Stand Up Against Poverty Rally set for Friday at Sarnia city hall

Sarnia’s Stand Up Against Poverty rally returns to city hall at noon Friday to push governments to do more to help those struggling to afford food and a roof over their heads.

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The annual rally aimed calling attention to issues facing those living in poverty has been held locally for about 15 years, said Myles Vanni, co-chairperson of the community’s Poverty Reduction Network and executive direct of the Inn of the Good Shepherd.

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“The whole idea is to just create community awareness,” Vanni said. “Particularly, we want to be heard by politicians who make the decisions.”

That includes drawing attention to the fact Ontario Disability Support Program and Ontario Works payments haven’t increased since 2018, Vanni said. “That’s a huge gap that’s keeping people in poverty.”

At the same time, households face rising inflation, and higher food prices in particular, leading to a 20 per cent increase in use of local food backs, a network release said.

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Food bank donors also “are feeling the pinch because of inflation, so that’s driving donations down,” Vanni said.

Rent costs have also nearly doubled in the last six years, leading to many of the community’s most vulnerable residents losing their homes and being left to live in shelters or on the streets, the network said.

“Poverty isn’t a big-city issue anymore,” Vanni said. “It’s an every-town issue.”

Until recently, the impact of homelessness wasn’t a “visual issue” in Sarnia “but it very much so is now,” he said.

Vanni said governments also could help by providing more protection so tenants don’t lose apartments and become homeless.

“Most landlords are good, but we get some unscrupulous ones that are creative in find(ing) ways. . . to evict people” so they can increase rents, Vanni said.

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The government also could help by reducing the backlog of cases at a provincial tribunal hearing disputes between landlords and tenants, he said.

“It can sometimes take months,” Vanni said. “Adding resources to hear people’s issues sooner, I think would be a good step forward.”

The Sarnia rallies typically draw about 125 people or more to city hall’s courtyard. This ywar’s event will include speakers with experience living in poverty, Vanni said.

The network is made up of concerned citizens and representatives of more than 20 agencies working to create awareness of poverty’s community impact.

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