Media Release For immediate release November 24, 2021 25th Annual BC Child Poverty Report Card Finds 1 in 5 Children Poor and Dramatic Rise in Income Inequality (Vancouver BC) Today, First Call Child and Youth Advocacy Society released the 25th annual BC Child Poverty Report Card finding that not much has changed for poor children and their families. In 2019, the year this report covers, there were 156,560 (18.0%) children and youth living in poor households with many living in deep poverty. At 18.0%, BC had a slightly higher child poverty rate than Canada at 17.7%. We are encouraged to see th ..read more

First Call is pleased to join with other organizations and our own Living Wage for Families BC Program in calling on Premier John Horgan and the BC government to bring in a 10-day sick pay program that is seamless, applies to all workers, replaces full wages and ensures sick workers can’t be fired for staying home. We know that providing paid sick leave reduces inequality. Over half of BC workers have no paid sick leave. For workers earning less than $30,000 — who are disproportionately women and racialized workers — that figure rises to 89%. Read the open letter to government here. The post O ..read more

Submission to Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services First Call’s September 2021 budget submission, highlighted five priority areas for children, youth, and their families, with recommendations for next year’s budget: Poverty reduction measures and income security for families Investments in early childhood development and prevention services Support youth in and from care and their caregivers, including kinship caregivers Improve health and safety for vulnerable children, youth, and families Improve support for K-12 and post-secondary education access We prefaced our r ..read more

The BC Government’s 2022 budget consultations are underway and First Call has developed an overview of our key priorities for your reference. First Call’s submission reminds government that we have a long way to go in ending child poverty with 1 in 5 BC children still growing up poor and more than half of BC’s poor children living in lone-parent families.  The continuing legacy of colonialism is evident in the high poverty rates for Indigenous children. Other groups disproportionately affected by poverty are new immigrant and racialized children, children with disabilities, and youth leav ..read more

Media Release For immediate release December 9, 2020 2020 BC Child Poverty Report Card Finds Little Change in Number of Children Growing up Poor (Vancouver BC) Today, First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition released the 24rd annual BC Child Poverty Report Card finding that not much has changed for poor children and their families. In 2018, the year this report covers, there were 159,570 (18.5%) children and youth living in poor households with many living in deep poverty. “Once again, using Statistics Canada’s Census Family Low Income Measure after tax, our report finds one in five c ..read more

Media Advisory For immediate release December 7, 2020 (Vancouver) On Wednesday, December 9, First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition will release the 2020 BC Child Poverty Report Card on child poverty in British Columbia. The 2020 Child Poverty Report Card presents the latest statistics on child and family poverty in BC. What: 2019 BC Child Poverty Report Card Media Launch When: 9:30am – 10am, Wednesday, December 9, 2020 Where: Via Zoom at First Call’s Monthly Coalition Meeting Please RSVP to info@firstcallbc.org and we will send you the Zoom link. The 2020 Child Poverty Report Card w ..read more

MEDIA RELEASE Former youth in care and allies “19th Birthday Party”  WHO: Youth from foster care, alumni of care, supporters and allies WHAT: A celebration of the resilience of youth transitioning from government care WHEN & WHERE: Saturday, August, 22nd – from 12 noon to 3pm. Over virtual platform “zoom” – https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82931344344 WHY: This public celebration of youth from care is organized to let the Government and public know that we care about the policies and legislation affecting youth in/from care, because every youth deserves to look forward to their 19th Birthda ..read more

On April 23 the BC Coalition to End Youth Homelessness issued a Special Report on COVID-19 and Youth Homelessness highlighting impacts of the pandemic, some promising practices and making nine recommendations for provincial government action. Click here to read their report ..read more

Today, Fostering Change, issued a media release today praising the provincial government for responding to concerns about youth aging out of care in this pandemic. Yesterday, government announced that youth who turn 19 during the COVID-19 pandemic will have their care agreements extended, and that those on the Agreements with Young Adults Program will continue to receive support. This is good news for youth in government care. “We’re pleased that the government listened to the voices of youth,” commented Susan Russell, Fostering Change’s Campaign Organizer. “Aging out during the COVID-19 pande ..read more

Too many families were living in poverty before COVID-19 so the challenge is two-fold; ensuring that the most vulnerable receive financial supports and access to services and ensuring that those who now face unemployment or reduced work hours receive timely assistance. This week the federal government announced a number of financial benefits and other initiatives for individuals and families. A summary of the relief package is available from Prosper Canada and Dr. Jennifer Robson at Carleton University developed this plain language guide to assist individuals with assessing which benefit plan ..read more