Creating a BC where all families thrive.
About Us
At the Centre for Family Equity, we’re dedicated to eliminating family poverty in BC and creating opportunities for families to thrive through research, community engagement, advocacy, and support programs. Our programs and initiatives are led by the communities we serve, ensuring they reflect the real and evolving needs of families across BC.
Founded as the Single Mothers' Alliance in 2014, we are a province-wide network of low-income parents and caregivers in over 41 BC communities. We build leadership capacity among families affected by socioeconomic inequality while advancing community-led solutions.
Our guiding principles are rooted in equity, inclusion, solidarity, and community leadership, framed by our commitment to anti-oppression in our Basis of Unity. We take an intersectional approach to advocacy and systems change, addressing the complex structural inequities that disproportionately affect families.
Our Focus Areas
Our vision is a BC where all families thrive. To achieve this, we focus on four key areas to dismantle the barriers that keep families in poverty.:
- Access to Quality Jobs
- Equitable Systems and Services
- Health Equity
- Strong Social Security
We address systemic inequity with a focus on:
- Disability Justice
- Gender Equality
- Racial Equity
We understand that poverty is rooted in overlapping forms of discrimination, including racism, ableism, sexism, classism, and colonialism. Our advocacy and programs tackle the transformation of the systems that perpetuate these inequalities to bring about inclusion and justice for all families.
Family Poverty in BC
As of 2022, over 147,570 children were living in poverty in BC, a 16.7% increase from 2021, with approximately 1 in every 6 children affected. Of these, a staggering 76,190 children are living in lone-parent households. The child poverty rate for children in lone-parent families is a shocking 45.5%, almost five times higher than in other families. On-reserve child poverty rates in 2022 were even more devastating, with rates dramatically higher than the provincial average of 16.7%. On 61 BC First Nations reserves, the overall child poverty rate reached 34.8%, impacting at least 4,460 children.
Furthermore, rural reserves experienced a child poverty rate of 42.2%, significantly higher than the 30.2% rate observed in urban reserves.
We must recognize the disparities experienced by newcomer and racialized families. Based on 2020 Census data using the LIM after-tax measure, most racialized children in BC face higher poverty rates compared to non-racialized children. Arab, Korean, and West Asian children have more than double the risk of poverty. The census data also reveals that in 2020, over one in five (21%) recent immigrant children aged 0-17 lived in poverty in BC.
These statistics expose the stark reality that certain families in BC face a significantly higher risk of living in poverty. At the Centre for Family Equity, we are committed to advocating for equitable policies and implementing tailored initiatives to address these disparities and create a just and prosperous future for every family.
Statistics on child poverty quoted here are care of First Call's 2024 BC Child Poverty Report Card.
The Centre for Family Equity is a member of the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition and partners and collaborates with a diversity of organizations throughout BC.