CCPA-NS slides for Poverty, Health and Homelessness event in Halifax, NS March 24, 2015

3. Medical citizenship means every
doctor should have a voice and
should use it, and every doctor’s
voice matters.
If doctors cannot speak out, we
have a problem.

4. “Opening the doors of Halifax’s public
libraries to anyone who is homeless,
street-involved or otherwise are what
those buildings are all about.”
Asa Kachan, CEO Halifax Public Libraries

5. a non-profit charitable organization providing
housing and supports in Halifax, operating
an emergency shelter, second-stage
housing and two affordable, supportive
housing buildings for women and children,
as well as several condominium units.

6. is an independent, non-partisan
research institute concerned with
issues of social, economic and
environmental justice.
https://www.policyalternatives.ca/offices/nova-scotia

7. Is a physician led organization.
Our mission is to provide a voice for Canadian
doctors who want to strengthen and improve
Canada’s universal publicly-funded healthcare
system.
We advocate for innovations in treatment and
prevention services that are evidence-based
and improve access, quality, equity and
sustainability.
http://www.canadiandoctorsformedicare.ca/

8. The mission of the Mi'kmaw Native
Friendship Centre is to provide
structured, social-based
programming for Urban
Aboriginal People while serving as
a focal point for the urban
aboriginal community to gather for
a variety of community functions
and events.
http://www.mymnfc.com/

9. -MOSH provides accessible primary health care services to
people who are homeless, insecurely housed, street
involved and underserved in our community.
-The MOSH team is a collaborative primary health care
team of two full-time nurses, half- time occupational
therapist, half-time administrative support and 12 hrs of
physician care per week.
http://moshhalifax.ca

10. http://nshealthcoalition.ca/

11. http://www.dal.ca/sites/noveltechethics.html
an
interdisciplinary
research team
based at
Dalhousie
University that
does research
at the
intersection of
health,
bioethics, and
public policy.

12. Health and Homelessness Halifax
Report Card (2012)
32% report being unable to follow a prescribed
treatment plan, and 41% of those indicating that
their lifestyle did not allow for follow through
59% were supposed to be taking medication for
physical ailments, but only 27% said that they
were able to obtain their medication
85% had been diagnosed with at least one of the
chronic physical health conditions; 18% had 5 or
more
Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia http://www.ahans.ca/

13. Health and Homelessness Halifax
Report Card (2012) cont’d
48% had been given a mental health diagnosis by
a health care professional
35% did not have a health card
58% accessed the ER for health care at least
once in the previous year
56% accessed Mobile Outreach Street Health
(MOSH) for health care at least once in the
previous year
39% Said they are often hungry through the week

14. Poverty in NS
All income assistance recipients live in poverty
For a single individual IA is $538 per month
A healthy affordable diet for one person average
costs about $200-290 per month
Average rent for a bachelor is $690 in Halifax

15. Faces of Poverty
Women have higher poverty rates than men no
matter who they are or where they live.
Indigenous and First Nations children face poverty
rates from 40% to 50%.
Racialized Canadians are particularly at risk with
a poverty rate of 22%
Immigrant children's poverty rate in Canada: 33%

16. Faces of Poverty
37.8% of people living in poverty in Nova
Scotia have a disability, and 12.1% of
people with disabilities live in poverty (in
2009) in NS.
1 in every 2 lone
parent families with
children under the age
of 18 live in poverty in
Nova Scotia (2013)

17. Faces of Poverty
There are also differences depending on where
people live
Highest child poverty rate for families with children
is in Cape Breton, where almost 1 in 3 children
under age of 18 live in poverty (32.6%).
http://www.capebretonpost.com/News/Local/2014-11-16/article-3941753/New-
Waterford-students-tackling-child-poverty/1

18. http://tvo.org/whypoverty/info/working-poor

19. Panelists
Debbie Eisan, Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre
Sheri Lecker, Executive Director, Adsum for
Women & Children
Patti Melanson, RN and Team Lead, Mobile
Outreach Street Health, North End Community
Health Centre
Dr. Dan Boudreau, Physician and Board Member,
Canadian Doctors for Medicare
Moderator: Christine Saulnier, PhD, Nova Scotia
Director, Canadian Centre for Policy
Alternatives

20. First Question
What are the current
challenges to the provision
of care for those who are
living in poverty and in
particular people who are
homeless?

21. Second Question
What are some innovative
ways that these challenges
are being addressed/could
be addressed?

22. Third Question
How can these challenges
and solutions provide us
with a deeper understanding
of the state of health and
health care?