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Poverty has a unique and profound effect on the lives of those who have periods. Without a sufficient income, it can be difficult to maintain reliable access to period products. This impacts an individual’s ability to participate fully in work, school, and recreation. This has significant implications for one’s ability to earn an income, complete their education, and maintain their mental health.
Do Local Good is a podcast created by United Way of the Alberta Capital Region and the team of volunteers on the GenNEXT Cabinet. We feature stories and people from the Edmonton region to inform, inspire, and invite others to join us in building resilient and thriving communities. Listen in to learn about some of the local good already happening, and how you can be a part of the force for good!
[INTRODUCTION MUSIC]
[Noreen] Hi. My name is Noreen Remtulla
[Andrew] And I am Andrew Mason
[Noreen] And this is Peace Out Poverty, the podcast that gives you a local perspective on social issues, and shows you how you can get involved. We’re the United Way’s GenNEXT Team, AND we’re on a mission to redefine what it means to be a philanthropist in today’s world. Especially as a young person in the Alberta Capital Region. This is our first episode and we’re excited to explore what poverty looks like in our community!
[Andrew] You might have a pretty straightforward picture of what ‘poverty’ looks like in your mind.
It probably popped into your head right after we said the name of this show!
But the goal of the next half hour or so is to add a bit of detail to that picture. Because the truth is, poverty is a complicated issue that can affect different people in unique, debilitating, and even invisible ways.
[Noreen] So we’ll be taking a microscope to the big issue of poverty, to look at the knock-on effects you might have never noticed before. The intersections and connections that make this problem so sticky. And when we zoom in on the issue of poverty, hopefully you’ll be able to see where you fit into the solution. Because poverty is complicated, but it’s not unsolvable. In this episode, we’re taking a look at how poverty affects people who menstruate.
[CLIP – 0:00 – 0:22 – https://globalnews.ca/video/rd/b54ea306-0e5c-11eb-ba86-0242ac110003/?jwsource=cl] Women are actually forced to make a choice between food and period products. Pelletier is talking about period poverty a term some 78% of Canadians are unfamiliar with. Women living in poverty don’t have enough to cover all of the basics, whether it’s food or whether it’s essential products like period products.
[CLIP ENDS]
[Andrew] That was Sylvie Pelletier of Food Banks Canada talking to Global News about Period Poverty. This term describes not being able to afford or access menstrual hygiene products. That include pads, tampons, liners and period cups. Period Poverty also means a lack of access to laundry, hand washing stations and the things most essential for going through a period safely and with dignity. This is a worldwide problem that affects countless menstruating people, and Canada is no exception.
Back in 2018, an organization called Plan International Canada surveyed 2,000 cis women. A full third said that they struggled to afford menstrual products and 83% said their period prevented them from fully participating in their usual activities. You don’t need to memorize the numbers to understand that Period Poverty comes at a significant cost to menstruating Canadians.
[INTERVIEW 1 BEGINS]
[Andrew] Given all that, we wanted to hear from someone who could speak to how period poverty could be a barrier in one’s life. So we connected to Pamela Mellon. She was interviewed by Rebecca Price, one of our GenNEXT team members.
[Pamela] So my name is Pamela Mellon. I'm currently a master's of science student, in health promotion and socio behavioral sciences. So I'm working with schools and doing research with schools, and I'm with the school of public health at the university of Alberta. My research focuses on school-based sleep promotion. How do we help our youth get enough sleep? But I have had the privilege of doing an advocacy class with the school of public health. Our advocacy class, we chose to focus on period poverty advocating for free menstrual products in schools. And we were part of the wheel that helped Edmonton Public School Board provide free menstrual products in their classrooms.
[Andrew] Pamela and her colleagues researched the issue of period poverty and presented their findings to the Edmonton Public School Board April 2021. And as of this school year, all students in Edmonton Public Schools have free access to menstrual products!
[Pamela] Overall, I am a big advocate for decreasing barriers to access to education. And not having access to menstrual products, actually, is not allowing our youth who menstruate equal access to education.
[Becca] So you mentioned that, you know, there's a mental aspect to, you know, experiencing period poverty and kids showing up authentically to school. So what kind of impact do you think going through period poverty has on a young person.
[Pamela] As a woman who menstruates when I was a student junior high and high school. When I was worrying about leaking and trying to find a tampon or a pad from friends, I wasn't paying attention in class. I was missing out on math or science or whatever the topic was at the time. And so I can only imagine if every time you have your period, you're worrying about getting access to menstrual products or you're choosing to stay at home and miss class. How does that impact graduation rates? How does that impact our future potential? People who don't have access to menstrual products aren't able to participate in society equally.
