A picture is worth a thousand words.
The above graph is from “Income, Wealth, and Inequality” – published February 2103 by Citizens for Public Justice. The narrative below is taken in full from a Fact Sheet published by the CPJ. You can download the full report HERE. You can also download other fact sheets HERE.
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Over the past 30 years, the gap between Canada’s highest and lowest earning families has grown. On average, the highest earning 20% of Canadian families saw their after-tax incomes increase by 36.9% during this period, while “the average after-tax incomes of the lowest 20% rose by 20.3%” (Statistics Canada, 2010 as cited in Citizens for Public Justice, 2013, p. 13).
In contrast to the increasing wages of CEOs, middle-income positions are becoming rare and low-wage sectors now employ 25% of the population, paying approximately $13.33/hour in 2012 (Yalnizyan, 2011 as cited by Citizens for Public Justice, 2013, p. 10). According to Yalnizyan, this group of workers also experienced the largest decrease in hourly wages (an average of 2.25%) between 2009 and 2011 (as cited by Citizens for Public Justice, 2013, p. 12).
The volatility of wages for this earning group increases their household debt levels and leads to greater wealth inequality. Between 1984 and 2005, households in the lowest 10% experienced a decrease in wealth or assets from -$2100 to -$9600, (Citizens for Public Justice, 2013,p. 15). This group and other households making less than $50,000 are also six times more likely to have a high debt service ratio (Hurst, 2011 as cited by Citizens for Public Justice, 2013, p.17). As this group struggles with credit debt, an inability to accumulate assets and high debt servicing costs, the top 10% of the population hold 14% of total wealth (Canadian Business, 2012 as cited by Citizens for Public Justice, 2013, p.15). Read More…
Heart of the City volunteers have been super busy planning really exciting things leading up to our 10th anniversary festival on Saturday June 1 and Sunday June 2 at Giovanni Caboto Park. Bissell Centre was a lead player in the development of this festival and this year I am happy to say we are one of the sponsors of this vibrant local event.
I encourage you to come out to the park on June 1 and June 2 and enjoy a day or two out beneath the summer sky and take in some great local music
Bissell Centre is sponsoring, along with CJSR, the CD Compilation of those performing at the festival.
Visit the Heart of the City website for more information. Or you can check them out on their Facebook page.
-Mark
Bissell Centre has added decals to the van we use as a vital resource for our Food Services Program to help feed the inner-city community. With the help from Display Design Systems Ltd., these decals promote the programs we offer the community, such as Housing, Employment, Family Services, Recreation & Wellness… our Mission Statement (Inspiring People to Move from Poverty to Prosperity), and our contact information (phone number, website address, and social media platforms).
Our Food Services Program serves on average 350 meals per day for the inner-city community. We provide meals for our community members in the Drop-In Centre, the children in our Childcare Program, and for participants with our Employment Services Program. We also provide meals for external events hosted by Bissell Centre to help feed the community. One such event is New Year’s Day Dinner where we feed over 1,200 men, women, and children every January 1st!
For more information about our Food Services Program, please contact:
Kristy Berryman
Manager, Food and Recreation Services
Office: 780.423.2285, ext 114
E-mail: kberryman@bissellcentre.org
December 20th, 2012
In the spirit of giving this holiday season, Premier Alison Redford, along with Minister of Finance Doug Horner, and Edmonton-Ellerslie MLA Naresh Bhardwaj, served over 150 meals at the Drop-In Centre for members of the inner-city community.
Starting at 10:00am, the Premier and her ministers wore aprons, gloves, and Bissell Centre hoodies promoting our “Warming YEG” campaign. They served turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and pasta to the community members who rely on our food services program every day. The Drop-In Centre is an important part of Bissell Centre and addresses the basic needs of over 400 people per day within the inner-city.
Bissell Centre staff and volunteers sang Christmas carols while the meals were being served, which added to the festive atmosphere. The Premier greeted everyone she met with a smile and served meals until 11:00am when the lunch ended.
