Author(s): Shauna MacKinnon, Julia Higgins
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The State of the Inner City Report is an annual research collaboration between the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Manitoba and community organizations based in the inner city of Winnipeg. This year marks its tenth year anniversary. Since the beginning, the State of the Inner City Reports have celebrated community-based development and have advanced progressive policy alternatives put forward by those working and living directly in the community.

“Its more than a collection of stories,” by one of the founders of the State of the Inner City Report, Shauna MacKinnon, highlights the objectives and accomplishments of the Report series. The Report celebrates community-based development efforts to improve quality of life in the inner city. The Report itself is informed by community development philosophy and documents Introduction the strengths of the inner city while building local research capacity. At the same time, the State of the Inner City Report identifies service gaps and policy shortcomings and provides policy alternatives identified by experiential people and inner city leaders. The second paper in this year’s Report advances these objectives based on a research priority identified by inner city leaders. “It takes a community to support a family”, is about the role of community-based organizations (CBOs) in supporting families involved in the child welfare system and struggling with poverty. The number of children in care in Manitoba continues to rise, and Aboriginal children are severely over-represented. The root causes are complex - families struggle with inter-generational trauma caused by the impact of colonization along with the retreat of the social welfare state, lack of social housing and low Employment and Income Assistance rates.



Grant: Partnering for Change: Community-Based Solutions for Aboriginal and Inner-City Poverty - 2012-2019
Category: Education, Training, and Capacity Building