By Annie McKitrick

THE government of B.C., in its latest budget, decided to mitigate the impact of a carbon tax by giving a rebate of $100 to every British Columbian. The $100 Climate Action Dividend will be received by June. Low-income families will receive an additional Climate Action Credit with their GST check, of $100 per adult or $30 per child.

Faith in Action

Faith in Action (www.victoriafaithinaction.ca) has proposed that British Columbians use their $100 Climate Action Dividend to support projects to reduce homelessness in their community.

There has been new funding allocated by provincial and federal governments toward building permanent, safe and affordable housing for the homelessness; however the funds allocated are not large, and come after years of very little investment in such projects.  

Action on climate change and the environment on the part of the provincial government is good; however, the cost of reimbursing every British Columbian $100 should have been better spent on increasing funding for supportive and affordable housing.  

There is now solid research which indicates that, when someone is securely housed and the proper supports are in place, the cost to police, health and social services decrease substantially. Climate change is a popular issue, as it has been made front and centre in the media by people like Al Gore and David Suzuki.  Homelessness – and the cost to individuals and communities of not having secure, affordable housing – has not reached the same awareness.

If each church in B.C. asked their members to use their $100 rebate toward supporting a project of their choice, it would make a difference to those most in need in our communities.  The projects could reflect the congregation’s interest, and even be used to support both environmental and social aims.

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Ways to help

I would like to offer a few suggestions, to spark discussion and hopefully action within a congregation:

• Support for More Than a Roof, which develops and runs housing projects which include community gardens or energy saving initiatives. www.morethanaroof.org

• JustWork, a project of Grandview Calvary Baptist Church, which works with homeless and low income residents in the Commercial Drive area by providing employment through a social enterprise.  www.justwork.ca

• The local shelter/transition house/supportive-housing project in your community, which badly needs funding.

• Buying a house in the neighbourhood of your church, and renovating the house to provide affordable rental housing and a supportive community.

• Support for organizations such as Lifecycles in Victoria (www.lifecyclesproject.ca) and the Richmond Fruit Tree Sharing Project (www.richmondfruittree.com), which glean fruits and vegetables from individuals and farmers – and then provide food banks, and meal programs with fresh local produce.

Let your local newspaper, MLA and MP know that, as a church, you will be engaged in using your Climate Action Dividend for something you believe is important in the community.  It might encourage government to begin reinvesting in housing programs, and increasing their support for homelessness projects. Should you need more information in the situation in your local community, do not hesitate to approach a local organization working with housing issues.

Annie McKitrick is project manager for the Canadian Social Economy Hub, in Victoria.

June 2008