Disrupting pathways into poverty with creativity, futures thinking, and play

VCC's Meaghon Reid says she isn't surprised that people are turning to these options with a vacancy rate of less that 2%

'Everyone deserves to have a roof over their head': How some are turning to motels and campgrounds for housing

VCC's Meaghon Reid discusses the City's new investments and increases to property taxes with CBC

Providing wraparound supports for domestic violence victims

Lee Stevens discusses the need for a basic income for Alberta to create certainty and security for people

A Guaranteed Income? Alberta Shows the Need

VCC's Ameera Shivji discusses the tradeoffs people are making as cost of energy in Calgary continues to rise

Cost of energy forcing many to go without necessities, StatsCan survey says

The hourly wage needed for a modest standard of living has increased by more than a dollar

News release: Calgary’s 2023 Living Wage is $23.70

VCC, along with municipalities across Canada, released new hourly wages reflecting what it costs to live

The top 5 things to know about Calgary’s new living wage

VCC's Tessa Penich and Meaghon Reid discussed the new living wage with several news media outlets

$100,000 income no longer enough: Families struggle to meet modest living standard, report says

VCC says it's pleased to the City moving forward with some relief for Calgarians living on low incomes

City proposing $10 million in emergency funding in response to skyrocketing electricity fees

VCC's Ameera Shivji and Brendan Haley from Efficiency Canada discuss how federal energy efficiency programs are not working for low-income Canadians in their Edmonton Journal op-ed

Opinion: Western Canada left out of federal energy efficiency supports

VCC's Lee Stevens and the School of Public Policy's Ron Kneebone discussed the study with Live Wire.

40,000 Calgary households could be at risk of homelessness: UCalgary report

A new University of Calgary report is shedding light on financial challenges that put people at risk of homelessness and policy interventions that could make a difference

How many housed Calgarians are at risk of homelessness?

Breaking down barriers for equitable access to sports 

VCC launched a new End Poverty Month campaign discussing how inflation has impacted the community

Calgary's new faux boutique sheds light on the struggles of rising costs

From October 17-31, the public is invited to Unaford, a faux luxury storefront highlighting the growing issue of poverty in Calgary

Calgary’s Newest Luxury Store Sells Toilet Paper

The John Howard Society’s Cassandra Curtis discusses system barriers encouraging repeated criminal offenses among people remanded while waiting for trial and sentencing

Deconstructing the system of remanding people into custody

Meaghon Reid discusses how the lack of affordable housing may lead to younger people leaving Alberta

‘I live in instability’: Survey shows one in four Calgarians can’t meet basic financial needs

The importance of Indigenous ways of knowing and being

Join us to learn, engage and act on poverty reduction in our community

Making Decisions for the Future: Ending Poverty Once and for All

Adult Literacy and Foundational Learning 

Vibrant Communities Calgary assumed the guiding role for the implementation of the Enough for All strategy. The work of the strategy may look complex and sometimes it is, but it’s our job to help untangle the complexity and work with others toward clarity, finding ways to shape how we all work together to end poverty in our city.

Vibrant Communities Calgary (VCC) has been working to advocate for long-term strategies that address the root causes of poverty in Calgary for many years. Momentum and United Way of Calgary and Area came together and jointly founded Vibrant Communities Calgary (VCC), one of several Vibrant Communities sites across the country. VCC was launched in 2004 as a new organization that could focus on poverty reduction coordination, advocacy, community awareness and providing a voice to people with lived experience in poverty.

Momentum and United Way of Calgary and Area came together and jointly founded VCC.

The Enough for All Strategy was adopted by Calgary City Council and the United Way of Calgary and Area's Board of Directors.

VCC was appointed as the steward of the Strategy.

VCC completed the review of the Enough for All Strategy and in May, a three-year memorandum of agreement between The City of Calgary, the United Way of Calgary and Area, Momentum, and Vibrant Communities Calgary was signed.

The Enough for All strategy received a traditional Blackfoot name, iih kanii tai staiiwa (ee-skunit-des-si). It means everything is there.

When Vibrant Communities Calgary assumed the guiding role for the implementation of the Enough for All strategy, it assumed collective impact precondition number five, the role of the backbone organization. VCC will provide supports and assistance in implementing principles, increase and deepen awareness of poverty in our community, and spotlight initiatives that are reducing poverty. In addition, VCC will facilitate sharing, advance policy, assist in accessing resources to advance the work, and convene an annual conversation.

