The harrowing face of poverty was revealed with unvarnished honesty during a brainstorming session that touched on the daily struggles facing the poor and disadvantaged.

“It is the single mom having to have sex with her landlord because she can’t pay the rent this month,” Carolyn Holmes, case manager for a local homelessness initiative, bluntly told an audience of about 50.

The meeting was hosted by Simcoe North MPP Garfield Dunlop, and was attended by representatives of local churches, social agencies and other groups.

Participants were grouped into teams and spent the first portion of the session developing recommendations to tackle poverty and related issues.

Team members then presented the ideas, which Dunlop jotted down in point form on a flip chart.

Information gathered over the course of the morning session will be presented in the Legislature in the hope of affecting positive change for these “most vulnerable people,” said Dunlop.

“There is no one to speak on their behalf,” he added.  

The current economic downturn emerged often as a topic of concern, with various speakers warning of the impact the worsening financial situation will have on families and individuals.

Mental health issues, substance abuse and domestic violence are sure to rise as people struggle to cope, Dunlop heard.

An increase in the minimum wage and incentives for landlords to offer all-inclusive rents were among myriad recommendations offered, as was the need to remove barriers that prevent affordable housing projects from succeeding.

“There is a real problem in the flow of money, particularly for something like that,” Dunlop agreed.

Others expressed frustration with the snail’s pace at which funds promised for a variety of poverty-related initiatives are made available.  

A commitment by the province more than a year ago to provide $45 million in dental-plan assistance for low-income people has yet to be realized, said Murray MacAdam, a social justice and advocacy consultant for the Anglican Diocese of Toronto.

“It is kind of hard to take their commitment to poverty reduction very seriously when they don’t follow through on something specific,” he said.

Added community support worker Mandy Hillyard:
“This is an issue that only everybody can answer. We are all responsible for poverty and homelessness.”