It was an honour for Premier Redford and her ministers to visit the Bissell Centre and serve a meal to our members during the festive season!
Mark Holmgren, CEO
Sometimes people give up. They lose hope. They feel they won’t ever get out of the problems they face. Sometimes people give up on other people. They get frustrated. They feel like they have tried so many times to help someone without any success. Why should I keep trying, we ask ourselves, when the other person isn’t doing all that much, if anything, to help themselves.
I have talked to people who think at some point society should just give up on the homeless and the addicted and spend limited resources on other things like children and youth. I understand such sentiment. I also believe in focusing on children and prevention; in fact I agree we are not doing enough of that work in general, and to be honest I would like to see Bissell Centre provide more support to children and families than we have in the past.
But here’s my problem. I don’t know what that “point” is when society might say, sorry you have had your chance and you are still homeless or a drug addict; so no more help for you.
Frankly I don’t believe human beings should say that to other human beings, but even if we did, how would society go about determining who gets cut off and then what would being cut off from any help look like?
Would we just accept people dying in the street, inflicting violence on one another, suffering through unbearable winters without a home? Would we refuse them food, health care, another chance?
At Bissell Centre, we have seen many people turn around their lives after years and years of addiction
and living on the street. We have seen ex-cons overcome their past and build productive futures. We have seen bad parents become good parents. We have seen the chronically unemployed find and keep good jobs. What we do not know is how long it will take to help someone help themselves create a better life.
Some need regular invitations to join a program; others are forced to seek help due to a crime they committed; and some just change their own lives over time because of experiencing caring people.
I knew one man who woke up after 40 years of alcohol abuse and just quit drinking – for good. I asked him why. He said he didn’t really know how to explain it, but he figured it was time to change. Then he just said thanks for being nice to him, for being there when he needed help.
Coming up with a system of writing people off might have some economic rationale, though I am hard pressed to think there are cost savings in such an approach. But from a human perspective, how can one human being determine the criteria for banishing another human being from hope and from help? Who among us has the wisdom and the moral calling to serve as such a judge?
I think about these things because people in the community sometimes talk about such things with me. With rare exception these kinds of questions are asked by caring people, people struggling with how to address huge, complex social problems with limited resources. I get it.
At Bissell Centre, we can’t help everyone, but we can do our best to try to help those who ask us for help, for those who walk through our doors throughout the week, and for those we come across in our work throughout the community.
We may not be able to help everybody, but I can tell you this. We don’t give up on people. We don’t give up on people even when they have given up on themselves.
This is not what we do because of some decree from our board of directors or from me as CEO. Rather it is what I observe each and every day from Bissell Centre staff. They don’t give up on our community members. It’s a part of our history and a part of our culture. It’s a fundamental element of our organization’s DNA.
We don’t give up on people. That’s just how it is at Bissell Centre.
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reprinted from the CEO's Report to Stakeholders (October 2012)
On Friday, September 7th at 12:09pm Bissell Centre staff, along with EFAN and many others, performed a Flash mob dance to our song “You Can Choose” from our rap video. 
September 9th was International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Day. We want everyone to know that FASD is 100% preventable if women avoid the use of alcohol during pregnancy.
Did you know that FASD affects more than 36,000 Albertans who may need services and supports that can cost up to $1.8 million each?
There are 12 FASD Service Networks that offer services and lifetime supports to Albertans with FASD and their caregivers.
Help make a difference. Register today for the Alberta FASD Conference being held in Edmonton October 22-23 http://bit.ly/QjPG1z
View our new FASD awareness music video
[youtube=”http://youtu.be/t1D7g2NoESE”]
From the creative musical minds of PlanIt Sound – http://www.planitsound.com
Music Performed by Fred Brenton
Video Produced and Directed by Blake McWilliam
Video Director of Photography Mike McLaughlin
Featured Artists – Omar Mouallem (AOK), Manuela Wuthrich and R.J. Cui
It has been five weeks since the flood that damaged our Bissell East building, and we are happy to report that the services we provide in the community have remained as steady as ever – thanks to the support of our generous donors, and a little creativity from our staff!