[Andrew] Pamela isn’t exaggerating when she says ‘future potential.’ Do you remember that Plan International Canada study from earlier? It also mentioned that 70% of the women surveyed said they had missed school, work, or cancelled a social event because of their period. Period poverty isn’t just a financial problem, it’s social and emotional as well. Here’s Pamela and Rebecca again.
[Pamela] 27% of menstruating Canadians report that they have had to sacrifice other essential items in their budget in order to afford menstrual products. So food insecurity is an issue in Edmonton. And so if a family is struggling to have enough food to eat you can imagine they're also struggling with access to menstrual products. Imagine you're on a budget and mom and daughter are menstruating and they only had enough menstrual products for one of them. Someone who's going to miss out on activities on school, going to work because they don't have menstrual products or they have to roll up toilet paper and worry about leaking all day. Or you have that shame around like begging and borrowing. Does the student have to ask the front desk or find a friend who might have a menstrual product?
There, there's a lot of uncomfortable conversations that don't have to happen. There's a lot of shame that doesn't have to happen. 40% of Canadian women and girls have regularly experienced being made fun of for being on their period by a male peer, friend, colleague or family member. My brother made fun of me. We need to help educate the males in our lives. I was made fun of by peers in my classroom for being on my period. Like I started using tampons earlier than pads because peers joked about how, like you could smell it. That still sticks with me as a 28-year-old woman I remember being in like grade seven and like the other grade seven boys talking about girls on their periods and you can smell it. That is stigma, that shame like that doesn't have to exist. 38% have, have felt the need to lie about being on their periods. And our hide our products. And so I have totally slid a tampon in my sleeve and like pretended I was just going to the bathroom. And it shouldn't be our students who are just learning about their bodies as they enter puberty and start to menstruate who should be like educating their peers about it. Adults should be leading by example.
[Pamela] The stigma that we experience as women, as people who mentioned I growing up, how many of us have been teased cause we were on our periods? I remember when I was in junior high, the peers made you feel bad about like being on your period or having to use pads. And there's so much newness in navigating developing your period and unknowns like as a youth, I had older sisters who menstruated a mom who menstruated, my mom celebrated menstruation. It's a natural body function. We all come from someone who menstruated. It's a beautiful natural process. And unfortunately not everyone has moms, sisters who can help them celebrate menstruation, navigate that difficult life change. So I can't help but think about the youth who are terrified when they started their period, because no one ever talked to them or explained it to them and they think they're dying.
[Becca] The stigma around periods and talking about periods can definitely affect a person's ability to access care. Because if they're embarrassed to admit that they even have a period or saying the word period at all, you know, how are they supposed to reach out and ask for help when they're not even comfortable bringing it up or, you know, admitting that this is what's happening to their body.
So from your perspective, do you think that there are any societal changes or changes that need to happen in the schools to really like remove these barriers around youth accessing products?
[Pamela] We need to normalize talking about menstruation, talking about periods. The more it's common conversation, the more our youth are going to ask for help when they need it, less likely to use a sock because they don't have access to menstrual products. And when we use products that aren't made for menstruation, we're more likely to get infections. There is like severe cases where people who have used rags, socks kept through tampon in too long have had an infection and maybe even there's been cases where they have to have hysterectomy is like worst case scenario. It's like menstrual health is important. Our health is important. We need to empower youth to ask for help. And where do they get that information? The more we talk about menstruation, half our population menstruates, the less people will get sick from using the wrong products or miss out on school and decrease their potential.
[Andrew] We first connected with Pamela because of her work with Edmonton Public Schools. Since then, the addition of free menstrual products has been a success! But Pamela doesn’t want us to stop there. She’s thinking ‘big picture.’
[Pamela] So once free menstrual products are provided in the schools like in Edmonton Public School Board now I can't help, but think about how decreases or stress of our students in those classrooms. All of a sudden your period started and you're like, oh man, where are we going to get that tampon that pad. I can just go to the bathroom. Like that feels like a no brainer. Like you don't worry about toilet paper now. They don't have to worry about tampon or pad. You can just go to the bathroom. I don't have to have that conversation with a peer or like scout out a friend who might have one who can loan one to me or go to the front desk... Because teachers I've been in schools. I was a education assistant before I was also a health promotion facilitator with schools in Fort McMurray. And so I know that teachers, administrators, they buy menstrual products out of their own pocket to have available.
