Cutbacks having impact on city

By Dan Hilborn
Published March 3, 2004


Two years' worth of government cutbacks and service reductions are hurting the most vulnerable people in Burnaby, and there is no relief in sight, says a report released last month by a group of non- profit agencies working in North Burnaby.

"We're seeing more and more need," said Liz Dill, the community school co-ordinator at Gilmore community school and spokesperson for Norburn Interagency, the group that released the 11-page impact statement detailing how government cutbacks have affected the community.

"That is the thing that is most stressful for those of us working in the social service sector. All of these cuts affect the people that are most vulnerable," Dill said. "Yes, the government says they're putting more money into health care and education, but there are also substantial cuts to the ministries of Children and Family Development and Human Resources for those people who are already hurting and living on the edge."

Dill said the report goes a long ways toward dispelling the mistaken belief that North Burnaby is an affluent community that does not have the same social problems as other parts of the Lower Mainland.

In fact, according to statistics from the 2001 federal census, a total of 4,025 families in North Burnaby, 20 per cent of the entire community, live on incomes that fall below the official low income cut-off (LICO) rates, or poverty line. While the area's LICO rate is below the 23 per cent average for all of Burnaby, Dill said the high number is still a concern.

"For a community with so much growth in economic development and a lot of big businesses, it's pretty shameful," she said. "The other piece I feel really strongly about is that the people at non-profit organizations and a large number of public institutions are working harder and harder.

"All the groups involved with Norburn Interagency are trying to meet the needs and fill the gaps, but I'm not sure at what cost. We're spreading ourselves thinner and thinner. There is a commitment to meet the need and that's admirable, but sometimes the gaps aren't so obvious to find."

"The average citizen just does not realize how many people are living in a vulnerable situation," Dill said. "These are not necessarily people on income assistance, they're often the working poor - people who are trying to make a go of it and they're having difficulty. That's the emphasis for me, that there is this large segment of the population whose lives are already vulnerable and they may be further impacted. ... Oh, I hate that word 'impacted.'"

According to the document, one of the most significant changes of the past two years was the closure of the North Burnaby human resources office, part of an overall reduction of 82 staff positions in the Fraser region, covering every community from Burnaby to Boston Bar. North Burnaby residents who used to receive help from that office are now required to travel to Metrotown, a bus trip that costs $4 return.

The office closure is also expected to increase case loads for the staff at the Metrotown office, create a longer response time when any new child protection cases are found, and decrease the resulting quality of service.

In addition, the report detailed a series of cutbacks for two of the largest social service agencies in the community - Burnaby Family Life Institute and the Marguerite Dixon Transition House Society.

Burnaby Family Life has experienced a total $230,000 budget cut in the past two years, resulting in the loss of at least five of its programs and other services.

Gone is the First Nations family support program, 'A Better Place,' for battered women, court-ordered treatments for violent men and 'Moving On', a pre-employment service that offered counselling, life-skills training and a community kitchen program for people who are looking for work, of which 46 per cent of participants speak English as a second language.

Although government funding was also cut for BFL's immigrant women's support group, that service is still being provided thanks to the fundraising efforts of participants and some provincial gaming revenue.

The report notes that BFL gaming funds are now capped at $100,000 per year, down from the $240,000 received three years ago. In addition, the society expects to have its contract with the Ministry of Children and Family Development retendered this spring, with an expectation that future cuts will take place.

Equally affected is the Marguerite Dixon Transition House Society, operators of the only transition house in Burnaby for women and their children fleeing from an abusive relationship.

The society operates a 10-bed transition home and a five-unit second stage housing program.

Adele Wilson, executive director of the society, said her group received a 15 per cent cutback from the MCFD in 2001, further cuts in 2003, and was then affected by the $45 per month reduction in the income assistance shelter allowance.

Wilson said her group still receives most of its funding from government and has learned to live with the cutbacks since they were first introduced two years ago, however, it has not been easy.

"Our counselling program was cut; they took away $14,000," she said. "We had to really tighten our belts, but at that point in time we were able to hang onto the same amount of service delivery."

On its own, the cutback to counselling could have been absorbed within the larger, overall budget of the society, but then a series of other small cuts and funding changes began to limit the society's ability to make contingency plans, she said.

"The transition house and second stage housing were never cut - we never received less money," Wilson said. "However, having said that, we have historically, for the past 20 years, not had increases in funding even though union wages have gone up. In addition, our other costs, including taxes, go up.

"Historically, we're underfunded by at least $100,000 for as long as I've been here, but we've been able to offset the deficit with our contingency fund."

While staff in the Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services have written a report detailing the funding crisis for transition houses across the province, the recent cabinet shuffle means that report has not yet been seen by the new minister.

"We're hopeful it will mean an increase in funding but, because we have a new minister, we have no idea where that report is going now."

Wilson noted that her clients are often affected by cutbacks in other government services, such as the recent reduction in the monthly shelter allowance for families on income assistance.