Overcast skies and a brief period of rain did not deter a group of people from gathering outside of Sarnia City Hall on Friday to stand up against poverty.
A rally, organized by the Poverty Reduction Network, was held over the noon hour.
Inn of the Good Shepherd Executive Director Myles Vanni spoke about the impacts of inflation and soaring rental rates.
Guest speaker Beth Scheiding spoke about her experience with Circles Lambton, a local poverty alleviation strategy. She immediately asked attendees, "What is poverty?"
As she alluded to, poverty can have varying definitions depending on the person or their circumstances.
"It's not always obvious and not everyone is reaching out for help, and the ones who are, are sometimes ostracized for it or just looked at in a different way," Scheiding told Sarnia News Today.
Although Scheiding was raised in a loving environment with disabled parents, her situation changed after being physically abused by a boyfriend. Later as a single mother of two, she sought help from Circles Lambton.
Scheiding is now a Registered Practical Nurse but still struggles with the everyday costs of living.
Lambton County Deputy Warden Brian White said it's taking time for people to grasp the realities of poverty. During his speech, White addressed the harmful narrative that people need to "pick up your bootstraps" and get a job in order to get off of "government hand-outs."
"That's not how you solve this problem!" White said. "Politicians who say things like that are ignorant and irresponsible and the rest of us will not allow that message to be amplified any further."
In past years, White said people laughed at the notion that poverty would affect so many Canadians and now, more residents are feeling the pinch. Without addressing the specific challenges individuals face and without proper support, there are concerns that the situation will only exasperate.
"In recent conversations with the mayor of London and the mayor of Kingston, I indicated to them that what we see when we visit their cities is simply a projection of what is yet to come in our own communities," he said. "Unless we create policies and unless we identify the unique needs of individuals and make very specific changes to affect those individual lives, we're going to see a rise in tent cities here. We're going to see small tent communities pop up in smaller villages and communities across Lambton County because it's already happening everywhere else."
White, along with county staff and members of the Sarnia Police Service, will attend the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia next month.
White will later report back to council on initiatives that are working in other municipalities.
The conference is scheduled to take place from November 8 to November 10.
