Reports find B.C.’s child poverty rate trending upwards

A new report by First Call Child and Youth Advocacy Society reveals a sharp rise in child poverty across the province.

The report finds one in six children are living below the poverty line and if the provincial government does not take action, that number will increase.

Adrienne Montani, the society's executive director, says she does not recall ever seeing the situation this dire.

“In fact, it had been coming down slowly due to a variety of issues, measures being taken by government. Now it’s just bouncing right back up and it looks like if it keeps going, it may go back beyond where it was before 2021 next year.”

Montani credits the pandemic supports that were put in place in 2020 as a factor that helped families living in poverty.

“The pandemic supports were withdrawn and we’re seeing that without that income support, the child poverty rate is rising dramatically,” explains Montani.

Among the most vulnerable families are children in single parent households – they account for just over 45 per cent of those living in poverty.

“They can’t work if they don’t have childcare and so we’ll see families trapped in poverty, intergenerational poverty If we don’t do something now.”

Montani hopes the report is a call to action for the provincial government to step up.

The report makes 25 policy recommendations – among them are calls to increase minimum wage, scale up affordable housing, and improve access to child-care and transportation.

“If things continue as they are, families are going to continue to be unhoused, and that puts kids at risk”, adds Montani.

‘Sheer demand is skyrocketing’

The Vancouver non-profit organization Backpack Buddies is dedicated to providing food to children across B.C.

The organization says their waitlist is currently at 2,000 kids.

"Just the sheer demand for what we're doing is skyrocketing and the pressures on families are just mounting”, says Executive Director Emily-Anne King.

She adds that the waitlist can’t be erased overnight, but the organization is doing everything it can to ensure every child has food to eat.

"This time of year is crucial. It is critical that we raise the money we need to start tackling that waitlist and supporting more children that are going hungry."

The initiative ensures that children who rely on school meal programs during the week have enough to eat on the weekends when school is not in season.

However, the urgent need is putting more pressure on families and the organization estimates one in five children in B.C. are expected to go hungry.

"Theres a sense of hopelessness within families, there's a lot of newly vulnerable people that were never concerned about putting food on the table for their children," says King.

The society is pleading with the public for more donations in order for them to be able to address the waitlist and growing demand.

In a statement to CTV News, the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction says they are working to increase the B.C. Family Benefit to provide extra support for single parents, deliver access to affordable child-care, and establish food programs in schools.