Enough For All is Stewarded by Vibrant Communities Calgary

In this episode of Let’s Talk Poverty, Meaghon Reid sits down with mental health and addictions advocate Karen Gosbee to discuss the realities of domestic violence, the importance of systems working together to create wraparound supports and how we can shift the mental models surrounding mental health and addictions.

Episode 22: Shifting the Models of Support

In this episode of Let’s Talk Poverty, Meaghon Reid sits down with Catriona Le May Doan, President and CEO of Sport Calgary,to talk about creating a Calgary where sport is accessible to all, breaking down barriers to provideequitable community sports programs and representation in sports. 

In this episode of Let’s Talk Poverty, Jaclyn Silbernagel connects with Elder Wanda First Rider to talk about Indigenous ways of knowing and being, the importance of ceremony and teachings, and her perspective on poverty and how everything we need is here.

In this episode of Let’s Talk Poverty, Meaghon Reid chats with Anna Murphy, a community advocate for 2SLGBTQIA+ and women’s issues, about trans rights and thestate in Alberta, the poverty statistics of trans individuals, how to create inclusive communities and what allyship truly looks like.

In this episode, Jaclyn Silbernagel chats with Meaghon Reid, Executive Director of Vibrant Communities Calgary, about the state of poverty in Calgary, VCC’s Beneath the Surface report,  and what individuals can do in their spheres of influence to affect poverty reduction and build community wellbeing.

Episode 18: Looking Beneath the Surface of Poverty in YYC

In this episode, Jaclyn Silbernagel sits down with Salimah Kassam, leader of Rise Calgary, to explore what it means to move from a scarcity to strength mindset, the concept of designing systems that create slack for people, and what some of the roadblocks are to shifting perspectives on poverty.

Episode 17: Shifting Mindsets – Scarcity to Strength

In this episode, Meaghon Reid sits down with Adam Legge, president of the Business Council of Alberta, to explore what the role of business is in society, how that role is evolving, links between business and a healthy society, and the concept of shared prosperity.

Episode 16: Shared Prosperity – the Role of Business in Society

In this episode, Jaclyn Silbernagel sits down with James Stauch, executive director of the Institute for Community Prosperity at Mount Royal University, to explore social innovation and social purpose, and how systems mapping is a wayfinding tool that helps deepen one’s understanding of a problem.

Episode 15: Social Innovation, Mapping Systems & Building Trust

In this episode, Jaclyn Silbernagel sits down with Jessica Cope Williams, Co-CEO of Kindred Connections Society, to explore how an organization’s name can act as a barrier to those trying to access services and what it means to be a connection first organization. 

Episode 14: Mental Health and Connection First Strategies

In this episode, VCC’s Meaghon Reid sits down with Steacy Pinney, CEO of Calgary Reads, to explore how Calgary Reads is spreading early literacy across Calgary through the Dandelion strategy, and the importance of literacy and prevention in the early years. 

Episode 13: Literacy & the Dandelion Strategy

In this episode, Jaclyn Silbernagel sits down with Sarah Sinclair, a Lawyer who leads the Indigenous justice program Sahwoo mohkaak tsi ma taas (Blackfoot for “Before Being Judged”) at Calgary Legal Guidance, to discuss creating equal access to justice for Indigenous people, how Indigenous Law brings healing, and the need for systemic change in the legal system.

Episode 12: Systemic Change – Indigenous People and the Legal System

In this episode, Jaclyn Silbernagel sits down with Lee Stevens, policy and research specialist with Vibrant Communities Calgary to explore basic income. What a basic income could mean for Canadians and how it could have a positive impact on our social support systems.

In this episode, Jaclyn Silbernagel sits down with Lee Stevens, VCC’s policy and research specialist and this episodes’ co-host alongside Nevena Ivanovic, public policy coordinator with the Women’s Centre of Calgary and Andrea Cox, manager of government relations with YW Calgary. Together they discuss women and the economy, child care in Alberta, and what’s working in regards to policy.

Episode 10: Child Care, Women, and the Economy

In this episode, VCC’s Meaghon Reid sits down with the CEO of The Alex, Joy Bowen-Eyre, to explore what it means to provide dignified services, how food is a convenor and community builder, and how progress comes from investing energy into policy and advocacy. 

