So my last challenge was..... bed bugs.  Bed bugs! Oh my gosh!!
I don’t think it matters if you are in poverty or not, this is a nasty problem and not an easy fix. And being in poverty reduces the possibilities to eradicate them.

I do believe ANYBODY can get these creatures. Just like lice, which I’ve had 3 times in my professional career years working with kids.  I’m just saying, I believe anybody can get anything so judgement on it shouldn’t be quick.
My ‘non-poverty’ head says, you’ll have to wash, decontaminate, get rid of stuff,  get a professional bed bug remover,  etc etc etc.

My ‘poverty challenge head’ thinks
possible eviction, living with it, no money to help with it....  if I can’t pay for my food or necessities, how could I possibly pay for these specialized cleaning supplies which in sure are very expensive.
Poverty. Dignity.
These words often don’t
intertwine.
Bed bugs. Poverty.
If only we could eradicate both.

I don’t have an easy answer on either. 
....I’m learning.

Sharing A Meal

Supper in a church basement for the homeless and hungry of Kenora.  That’s where I ate tonight. And it was good. I’m not a big meat eater but that hamburger was so good as I haven’t had meat for almost a week.  Originally, another teacher and I were going to volunteer. But I decided I needed to stand in line and sit at the tables like everyone else.  I coordinate that particular meal program called Opening our Doors, which was originally at Knox United but moved to St Alban’s when Knox underwent the reins to become the new shelter.   I have highly encouraged volunteers to engage with the folks - and they do!  The goal was to have volunteers grab a meal and sit with the folks and eat but the reality is, we are usually so busy in the kitchen, not enough volunteers or food runs out that this doesn’t happen. But when it does, everyone feels good.  Walls come down, trust grows, relationships are created and Kenora feels like a better place for all.
Sitting there gave me a very different vantage point. And feeling.  I kind of laughed to myself as no one would sit with me initially.  But then a younger guy came and sat at my table, then a few more men.  Interestingly no females joined me but I saw them later on the street when I decide to walk around downtown on my own for awhile.
There is a quiet atmosphere as you wait in line for your food.  Actually, it is often quiet so we put the radio on to add some tunes in the air.  One guy plays the piano really well.
Laughter kicks in.  One lady was arguing with one guy who was acting rudely but he was quickly spoken to.
Another guy came and sat with me. He (not me) brought up lots of subjects to take about like people using meth, bed bugs, people needing to make choices, his 5 kids, wanting to get a job, being good (out of jail) for 10 years, etc etc. He would have talked all night I think. Another guy came and sat with me. Quite drunk but very nice. He put his two fists out for a fist- pump AND I didn’t get it - lol!  Then he said, "this is what we do" and I fist pumped back and we laughed. He had no teeth so he kept laughing behind his hand. A lot of folks can’t eat raw carrots, apples, etc because of teeth issues (or no teeth issues). Another reality of being poor.  He took my hand and started holding it and I thought, "Well, it’s time for me to go”.

One young guy called me ma’am.  Ouch!  But that was ok.  It was all ok, for me.  I think if I had never been involved as a volunteer, this would have been a very unsettling experience.  But it wasn’t.  I wondered why no one asked why I was sitting and eating tonight rather than volunteering. I think they have more pressing things to think about than that.  Like where are they going to sleep tonight, next drink, next hit….. all part of this world. As I was leaving, a woman came in as they were putting the food away.  I asked her if she ate and she said no.  I told her to check if they had any food left.  She looked like she was upset.  I asked if she was ok.  She said she saw a bunch of cops near the bridge (By the hospital I assumed). That’s never a good sign in Kenora as people have tried and committed suicide there. She hadn’t seen her partner tonight.  She asked to call the hospital to check but they couldn’t tell her. I told her not to assume the worst as it didn’t mean that was him.
As I drove home, there were no police at that bridge. That would mean no one was in danger there - then.  This is part of this world. Many of us have no clue.

Broken Frig challenge

Blog 4
Today's challenge was to throw out any groceries that would spoil in 24 hours because the fridge conked out. One option would be to use my car as my fridge for some stuff like milk or meat BUT I didn’t buy meat on this challenge as I didn’t want to use more money on that so that wasn’t a concern and I had used up most of my fresh stuff. I figured I could get big chunks of ice or snow (because we have lots of that stuff!) and put it in a plastic container or bag/s and keep the fresh food in a box of some sort.  In the hot summer months, this could be terrible.  Wasting food is not an option when on a very limited budget.  You just can’t go back to the store and replace it all. When that precious food money is spent - it’s gone. 

When I went for my groceries, I nearly died when I spent $34!  I stupidly didn’t add it all up like I should have as I was sure I had spent less than $25.  Wrong. I did a double take when I saw the total.  I should have returned some stuff but I was in a line and thought that wouldn’t be too appreciated and yes, I would have been a bit embarrassed. Next time, I’d do what I needed to do and return stuff like the rice, canned stuff (that was marked 50% off). I bought too much in hindsight.  I doubt that would be the case in a reality of poverty.

