Mandate

To ensure effective & coordinated social advocacy efforts on public policy issues affecting the larger Jewish community and in particular, disadvantaged individuals, families and seniors in the Jewish community.

What it does?

• Studies and articulates recommendations for communal positions on social advocacy issues.
• Promotes an understanding of key social issues by educating & sensitizing the community.
• Coordinates actions with existing coalitions & appropriate networks.
• Promotes awareness of the impact of social policies on members of the Jewish community within the wider non-Jewish community.
• Coordinates position-taking with leadership of FEDERATION CJA.

Major Goals

• To influence public social policies at the municipal, provincial & federal levels in priority areas of poverty, housing & health.
• To increase public participation in decision-making of public social policies.
  

The committee has identified three primary issues of concern: Poverty, Health & Social Services, and Housing.

According to the 2001 census, 18.4% of our community or 17,110 people live in poverty. When we factor in the cost of a Jewish lifestyle (kosher food, living in a neighbourhood in which there is proximity to other Jews and community services, participation in Jewish institutions) this percentage could be as high as 22%. 21% of the Jewish elderly and fully 31.8% of Jewish single mothers are poor.

For details on Jewish poverty, see The Jewish Poor.

Challenges
The poor need basic income support to assure the essentials: food, shelter, and clothing, as well as access to transportation, educational opportunities, and jobs.

The problems faced by disadvantaged members of our community include:

• waiting lists for surgery and diagnostic services
• increased privatization of services which has led to a two-tiered system for many services including homecare and physiotherapy
• short-term hospital stays without the necessary services in the community
• lack of services for people experiencing mental health problems and their families
• the high cost of medication since the inception of a new medication insurance program in 1996

According to government norms, rent for housing should represent no more than 30% of total income & for there to be equilibrium in the system, the vacancy rate should be at about 3%. According to Statistics Canada (from the 2001 census data):

• 36% of households in Montreal were paying more than 30% of income for housing.
• The vacancy rate was at 0,7% for Greater Montreal.
• 25% of rental housing in Côte-des-Neiges in requires major repairs

The low vacancy rate exacerbates the situation by promoting higher rent increases, discrimination (against those with low income, large families, single parents, minority groups, immigrants etc) and negligence (buildings not being properly maintained: lack of appropriate and necessary renovations, poor heating, filth, rats, cockroaches etc.).

Challenges for Members of the Jewish Community
Low-income families and single people are often forced to make a choice between paying their rent & buying adequate food and/or medication. Project Genesis assisted over 350 individuals and families with problems related to eviction last year. JIAS struggles to find decent affordable housing for immigrants. Auberge Shalom pour femmes is keeping women and their families longer after an incident of conjugal violence- up to 4 months – as a result of the housing crisis. These factors obviously impact on the Community’s services in addition to their serious consequences for people’s lives.