In this episode, Jaclyn Silbernagel sits down with Hagir Sail to explore allyship. 

In this episode, Jaclyn Silbernagel sits down with Celestina Akinkunmi with the Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association (CIWA) to explore settlement and integration services in Calgary.

In this episode, Jaclyn Silbernagel sits down with Vibrant Communities Calgary and EndPovertyEdmonton’s Executive Directors to get their perspectives on poverty reduction and the future of Alberta.

Episode 6: No Battle of Alberta when it comes to Poverty Reduction

In this episode, VCC’s Meaghon Reid sits down with Momentum’s Jeff Loomis to talk about financial empowerment, innovations like the QUBER Savings App, skills training for the growing tech industry and more.

Episode 5: Building Assets Brings Opportunity

In this episode, Jaclyn Silbernagel catches up with Sue Gwynn from Poverty Talks! to chat about the importance of engaging with the voices of lived experience. Hear about why Poverty Talks! challenges perceptions around poverty, how models and systems keep people in poverty, and why poverty is a trap.

In this episode, VCC’s Executive Director Meaghon Reid sits down with Mayor Naheed Nenshi. Mayor Nenshi is one of the original champions of the Enough for All strategy and emphasizes how ‘my neighbour’s strength is my strength.’ Listen to them discuss priorities for Calgary and poverty reduction and their optimism for the future. 

Episode 3: My Neighbour’s Strength is My Strength

Employment income that is sufficient to cover the cost of living is vital to reducing poverty and building a resilient city and economy. Since 2008, Vibrant Communities Calgary has been updating the living wage figure for Calgary. This brief provides the details of the calculation, which has been done in collaboration with the Alberta Living Wage Network since 2021.

Significant numbers of people and families in Calgary face financial challenges that put them at risk of homelessness. This study defines different levels of risk, in order to focus on people at high risk of slipping into homelessness. The authors assume, based on the findings of previous studies, that people faced with financial hardship make all possible budgetary changes to lower their cost of living and thereby retain housing. These changes include using food banks, relying on charities, eating less nutritious diets, living in more crowded conditions, moving to housing with lower rent and giving up any hope of maintaining what the designers of Canada’s poverty line define as a “modest and basic standard of living.” The highest risk category comprises those who have exhausted nearly all efforts to maintain their housing and are extremely vulnerable to even minor shocks to income or living costs.

Estimating the number of people and households in Calgary at high risk of homelessness relies on key assumptions about housing costs, family structure, food budget, and expenditure reduction. The authors show how their estimates of the number of housed people at high risk of homelessness varies by these assumptions. These calculations provide insight into the effects of rent increases and food inflation on the ability of people with very low income to maintain housing. In doing so, they also provide evidence of how relatively small adjustments to income, rent, and food prices can pull people from the brink of homelessness.

How many housed people in Calgary are at risk of homelessness?

This policy brief outlines feasible solutions to issues related to eligibility, adequacy, means testing and accountability of the AISH program. The recommendations seek to improve the quality of life for Albertans living on low incomes with disabilities, and ensure they have the necessary income to meet their basic needs.

Liveable Incomes: Improving the Effectiveness of Alberta's AISH Program

The Report to Community outlines key accomplishments and initiatives in the year. Links to archived reports are below. 

Audited financial statements for VCC Initiatives Ltd.

The audited financial statements for VCC Initiatives Ltd. for the year ended December 31, 2021. 

Creating a city where poverty cannot exist is an ambitious goal. It means having a city where our health, education, childcare, and transportation systems meet our needs. A city where jobs pay living wages, and our income support programs meet our basic needs. But it’s what Enough for All strives to attain.

We know that poverty is about so much more than just income. In Beneath the Surface - the layers of poverty in Calgary we look beneath the surface of the metrics, and to learn the story behind them. Looking at these multifaceted layers helps us measure what matters and uncover solutions that will chart a better path forward.

View a summary of Beneath the Surface - the layers of poverty in Calgary.

Campaign 2000 summarized the main themes of a conversation held with seven working parents with lived experience of poverty. The conversation was hosted by Poverty Talks! and Vibrant Communities Calgary in partnership with Campaign 2000: End Child and Family Poverty. 

This summary is in four sections based on the topics of discussion. Main themes with related content and quotes are presented for each topic. The conversation content will be further analyzed over the next year, alongside content from other conversations across the country, to help create a community-driven indicator framework and recommendations for action.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 resulted in shifts in the way that organizations and community-based initiatives provide food and revealed gaps and opportunities within the emergency food system. 

