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Susan McIsaac<\/strong> is CEO of the United Way of Toronto<\/a>. Since 1956, The United Way has been working to provide services to the poor and needy in our city. Historically, their efforts to counteract the effects of poverty have been limited to the downtown core. Recent studies, however, have revealed that poverty has migrated to Toronto\u2019s inner suburbs. Spacing<\/em> sat down with Susan to discuss both how the United Way has adapted to this new reality as well as the effectiveness of their programs.<\/p>\n Spacing<\/strong><\/em>: What does the United Way do precisely?<\/p>\n McIsaac<\/strong>: Traditionally, the United Way raises and disperses funds to various local, community building agencies. However, a number of years ago, we looked at having a broader impact across communities. We\u2019ve now moved into providing technical support to agencies who we raise money for and analyzing systemic issues to identify the root cause of problems in various communities.<\/p>\n Spacing<\/em><\/strong>: How did the the 2004 report Poverty by Postal Code<\/em><\/a> alter the United Way\u2019s mission and activities?<\/p>\n McIsaac<\/strong>: That was a seminal report for us because it was documented evidence that poverty had shifted and had become concentrated in Toronto\u2019s suburbs. It became clear that to have the greatest impact, we needed to develop a more targeted \u201cplace based approach.\u201d In 2004, we then partnered with the City of Toronto to establish the Strong Neighbouhoods Task-force which focuses on the inner suburbs.<\/p>\n Spacing<\/em><\/strong>: What are the underlying causes of poverty in Toronto\u2019s inner suburbs?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n McIsaac<\/strong>: They are big and there are many. At the core of the issue, it\u2019s individuals and families lacking access to opportunity, whether it\u2019s education or solid employment. In many cases, we know that poverty is intergenerational and at this time, it\u2019s also racialized.<\/p>\n Spacing<\/strong><\/em>: Can you tell us more about the Strong Neighborhoods Strategy<\/a>?<\/p>\n McIsaac<\/strong>: We determined that we needed to have a multi-pronged approach to address poverty and so we looked at our different capacities and assessed what existed across different communities. The strategy became focussed on three key areas. First, it meant collaborating with resident leadership and strengthening capacity of residents to provide their own analyses and solutions to various problems. Secondly, we wanted to improve access to social programs. We realized that services provided by multi-service agencies were only available downtown. We wanted to bring those out to the suburbs to improve access. Finally, we knew that agencies needed space to both deliver programs and set-up community health centres, youth centres, and recreational facilities.<\/p>\n Spacing<\/strong><\/em>: What is the status of of Strong Neighborhoods Strategy in terms of present and future levels of funding?<\/p>\n McIsaac<\/strong>: It continues and therefore we continue on the three fronts just described. That being said, this is a really tough fiscal environment and we are constantly looking at how to maintain funding. We\u2019ve worked hard over the last couple of years on our campaigns to ensure that funds come in and we\u2019re delighted that we\u2019ve been able to maintain funding to our agencies. So from our perspective, there\u2019s no immediate risk to funding. However, all three levels of government are clearly working on austerity budgets, so we continue to work with them in the hope that they acknowledge the scale of the problem.<\/p>\n Spacing<\/em><\/strong>: How are you able to determine if United Way funded programs are successful in terms of alleviating the issues you\u2019ve discussed?<\/p>\n McIsaac<\/strong>: It\u2019s hard for us to measure but we\u2019ve put in place some evaluation mechanisms. Some of what we know is anecdotal. We tend to look at the level of engagement, the number of residents involved, the number of agencies that have opened satellite locations across the inner suburbs, and the number of programs that are being delivered. Increasingly we\u2019ll rely on more quantifiable outcome based measures. The City\u2019s new Well Being Index<\/a> will be a great tool for us in evaluating our progress.<\/p>\n Spacing<\/em><\/strong>: Since Strong Neighborhoods was launched, the United Way has received a substantial amount of public and private funding. What has that money bought?<\/p>\n McIsaac<\/strong>: Unbelievable programs to develop local leadership both for youth and adults. Working with community development workers and our resident leaders, we know that there is much better access to programs. On a more basic level, the money buys facilities, equipment, and tangible programs that provide employment services, daycare, and leadership development. Community health centres have been set up in various hubs. Residents tell us that they\u2019re now able to gain much quicker access to good health care, right in their own communities. I would describe all of these things as tangible outputs from the work that has been underway in the last 5 years.<\/p>\n Spacing<\/strong><\/em>: Why is the funding of these facilities and programs necessary? What are the consequences for various communities if they didn’t exist?<\/p>\n McIsaac<\/strong>: If I look at the tragic events of the last month, one of the things we\u2019ve all been struck by is the importance of offering youth some alternatives. Young people actually need great support in educational attainment. They need to have good programming outside of school hours that provide them with personal leadership, recreation and good role modeling. We also need to help youth develop manageable skills that they can use in pursuit of both part-time and long-term employment.<\/p>\n Spacing<\/strong><\/em>: Is gang prevention one of the stated or unstated goals of Strong Neighborhoods?<\/p>\n McIsaac<\/strong>: It\u2019s an unstated goal. I would redefine it not as gang prevention but as creating meaningful opportunities for our youth so that they have viable options to gain employment and don’t have to turn to gangs.<\/p>\n Spacing<\/strong><\/em>: Why should a Torontonian who doesn\u2019t live in a priority neighborhood care about poverty?<\/p>\n McIsaac<\/strong>: I honestly believe that we should all care about what happens in our city. If we allow some neighbourhoods to fall behind, it impacts us all. It also goes beyond poverty. There has been so much work done in the last few years around the issue of income inequality and what it actually does to the health and well being of a city. Primarily, we should care because poverty and inequality affect fellow Torontonians. Secondly, we should care because a lack of access and opportunity creates a divide in this city that takes many decades to overcome.<\/p>\n Photo by jaygoldman<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2012\/07\/feature-headspace-600.gif\" "\\"feature-headspace-600\\"")
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