. This includes racialized groups, immigrants/newcomers, refugees and people with precarious immigration status, 2SLGBTQI+ groups, and families living in low-income neighbourhoods. We investigate issues that tend to be under-explored by mainstream research institutions. Our research priorities and projects go beyond simply documenting poor health outcomes and offering Band-Aid solutions to alleviate symptoms. Instead, we work to understand root/systemic causes and social determinants of poor health outcomes and inequities in ways that can inform upstream and long-term solutions.
Our Community Health Assessments illuminate the impact that inadequate and increasingly unaffordable housing has on the communities we serve.
Lack of nutritious food
Economic well-being is one of the most critical determinants of health. Our Food Insecurity in Low Income Neighbourhoods projects examine root causes and impacts of labor market discrimination, precarious employment, low wage, and poverty faced by racialized groups, immigrants, and refugees. Food is a vehicle for change. At Access Alliance, it serves as one of the tools we use to advance our vision where Toronto’s diverse communities achieve health with dignity. Food has the power to unite, educate, empower, transform, prevent and manage disease – and of course, the power to nourish!
Our robust food services and programs are a testament to our enduring commitment to the central role food plays in the client and community-centred work we offer. We run Food Insecurity Programs – initiatives that target financial security and, in the interim, services that support emergency food relief efforts for clients who do not have enough money to buy food (a circumstance termed “food insecure”) and, Food Literacy Programs – initiatives that target skill building to influence dietary habits. These programs primarily aim to increase nutrition knowledge, cooking skills, and confidence to make decisions about food and health in order to change health habits. External factors such as food systems, the environment, and the social determinants of health and how they shape the use of these skills, are also considered in the teaching and learning of the skills.
Our Green Access Program uses the Green Roof at our AccessPoint location on Danforth as a launching pad for activities that build skills around food and gardening. The program brings together community development, environmental education, and health. The rooftop garden also provides community members – many who live in high-rise buildings with no personal outdoor space – the opportunity to participate in gardening activities.
Unequal access to justice and lack of political power
We are actively involved in advocacy campaigns and initiatives focused on overcoming systemic racism/racialization and other forms of discrimination (based on gender, sexual orientation, immigration status, disability, etc). This includes initiatives to promote routine collection of socio-demographic data on race, gender, sexual orientation, immigration status and other indicators as a way to document and overcome structural inequalities based on these determinants.
Our Among Friends (2SLGBTQI+) Programs support 2SLGBTQI+ people who are new to Canada as they face particular challenges including language barriers, lack of information about systems/services, social isolation, poverty, barriers to employment, as well as discrimination as a result of their sexual orientation and gender identity. We recognize the need for targeted and culturally appropriate programs and services that ensure all voices are heard and represented.
Whether you are looking for health services, community programs, to partner on community health initiatives for newcomers, or research to help support your work, we can help in your efforts to eradicate poverty, and achieve health with dignity.