Introduction

Chapter One introduced poverty as a multifaceted public health issue. It explored how poverty is defined and measured in Canada, examined the social determinants of health that shape it, and described how poverty reduction aligns with the Ontario Public Health Standards and broader provincial and national strategies. That chapter established a shared foundation, but it remained largely conceptual and national in scope. It closed by promising that subsequent chapters would move closer to home, examining who experiences poverty locally, how cost-of-living pressures and housing insecurity are felt, and how work, income security and social assistance shape financial stability in our region.

This chapter takes up that promise. It turns from what poverty is to how poverty is experienced across Guelph, Wellington County and Dufferin County. Building directly on the socio-ecological model introduced in Chapter One, it examines the conditions that shape financial security at the local level: the gap between what people earn and what they need, the adequacy of income support, the cost of meeting basic needs such as food and housing, and the uneven distribution of poverty across populations and places. Where Chapter One asked readers to consider how the social determinants of health interact to push individuals toward the poverty line, this chapter brings that model to life with local data.

Read the full chapter at the link below.