And so now we're decreasing that burden on the teachers, teachers, administrators go above and beyond to support their students. And that's one of the ways that they shouldn't have to. And so providing those menstrual products is decreasing that barrier to students having their needs met, being able to pay attention at school graduating, going to post-secondary, having a job that they love, a future they enjoy. It's also about breaking the cycle of poverty. Like having access to education is one of the ways to end poverty. And so by providing free menstrual products, we're helping our youth have an opportunity to break the cycle of poverty. We don't have to beg and borrow for toilet paper. A natural body function is, is pooing. And why do we have to beg and borrow or stash menstrual products in our purses? When we have toilet paper that's available to us. Tampons, pads should be available like toilet paper is available. We're often caught off guard by our periods, especially our youth who are just learning about their bodies and don't know how to track their cycles.
[Becca] Yeah. And especially, you know, when you first start getting your period, sometimes your cycle can be rather irregular because it's a new function for your body. And so being able to predict that is like low-key impossible when you first start out in that journey. And so removing, the barriers to people accessing care, if it's just something that's there all the time, then it's, you know, way less of a big deal and doesn't necessarily need to be a source of anxiety for our students.
[Pamela] Having access to menstrual products is a human right. If you can't live a day-to-day life without it, it becomes a human right. Like you can't access school, even grocery shopping. As a student with the school of public health, I think about policy level changes. I think about social determinants of health and I really focus on education. How do we help our youth break the cycle of poverty? I think through education, a lot of research says through education. And so I'm really proud of Edmonton Public School Board for providing them now. And I look forward to the other school boards joining in because it's not about if it's going to happen. It's about when. Are they going to be one of the first schools? Are they going to be one of the first agencies in the community or are they going to be some of the last ones? So it's like, where do you want to be on the uptake? Because this is a no brainer.
[Andrew] Pamela and her colleagues have done some excellent work to fight period poverty in schools.
And we should note that the City of Edmonton also began providing free menstrual products in city-owned facilities in June 2021. But we’re still a ways away from ending period poverty completely. And for those of us without public health degrees; what can we do?
[Pamela] I think the easiest step forward to contribute in decreased period poverty is donating free menstrual products. Hopefully in the future our vulnerable populations, those struggling with poverty have other supports. Maybe it's more menstrual products available at the food bank, having them available because, if families are struggling to have their needs met in regards to food. They can also get menstrual products there as well. But they're not always available. It's not a common item donated. And so if you’re donating to the food bank, consider menstrual products.
[Andrew] You can donate menstrual products directly to the Edmonton Food Bank at their central location, or in a dropbox at your local grocery store! The GenNEXT committee also just wrapped up the first United Way Period Promise campaign, where we collected menstrual products and raised funds to fight period poverty. If you’re interested in starting your own product drive or just want to learn more, you can visit MyUnitedWay.ca/PeriodPromise
[MUSIC TRANSITION]
[INTERVIEW 2 BEGINS]
[Noreen] Hey, it’s Noreen again. Progress comes in many shapes and sizes. Sometimes it’s a group of trustees, health professionals, and advocates getting together to create new policies for a whole school board. Other times, it’s a single person seeing a need, and asking for help on Facebook. We couldn’t make this episode without speaking to Scarlet Bjornson. She has been working in Edmonton to end period poverty, before it went mainstream. She’s a big deal! Even Pamela knows her.
[CLIP FROM INTERVIEW 1]
[Becca]There was a question that we asked Scarlet that I just...
[Pamela] Oooh you had Scarlet from No-
[Becca] Yes! We talked to her just just earlier this afternoon....
[CLIP ENDS]
[Noreen] See? Here’s Scarlet Bjornson, being interviewed by Rebecca.
[Scarlet] So my name is Scarlet Bjornson. I am the communication specialist here at Bissell center and I'm also the founder of no period without.
[Becca] how did no period without get started? Like where did that idea come from.
[Scarlet] I was out for dinner with friends back in 2017. It was September 19th or 20th and it was leaving dinner and there was a woman asking for change and I always give it whatever I have. But this time I was like, oh, what do you need it for? And it wasn't to, you know, get into her personal business. I was just really curious, and that answer changed my life because she said, "Truthfully, I'd like to get some alcohol or a sandwich, but I need to get tampons." And in that moment, it hit me like a ton of bricks, like a slap across the face. It was just like, whoa, I have never considered donating tampons to anyone. I have considered soap. I've considered winter clothing, all of these other things. And so that just sat with me and I grabbed my emergency stash in my car. We all have an emergency stash if we can. So I grabbed that and I gave her the change and I was just like, do what you need. Like there you go. And so. That's just, it just sat with me. And I started looking into, I just like Googled that night was a night with Google and I just looked up like donation of feminine products, sorry, excuse me, menstrual hygiene products. I constantly self edit cause it's like a long life that I've had with one term and so you have to constantly do that. So I apologize. So then I just thought I'm going to throw this out on social media. I made a Facebook post about it. And from there within 24 hours, we were planning a city-wide donation collection drive. I had spoke with a couple of agencies. They said at that time it wasn't often donated, very minimally. And when you start to do the research around why. You know, there there's a lot of, there's a bit of nuance around it and it's certainly changed over the last few years, but after this drive was happening, it was one of those things where you can't just do something and then not continue with it. You want to keep it going and keep the momentum. And so that's where that's, that's how we got started. That's and that's why we're continuing.