One shining example of this dedication to Bissell programs can be found in our resident cook, Ian Szabo. Despite losing our kitchen facilities to flood damage, Ian has committed to providing healthy lunches to our drop in and child care without interruption. Since the flood, Bissell Centre has had access to a refrigerated food truck (courtesy of PTI Group Inc.), and our neighbors at the nearby Mustard Seed have been kind enough to share their kitchen facilities with our hardworking chef; every day Ian works hard to transport food back and forth from that kitchen directly to our programs.
When asked about the extra work going into his cooking these days, Ian simply reminds us that for him, “It’s all worth it for the kids”. Thanks to the generosity of our community and Ian’s hard work and creativity in the face of this challenge, we have been able to continue to provide crucial food services to the people in greatest need. Like many who work and volunteer at Bissell, he recognizes the importance of seeing our services provided without interruption so that we can continue to change the face of poverty in our community. Our thanks goes out to Ian, and to all of you who have kept Bissell Centre thriving in these challenging times!
Help support our vision to eliminate poverty by volunteering at our Casino FUNdraiser and watch people win while raising money to help others!! With your help we will raise more than $70,000 to support our work with the people that need it most!
Bissell Centre has an opportunity for a group of select people to volunteer for an eight hour shift on Thursday July 19th or Friday July 20th at our casino fundraiser at Yellowhead Casino. The money raised that night will go towards running our programs and services and will help those ready to make significant changes in their lives by getting off the streets, finding employment, conquering addictions and more!
To volunteer please contact Amanda Almeida, Volunteer and Events Manager, by phone at 780.423.2285 ext. 134, or email at aalmeida@bissellcentre.org.
More information on our News and Events page!
By Mattie Cuvilier, Bissell Centre Adult Support Worker
This year I became a member of the board for Edmonton’s Annual Homeless Memorial. I had been to the event in the past and have worked with Edmonton’s homeless population for the last five years as a staff member at Bissell Centre and Youth Emergency Shelter (now called Youth Empowerment and Support Services). I desired to be a member of the board to pay my respects to those I had known that had past this past year, to meet fellow advocates for homeless rights, and be involved in a meaningful undertaking.
The Edmonton Coalition on Housing and Homelessness funded this event that was chaired by John Acheson and Marian Enow (of the Edmonton Public Library) and also had members from Boyle Street Community Services, George Spady, Mustard Seed, Hope Mission and others. The memorial was held May 11th and for the first time the memorial took place outside so that it could culminate around the newly erected homeless memorial statue and also to simulate the lives of our fallen brothers and sisters whom had to spend much of the last number of years braving the elements.
Music was provided in the form of a ceremonial Aboriginal drummer and a Scottish bagpiper and also featured poignant speeches from Gary Moostoos (of Boyle Street Community Services) and John Acheson. Approximately 200 people came to mourn the approximate 43 individuals who passed away this year. The event itself ran smoothly and was a success. It was covered by local media and will hopefully bring more awareness to the life threatening danger that our cities homeless face on the streets in one of Canada`s coldest, most dangerous, and conservative cities.
To watch a video of the memorial click here.
As you may know, Bissell Centre has been operating a social enterprise for many, many years; it is called the Bissell Centre Thrift Shoppe and last year its revenues funded itself, its southside donations centre, and our Community Closet which gives away clothing to thousands of people each year.
Bissell Centre is exploring other social enterprise opportunities and options – from small scale social businesses to rather large ones, and I will be reporting on all of our social enterprise activity over the next 12 months.
At this point I want to share with our visitors an excellent Introduction to Social Enterprising that was researched and written by our 2011 board intern, Uno Okon, who came to us from the University of Alberta Non Profit Board Development Program.
The report identifies various definitions of terms that are helpful, the why’s of social enterprise, implications to non profits, as well as provides some case studies. Please feel free to down load it and share it with others.
Click Here: Social Enterprise Report
