ardship a fact of life on the N. Shore Neighbors in need remain invisible to most of us (This is the first instalment in a series about poverty on the North Shore hy News Reporter Kate Zimmerman. Next week's instal- ment will examine poverty among seniors and take a look at the work of North Shore Harvest, which provides free food and household goods to low-income families, seniors and handicapped people.) IS POVERTY an issue on the North Shore? North: By Kate Zimmerman News Reporter ht depends on who you talk to. The average incomes deduced by Revenue Canada in 1991 sug- gest a telatively affluent area. An individual living in the city of North Vancouver can typically expect to carn $23,845. In the dis- trict the tuke is $31,545 and in West Vancouver figure on $41,740, Cruise the tidy, flower- bedecked North Shore streets and there's little evi- dence of the dispossessed. Beggars do not roam Lonsdale Avenue with palms outstretched or sprawl on the sidewalks wearing signs which read “I'm homeless,” as they do in downtown Vancouver. Mysteriously, even tecnage panhandlers are rarely in evidence. . To most of us, the North Shore needy are invisible. But tulk to David Foster at North Shore Harvest, Pam Horton of the North Shore Advisory Committee on Disabled Issues or Carol Fiaie at North Shore Health and you get a different picture of this appar- ently idyllic community by the sea. “It looks quite pristine on the surface, but I know that it’s not,” said Finnie, North Shore Health's neighborhood director for the District of North Vancouver. “I would say that (poverty’s) more hid- den... particularly amongst the home-bound, frail " elderly.” . “I'm seeing people who live in poverty — as I do $20,603 | ; es SSSR ni SAS { (CCC MSDS SEE SSS SE | AN wh NORTH SHORE “average” individual incomes in 1991 loox healthy, according to North Vancouver City census. — all the time.” said Horton, a person with MS who acts as an advucate for people with disabilities. And then there are those who, like Foster did, reach u successful pinnacle and then topple. Along with the shock of new poverty comes the realization that you once had it all, and now you have nothing. Several years ago, Foster was a personal fitness trainer living in the British Properties. “I was a typical North Shore resident — totally unaware that there was any poverty on the North Shore,” he said. His eyes were opened when he “made a bad invest- ment and bad lifestyle choices” and found himself destitute, lining up with hundreds of others for food from the food bank and cheques from Social Services. “ ‘Man,’ [ said, ‘This is over town or in some other country. This isn’t the North Shore,” ” said Foster. “Until [ became a statistic myself [ was totally unaware of that situation.” See Welfare page & $38,326} "$40,000 NEWS graphle Cralg Wilson THE LOW-INCOME cut-off in Statistics Canada’s 1993 survey is based on the number of depen- dents living off one income. ; CALL US: 983-2208 a NEWS photo Nall Lucente PAM HORTON says 75 to 80% of people with disabilities live in poverty, many surviving on $771 a month. Disabled majority. feel the cash crunch AN ESTIMATED 22,900 people with disabilities live on the -North Shore. Approximately 75 to 80% of them live in poverty. By Kate Zimmerman News Reporter That makes about. 17,100 liv- ing at or below what Statistics Canada calls the “low-income cut-off.” Said Pam Horton, chairman of the North Shore Advisory Committee on Disability issues, “In many respects, that’s because these people are either unemployable or underem- ployed.” - The income of a person with a disability can come from any number of sources, including long-term disability insurance and insurance settlements result- ing from accidents. But if they rely on the provincial govern- ment’s GAIN for Handicapped program, as Horton does, and if, like Horton, they don’t live in a rent-subsidized unit, they may well subsist on the $771 that sees her through a month. Horton retired from salaried employment in 1985 because she has Multiple Sclerosis. She uses a scooter to get around and has lived in the same apartment at 18th and Lonsdale for 19 years. A person with a disability has THIS WEEK’S QUESTION: Do you think the British royal family is still relevant? to stretch her cheque to pay for suitable lodging (which often must be wheelchair-accessible), telephone, hydro and insurance. “Having a disability often costs more,” Horton said. “Often there's a special diet, special clothing... drugs, supplies and transportation. “That very small amount of money has a long way to go.” Horton said $325 of the GAIN for Handicapped cheque ‘is intended to pay for rent, but many people are forced to use a bigger chunk. On the North Shore, she said, there are some housing units with rent subsi- dies, but they are primarily fami- ly-oriented, with several bed- rooms. When a person is receiving GAIN for Handicapped, she is also eligible for medical cover- age, but not for drugs and sup- plies which have been “de-list- ed.” Horton gets an annual sub- sidy for’her bus pass. It allows her onto the SeaBus, the SkyTrain and conventional buses but not on the Handi-Dart. She chooses to live on the North Shore — an expensive alternative to some GVRD neighborhoods -—— because she grew up here. “This is my home, this is my community,” she said. As for making do on $9,250 a year, Horton said, “It ain't easy, but you tind ways.”