In order to better understand and develop recommendations to improve Calgary’s emergency food assistance program, the Canadian Poverty Institute and Vibrant Communities Calgary published Examining Calgary’s Emergency Food Assistance System in March 2021. The purpose of the research was to explore the scope of food insecurity in Calgary in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, assess the effectiveness of the current emergency food system, and identify opportunities for improving the effectiveness of the emergency food assistance system. 

More than a year later, challenges and disruptions continue to shape Canada’s food systems. The resiliency and adaptability of the system is continually tested, and it remains unclear which changes to the Canadian food system, from the COVID-19 pandemic, will be permanent. This report serves as an update to Examining Calgary’s Emergency Food Assistance System. The purpose is to follow up on the recommendations developed from the original study, and examine which changes were temporary or permanent. It also seeks to document stories from the community; celebrating innovative projects and lessons learned. 

The State of Calgary's Emergency Food Assistance System

The Social Policy Collaborative outlines three key policy recommendations to help the provincial government meet its commitment to Albertans in need of affordable housing. The brief also highlights recent polling data showing that 70% of Albertans agree that the provincial government has an obligation to invest in building new affordable housing units.

A path to recovery: Growing Alberta's affordable housing stock and recovery-oriented support systems

Mayor Jyoti Gondek proclaimed the month of October 2022 as End Poverty Month.

End Poverty Month was initiated to raise awareness of poverty and to serve as a platform for Calgarians to participate in poverty reduction efforts in the community. It is centered around the United Nations International Day for the Eradication of Poverty held annually on October 17. 

Every year, progress on Calgary’s Poverty Reduction Strategy – Enough for All – is evaluated by an independent third-party. The Enough for All 2021 evaluation was conducted by Dr. Katrina Milaney, who engaged stakeholders in a series of surveys, focus groups and interviews. She also completed a review of Champion research and annual reports to compile indicators across levers, including employment rates, income support caseloads, and program statistics.

The year 2021 marked the third year of the second iteration of the Enough for All Strategy. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to linger. Despite these issues, there were several highlights in 2021. This report shows progress and identifies gaps in the Goals, Levers of Change, Principles and the evolving role of VCC and Champions in advancing the Enough For All Strategy, all in the wake of a global pandemic. Stakeholders believe that because of growing pressures, several years of learnings, adaptations and long-term community partnerships, investment in and commitment to the E4A strategy is more important than ever. 

More Important than Ever: Enough for All Evaluation Report 2021

In 2022 Poverty Talks engaged the community in a discussion on housing. The key learning was that housing is a human right and everyone deserves a safe, secure home. A summary of the feedback and what needs to change is provided in this resource.

In 2022 Poverty Talks engaged the community in a discussion on public transit. The key learning was that being able to travel easily to work, groceries, school and healthcare is critical in overcoming poverty. A summary of the feedback and what needs to change is provided in this resource.

2022 Community Conversations: Public Transit

In 2022 Poverty Talks engaged the community in a discussion on food insecurity. The key learning was that a lack of income is at the root of food insecurity. A summary of the feedback and what needs to change is provided in this resource.

2022 Community Conversations: Food Insecurity

The Calgary Social Policy Collaborative asked housing expert Dr. Nick Falvo to complete a situational analysis and identify opportunities for housing affordability advocacy at the provincial level. The Affordable Housing Brief lays out general themes, key research and facts as well as the existing policy landscape.

Calgary Social Policy Collaborative: Affordable Housing Brief 

Poverty affects every aspect of your life, not only the ability to meet your basic needs — your health, relationships, how you’re impacted by climate change, even how safe you are while you walk through your neighbourhood. We do the poverty snapshot to understand how people experience poverty and what policy makers can do to help. 

On Nov 1, 2021 the Government of Alberta released Stronger Foundations: Alberta's 10-year strategy to improve and expand affordable housing, intending to outline the action needed to provide more affordable and accessible housing options for Albertans. While some aspects of the strategy are supported by VCC and the Edmonton Social Planning Council, there are also elements that pose considerable risks.

Check out their analysis What you need to know about Stronger Foundations: The Government of Alberta’s affordable housing strategy.

