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rfmcdonaldTorontoist's Catherine McIntyre notes that, in the suburb of the city of Vaughan, general prosperity masks concentrations of poverty.
Over the past 25 years, the suburb exploded with rampant development and a population spike of nearly 190 per cent. It’s become a haven for people with money looking to buy themselves some extra space just 45 minutes outside Toronto. In Vaughan, the average household income is nearly $114,000, well above the provincial average of $86,000 and $76,000 in Toronto. The median house price is $890,000, and you’ll be hard pressed to spot any homelessness or decrepit high-rises.
It almost appears as though Vaughan has bypassed poverty entirely. That’s why when Vaughan Community Health Centre (VCHC) opened its doors nine years ago, many residents thought the service would go unused. “Community health centres are for the marginalized, for the poor,” says Isabel Araya, executive director of VCHC. “People were saying: ‘Why are you going to be located in Vaughan? Where’s the poverty in Vaughan?’ And much to my surprise, I am seeing a great deal of poverty and marginalized populations.”
While Vaughan has a large proportion of high income residents, poverty in the city, and York Region in general, is growing rapidly. The Vaughan Community Wellbeing Report, initiated by the VCHC and released in November, shows that the number of low-income residents in the region increased by 61 per cent between 2000 and 2012. During a similar period, the average cost of a new single detached home increased by 87 per cent, while hourly wages only rose by 26 per cent. Between 2008 and 2012, the wait list for social housing increased by 63 per cent.
