News from Engage, the Momentum Blog:
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The city of Calgary is offering the Youth Passport—your ticket to unlimited swimming, skating and...
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Momentum is partnering with Bootkik Video to share the stories, successes, failures and lessons...
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Many of us tackle a deep clean of our homes during the spring months. A recent Huffington Post...
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In last week’s post, we discussed the first three steps in directing traffic to your website...
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In a recent post, we discussed how to grow your email list as a way to increase sales. You might...
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We are interviewing people who use Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs) to save for their...
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Momentum celebrated a big anniversary in 2016. For 25 years now, we have been taking an economic...
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Marquesa Shore had always wanted to be a business owner but, until one casual drive through the...
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A few years after high school, career testing at SAIT put the trades at the top of the list for...
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Some recipes are simple, like making toast. Some recipes are a bit more complicated, like making...
Poverty
1 in 10 Calgarians lives in poverty.
- 1 in 5 Calgarians are concerned about not having enough money for food
- 1 in 3 Calgarians are concerned about not having enough money for housing
- 48% (half) of Canadians would struggle with financial obligations if their paycheck was delayed by one week
There can be Enough For All. Join the conversation.
We all have a life trajectory. Everyone should aim high.
Every path in life is unique, with many variables that can affect how high each of us rises in terms of economic potential. Education, social status, skills, intellect, networks and effort all play a role.
For thousands of Calgarians each year, Momentum plays a role, too.
Through skills training, financial literacy education and business development support, Momentum helps people maximize their economic potential. The results are individuals and families with sustainable livelihoods, who are able to contribute to their community.
The economic costs of poverty
The province of Ontario recently conducted a study on the cost of poverty. Here are some highlights of the study:
- Poverty costs $2,900 per year, per household
- Poverty costs $13 billion per year lost by governments through expenditure
- Poverty costs $13 billion in lost income taxes
Combined, the total public and private costs of poverty were equal to upwards of 6.6% of provincial GDP.
From an Alberta perspective, this represents $19.25 billion per year, equivalent to the value of the entire transportation and utilities sectors in Alberta.
If more people had higher life trajectories, less money would need to be spent on poverty-related programs. Over time, as we free the dollars spent on poverty, there is great opportunity for reinvest in productive assets such as education and infrastructure.
Each time a participant leaves Momentum, they have a higher life trajectory. They will earn more money, have higher self-esteem, and be more active in their community. Visit our results page to view further evidence of our impact.