What follows may be seen as a harsh message but I hope it will be an ‘eye-opener’ in our quest for justice and mercy in the world around us.
The last line of today’s Gospel records what may be a familiar phrase: “The poor you will have with you always”. What did Jesus mean by this?—initially directed to Judas but used by many today as a statement of fact—the poor will always be there.
Poverty is not rooted in laziness or abuse of Social Support Systems. Poverty is rooted in our economic system which promotes consumerism and accumulation of wealth.
But should there be poverty in Canada? In the USA? In England? Or consider the countries of Africa where many more people live in poverty than not. So why is there such widespread poverty?
Poverty exists when individuals lack resources to provide the necessities of life—food, shelter, and clothing. Poverty impacts every aspect of a person’s life, from social matters to health.
For example, in Niagara some 17,000 students in 200 schools participate in a breakfast, lunch, and snack program operated by volunteers through Niagara Nutrition Partners. Funding is provided by the province, United Way, and contributions from a number of charitable organizations and individuals. For many students this may be the only food they see each day.
In Niagara last year over 73,000 individuals accessed a variety of community programs related to support for food, shelter, or clothing. That is about 1 in 7 residents of Niagara having housing and/or food security problems.
And this is happening in an area where (aside from Covid disruptions) there seem to be lots of jobs. The problem is that these jobs are imbedded in an economy that relies of cheap labour, lots of part-time work, rarely medical or dental benefits, no vacation pay or statutory holiday pay (only required if one works more than 24 hours a week) or paid sick leave. At the same time there is not a lot of affordable housing available. The average cost of a modest home in St. Catharines now exceeds $500,000 and such costs impact on demand and rates for rental accommodation.
And yes, to fix such work related matters the rest of us have to be willing to pay more for goods and services, and yes I know that the cost of food is inflating, and gas prices are astronomical. It is very much a matter of caring and sharing—living out the commandment to love our neighbour (all our neighbours) as best as we are able.
And yes, to fix such work related matters our politicians, particularly at the provincial level have to step up and ‘do for others what they would have done unto them’. After a 3 year delay the minimum wage in Ontario is finally rising to $16.00 an hour. However, a living wage in Niagara as calculated by the Ontario Living Wage Network is $18.90 an hour based on the cost of living and a 35 hour work week. Thus a person with a minimum wage job could be as much as $5,000.00 to $6,000.00 short of security per year.
There are at least 62 living wage employers in Niagara, one of which is the Church of the Transfiguration starting in 2022. But, there are thousands of employers in Niagara.
Poverty is not rooted in laziness or abuse of Social Support Systems. Poverty is rooted in our economic system which promotes consumerism and accumulation of wealth.
Jesus said that whatever we do to the least of these (people) we also do to him. He taught that we are to care for the hungry, the homeless, the sick and the lonely.
There are a myriad of ways we can and do help—for example food for community care, food for St. George’s breakfast program, clothing to Goodwill and the Salvation Army and so on. But we really need to participate in and press for changes to a system that can leave 1 in 7 people at risk in our own Niagara neighbourhood.