Analyzing the Government of Alberta’s affordable housing strategy

Earlier this year, the Calgary Foundation released its 2021 Vital Signs report, reflecting the feelings of 1,000 Calgarians who shared their unique perspectives and impressions of life over the past year. It struck us that this timely snapshot of life in Calgary touched on some important themes such as quality of life, racism, and how people are coping with the pandemic. Check out our infographic below that shows how Enough for All continues to align with some key issues identified by Calgarians.

Infographic: Enough for All alignment with Calgary Foundation's Vital Signs Report

Since 2008, Vibrant Communities Calgary (VCC) has been updating the living wage figure for Calgary on an annual basis. The framework for calculating a living wage is adopted from the Living Wage National Framework created by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. 

Income from employment that is sufficient to cover the cost of living in a given region is not only vital to reducing poverty but is a necessary component to a resilient city and economy. People need more than the bare minimum, this includes enough income to cover bank fees, education and training, internet costs, and the ability to save for an unexpected event. Other principles identified by Living Wage Canada include a wage that enables working families to have sufficient income to cover reasonable costs, promote social inclusion, and support healthy child development.

Working in collaboration with other municipalities, VCC has adopted the new standardized methodology to calculate the living wage rate for Calgary. The 2021 living wage is $18.60 per hour, a 10% decrease from the 2020 living wage of $20.69, and a difference of 24% from Alberta’s minimum wage of $15 per hour. The primary reason for the decrease in the living wage is attributed to changes made by the provincial government to Alberta’s childcare subsidy program. 

The year 2020 marked the second year of phase two for Calgary’s Poverty Reduction Strategy, Enough for All. The COVID-19 pandemic was the biggest ‘story’ of 2020 and the impact of the pandemic on community efforts to reduce poverty cannot be understated. Limitations in support services due to closures and reduced capacity because of restrictions due to COVID-19 have likely increased the risk that people in need of support ‘fell though the cracks’. This year’s evaluation report is written within this context. This report shows progress and identifies gaps in the Goals, Levers of Change, Principles and the role of the Enough for All Champions and Vibrant Communities Calgary in advancing the Enough For All Strategy in the midst of a global pandemic.

Building Back Better: Enough For All Evaluation Report 2020

The cost of living, particularly housing, continues to drive the living wage up

Calgary’s Living Wage is $23.70 per hour

Highlighting the experiences of poverty in Calgary's communities

With affordability and inflation top of mind for many in 2022, VCC continued work advocating, educating and mobilizing

This guide will help you meaningfully engage with candidates on affordable housing, income security, and public safety

Not filing your taxes? You could be missing out!

Test your knowledge of the rich culture, history and language of Indigenous peoples and communities around Alberta

Every year Enough for All is evaluated by an independent third-party.
The evaluation captures our community's progress towards achieving systems change priorities. The evaluation also provides direction to Vibrant Communities Calgary on its role in successfully advancing the Enough for All Strategy.

More Important Than Ever: Enough For All Evaluation Report

Our collective progress towards achieving Enough for All

Learn more about the steps taken to advance the development of an Indigenous gathering space within the City of Calgary

Public transit must be connected, convenient, accessible, and affordable

Transit – moving the conversation beyond ‘affordable’

2020 Evaluation Report highlights progress in poverty reduction

Building Back Better – Enough for All in action

Collective impact and collaboration at the centre of reducing poverty in Calgary

Enough for All Changemakers constantly ask ‘what’s possible?’

Evaluating our collective progress towards achieving Enough for All in 2020

Laying Bare Inequities: COVID-19, Gender, Race and Precarious Employment

Reflecting on Basic Income Through the Lens of Poverty Reduction

Stewardship

What We Do

Team

Board of Directors

History

Key Dates

2004

Momentum and United Way of Calgary and Area came together and jointly founded VCC.

2005

VCC was incorporated.

2013

The Enough for All Strategy was adopted by Calgary City Council and the United Way of Calgary and Area's Board of Directors.

2015

VCC was appointed as the steward of the Strategy.

2019

VCC completed the review of the Enough for All Strategy and in May, a three-year memorandum of agreement between The City of Calgary, the United Way of Calgary and Area, Momentum, and Vibrant Communities Calgary was signed.

2023

The Enough for All strategy received a traditional Blackfoot name, iih kanii tai staiiwa (ee-skunit-des-si). It means everything is there.

Guidelines that shape our work

Social Procurement Guidelines

Policy Advocacy Guiding Principles