Dignity in Poverty

I attended an event last night. A Community Development Leadership Workshop in Calgary.

I was amazed at the turn out. And pleasantly surprised at the various amount of people who came.

I won't speak on behalf of the group I was with, but on my personal opinion of it.

I loved the Introduction part of it:

1. Form in groups of what area of the city you live in
2. Form in groups of where you were born.
3. Form in groups of if you are here as students, professionals, etc..

The group that I was in spoke of Dignity when you live in poverty.

Here's a simple image that a great friend, Nigel Kirk, a fantastic homeless advocate shared with me:

Take away assumptions, I worked at a medical clinic as a receptionist to vulnerable clients. One day we had a gentleman come in who was slurring his words and smelled like beer. Thankfully, my co-worker recognized the signs of a diabetic having low blood sugar. I didn't know and assumed he was under the influence.

Me, I hate charity. Last year I asked a friend if there was any opportunities to babysit their kids so I could make some money to get my son a Christmas present. He said, "What does he want?" I said, "This and this." He said, "I'll pick it up for you." I said, "No thanks, If I don't earn the money myself, it's not a gift from me, his mom!"

Sharing my experiences yesterday was hard, very hard. I'm hoping people listened. Not just listened though. But Listened, Learned, and will share and ACT from hearing from yesterdays workshop.

It is so important, because it's a part of having Enough for All in #yyc. That includes dignity, respect, and basic Human Rights!