I don’t pretend for one second, I am truly feeling the discomfort of poverty because this challenge is short lived and we are going to be able to return to the life we have on Friday BUT! we were told that wasn’t the point of this.  The point is to create and discuss the awareness and get dialogues started.  When I tell people what I’m doing, almost everyone has been supportive perhaps ‘impressed’ with what I’m doing, which is kind but I do hope it goes beyond that.  I hope it goes towards looking at people in poverty with different eyes and ears and heart and perhaps with more awareness  of how our society divides people into categories. 
I remember my dear dad once giving me a small blast when I said something as a teenager about ‘lower class/ middle class' etc and he looked at me and said  something like……  “if you were to categorize my upbringing into a “class,” we may have been slotted into lower class in the 1940’s or 50’s because we didn’t have a lot of money or extras.  But we had everything we needed on our farm and had a great life.  Being put in a class wasn’t part of our world……  and I don’t want you speaking about people like that”   Ouch.  I never brought that up again because he taught me an important lesson….. don’t judge and smarten up.   We have NO idea what people walk everyday.  Rich or poor or in between. EVERYONE has a story.  I so believe that.   But in this case, I particularly think we are quite blind to see the discomfort or lack of dignity to others - in poverty.

I am not innocent in the next comment as I wonder  if WE in North America who are surrounded and flooded/bombarded with notions of materialism, efficiency,  comparisons, superiority, success, fame, fast-food, fast conversations, etc etc have slotted those into poverty more cruelly than those in other continents.  Judgements are quick to formulate in out society as to why people are in their circumstances, act the way they do……..  ugh - we are a tough society to be poor in. 
But I also want to say this before I head out to the meal for homeless/hungry shortly, that I also hear and see compassion, awareness and actions seeping into the harshness…..

Challenge #3

Third challenge: my alarm clock broke so how will I wake up to get to work on time. 

I automatically thought, I’ll use my cell phone.  But what if I didn’t have a cell phone? It seems like such a small thing but this is real stuff.  I thought about having a neighbour knock on my door but that isn’t t so practical if you live in the middle of nowhere.  I guess I’d go to Salvation Army and see if they have a second hand one there…..  maybe set a long timer on the stove?  We take so much for granted.  Nothing NOTHING is easy when you are living in Kenora in poverty - or anywhere.

Challenge #2

Second challenge: The last roll of toilet paper gets wet!! Augh!! 

Well, I thought of lots of possibilities.  Someone told me the Minto Resource Centre sells individual rolls of toilet paper so I went after school but I was too late as it was closed but that was one possibility AND I had a car.  If I lived far from Minto, walking a huge distance might seem too much.  I would have asked a neighbour, tried to wait until I got to my place of work or buy that 67 cent box of kleenex.  Dignity is a word that is popping up a lot for me in these challenges.

Challenge #1

First Challenge: I have a young child who is very excited to attend a classmate’s birthday party but I didn’t have any money to buy a gift. What do I do?

This is a really hard one as this is where poverty affects a young child’s social world.  I felt this could be the hardest challenge for a parent.  I asked my husband and teens and we all had ideas.  My first one would be to see if I had anything around the house that could possibly be a gift; my hubby suggested an experience gift but we thought, in reality, what would that look like? We wouldn’t have the money for a movie, or a special outing,  we might not even have enough food to share a meal or make cookies or a home made gift.  My daughter suggested I call the parent and explain but I thought…. could I do that, I would feel so badly for my child and embarrassed as a parent. I ended up thinking like a lot of parents would, your child just doesn’t go.

I have arrived (belatedly)

Hello!  Miriam here - finally! 
 DAY 3…. FIRST! blog…. technology problems…. and fully into the challenge.  This is truly an eye-opener experience.
I’ll  start with one ‘awareness' story.

Three days before this Poverty Challenge started, I developed a nasty shooting pain in my shoulder, similar to an injury I had from last year, which involved a lot of physiotherapy. I still worked the next few days as a substitute teacher but I was able to control most of the pain with Advil and Tylenol……  but then I realized something.  On this limited budget over 5 days, I wouldn’t be able to buy pain relief meds!

Fortunately, as Sunday rolled around, the pain reduced but I knew I had to get a physio appt. There would be no way that a person on this budget could afford what many of us take for granted, such as over-the-counter meds AND how would one ever pay for a physio session?  They are expensive.     So when I went for my appointment today, I asked and wondered…..

How complicated could it be for someone in poverty to handle this situation.

I went to the private clinic here as I could get in quickly.  If I couldn’t have paid up front,  I would have had to get a Dr’s appointment and get a referral to see one at the hospital.  Then I thought,  what if I didn’t have a car?  Or money for a bus? Would I have had enough money to get a taxi? Not this week.    How would I pay for my medications?  i couldn’t this week.  What if I had a young child at home, no money for a taxi but in pain and needed physio. I might have had to walk.

 Would I have been able to see a Dr quickly and how would I get there?  Would it take a long time to get a physio appointment? again, how would I get there?   What does a person do?  Well, I’m learning, they would do without OR have to jump through a lot of hoops to deal with a medical situation.