What's New in the Coalition
Plus: Partnerships, Reports & Programs
Letter from the Director |
|
With Family Day quickly approaching, thoughts of family poverty in
Calgary and across the country are on my mind.
We know that children who live in poverty tend to do poorly in school and experience poor health. We know that families living in poverty face increased stress. We can do better... |
| Note from our Affordable Housing Chair |
We were recently delighted to see that after a year of hard work, the Calgary Committee to End Homelessness has released their 10-Year Plan... |
In the News |
|
Low-Income Families in Calgary |
According to the 2006 City of Calgary’s Count of Homeless Persons:
|
Make Tax Time Pay
Helping put more money in the pockets of low-income individuals and families
Right now, approximately 127,000 Calgarians are living in poverty. We know that in 2006 average household expenses for low-income Calgarians were 30% more than what they earned. Despite their best efforts to make ends meet, these Calgarians do not have enough money to cover basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter and transportation.
All three levels of government have programs and benefits that are designed to directly assist low-income families by saving them money or putting more money back in their pockets. In order to be eligible for many of these programs and benefits, low-income Calgarians are required to file their tax returns. In fact, some of the applications for these programs and benefits can be submitted at the time of filing.
Make Tax Time Pay has identified these government programs and benefits, and has partnered with local organizations to make sure that this knowledge is passed on. This year, through Make Tax Time Pay workshops, the Poverty Reduction Coalition in partnership with H&R Block will educate low-income households and service providers about the benefits that they or their clients could be accessing. Our goal is to increase uptake of government-offered benefits and services by 75% from 2005 rates.
In addition H&R Block management participated in Make Tax Time Pay training. They are now training their own front-line workers.
Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has also taken the Poverty Reduction Coalition Make Tax Time Pay booklets and has distributed them to 700 volunteers assisting with tax filing. Future partnerships with CRA are being considered, to increase awareness and uptake of government programs and benefits.
The next Make Tax Time Pay workshop, a 2-part series entitled “A family’s guide to financial resources available through government programs” is scheduled for April 3rd and 17th. For more information about Make Tax Time Pay or the upcoming workshop, please contact us.