On Sept. 28, 2017, the Richmond Advocacy and Support Committee and the Richmond Poverty Response Committee hosted the first annual Richmond Action Forum — Eliminating Barriers to Participation.
The objectives for this project and for this event are to help those living in poverty develop a space/community to share their stories; educate local service providers on the wide range of issues contributing to poverty; and create opportunities for like-minded folks to meet (via community forums, neighbourhood gatherings, city council meetings, etc.) and create positive changes in Richmond.
The Action Forum was a full day workshop gathering 50 people from different areas of Richmond (people with direct experience in poverty, community and government staff, ministerial representatives, university students, and the broader community) to identify key issues, root causes and actions. These issues, root causes, and actions covered six topics: housing, food and water, health, transportation, childcare and safety.
Participants described the range of issues that were impacting their lives in small table discussions. These issues were then prioritized for further discussion and analysis. Root causes for priority issues were identified and discussions generated actions to address these root causes and issues.
Read the full report.