In March, 2014 Bishop Jane Alexander accepted Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson's invitation to co-chair the End Poverty Edmonton Task Force. Working with community leaders and all levels of government, EPE aims to end poverty Edmonton in a generation.
"Poverty affects the lives of more than 100,000 Edmontonians, including 30,000 children, every day," said Mayor Iveson. "That's not acceptable. Our goal is to live in a community where the children of a child born today will never experience poverty."
"I don’t think it’s going to be easy, but we actually believe it’s possible," said Bishop Jane. "What might we bring to the table to make it work? It’s a fantastically courageous conversation to be having.”
In 2016, Edmonton City Council unanimously endorsed EndPovertyEdmonton, a new community entity co-chaired by Bishop Jane Alexander and Dr. Jeffrey Bisanz, and its ambitious goal to lift 10,000 Edmontonians out of poverty.
“City Council leadership has been a key success factor to date in this work and today’s (December 13, 2016) budget decision reaffirms council’s commitment to advancing this leading edge effort for social change,” said Bishop Jane.
The funds, $1.265M in 2017 and $1.178M in 2018, will sustain EndPovertyEdmonton in its efforts to steward 15 priority actions for change outlined in a five-year EndPovertyEdmonton Road Map. These community-driven actions include exploring options for a new Indigenous Culture and Wellness Centre, expanding the reach of a promising prototype program to prevent tenant-eviction called Community Bridge, launching a living wage awareness campaign and addressing human rights, intercultural training and anti-racism efforts.
The six Game Changers key to every Edmontonian having an equal opportunity to live, work, participate and thrive. are:
- Eliminate Racism
- Livable Incomes
- Affordable Housing
- Accessible and Affordable Transit
- Affordable Child Care
- Access to Mental Health Services and Addictions Support
