I think that it is time that the City takes a more active role in fighting issues like poverty and hunger in Cornwall.
Currently, they are conducting their first ever enumeration for homelessness in Cornwall and that’s a good start, but what about invisible poverty? I’m talking about those people who have to choose between paying their rent and buying food for their family.
This week, the Agapè Centre announced that it is facing a funding shortage of 31 percent over last year.
The centre does not receive funding from any level of government and claims to have tightened its belt by around 40 percent since 2016.
On the other end of it, the Agapè Centre provides support to 165 people who use its soup kitchen every day and around 600 families who use their food bank every month, and yet, it receives no support from City Hall, which is one block down from their building.
The City does provide money to support some non-profit outside agencies including Centre Culturel de Cornwall, The Cornwall BMX Club, Your Arts Council, Not so Amateurs, Amateurs Cornwall and Cornwall Waterfest. Each of those organizations I just listed received between $1,000 and $15,000 this year from the City of Cornwall and while those figures are not a lot, they do send an important statement about the City’s commitment to dealing with hunger in Cornwall.
That being said, solving any problem takes effective management, you can’t just throw money at it and especially not taxpayer money. Clearly hunger is a problem in Cornwall and the City already spends a significant amount on its Social Services department, which is good, social services should be a priority of government in the same way that Economic Development is.
I believe that poverty is an issue that can be fought and managed, but only with the right strategy. I’d like to see a day where the Agapè Centre’s services are not needed, so if it means spending tax dollars now so we can reach that goal, then I’m all for it. Eliminating and reducing funding for social services should be a goal, but only if the problems that they fight, like homelessness and hunger are solved.
There are only so many dollars to go around, whether they be tax dollars or donor dollars. If they City wants to be a part of the solution and really wants to save money, then it should be actively involved in reducing the need for services like the Agapè Centre.