[Noreen] After that first menstrual product drive, Scarlet organized the non-profit that is now called No Period Without. Her organization collects menstrual hygiene products and cash donations to provide products to menstruating people all across the city. Since No Period Without got started, they’ve successfully donated 40,000 menstrual hygiene products! And that’s just what Scarlet does in her downtime. Remember, she also has a job at Bissell Centre, a local organization razor-focused on eliminating poverty. She explained to us how her two roles can interact, and broaden her reach.
[Scarlet] So in the capacity of Bissell we act as kind of a supplier. Like my other organization, we will bring product down. Luckily Bissell Centre does receive quite a few donations and that's kind of upticked in the last few years with the conversation, getting a bit larger and louder. And so it's just a matter of making sure I'm available. I've got stacks and stacks of menstrual products in my office. Staff members know if they have so we have a community closet across the street as well. That is full of, they have an abundance of products over there too, but it's a matter of continually having conversations with other staff members. Like I have these products. So if ever we're out they're in my office, so making sure that they know that that's available. And then other things is just like having conversations with community members. Do you need anything? Do you need a bottle of water? Do you need, you know, seeing if they have shoes. Do you need tampons? You know, it's that simple and how you can support people.
[Becca] You mentioned a little bit that, like, there's more of a conversation around period poverty now, or just, you know, menstruating in general. Is there any other changes that you would like to see in society as a whole in regards to period poverty and just talking about menstrual health in general?
[Scarlet] I think firstly, we'll break that down into two separate pieces. So I think firstly, we got to end period shame. How many times have we been out with our friends and oops, I'm not prepared. It's come on. And you just like go to the table and we're like, does anybody have any tampons? Hey, does anybody have any tampons because I'm about to make a real big mess here? Like, why are we embarrassed about that? 50% of the population experiences menstruation. And it's the most taboo conversation? I don't understand that. And that's one big one. And I think that conversation and moving away from that is also going to help end period poverty. And so that one, forgive the pun bleeds into the other one into the other kind of area. And so that other area is, if you look at Scotland, that country has made it part of their policy to provide period products for anyone who needs them. And so, when I interpret that and I am going to be in conversation with Scotland very soon on why, like, how they got their entire cabinet to just say, "oh yeah, this shouldn't be a thing... period poverty." And so how I interpret it is it's available to anyone who has, who menstruates. The entire country said, that's a need. Like we go to, we go to any public washroom and there is toilet paper, soap, now there's hand sanitizer, most places we go to, if we need masks, we're talking just general PPE. So this is another one of those items that should be absolutely everywhere.
[CLIP – 0:00-0:05 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QcgCmmd2hM ] I’m Monica Lennon and I’m proposing a Member’s Bill aimed at tackling period poverty.
[CLIP ENDS]
[Noreen] That was Monica Lennon, the Scottish Member of Parliament who first launched the campaign to end period poverty back in 2016. That campaign grew over time, sparking PSA’s, interviews with the press, and gaining support with individuals and organizations all across the UK. Then, in November 2020, the Scottish parliament unanimously passed the Period Products Bill. Like Scarlet said, this bill makes it a legal duty to provide free period products (quote)"for anyone who needs them.” Scotland, by the way, already made period products freely available in all schools, colleges, and universities back in 2018. Remember what I said about progress. Now back to Scarlet and Rebecca discussing the situation here in the Alberta Capital Region.
[Becca] Do you think that there's any, like, societal or language changes that need to happen within our schools to kind of make this easier for our students to talk about?
[Scarlet] Yeah. I mean, at the top of our interview here, I made kind of a mishap and used kind of an old language of feminine products because we know the conversation has shifted and it's not just women who experience their period. And so I think that's a very important piece of language that needs to change, not just in the advocacy activist level, but at the city at, in the school boards.
And so that kind of inclusion messaging for sure needs to be addressed, but I think also, my organization put out an Instagram post today where menstruators feel, they learned more about the frog anatomy than we learned about period health. We have school systems for a reason they're supposed to teach us these things about our bodies, about our biologies. We have things, I don't know if there's a new term for it, but we had sex ed. And so you're supposed to go through those pieces. And so when you're spending almost a whole term on dissecting a frog, let's give us a couple of classes to talk about period health, and don't remove the male gendered people from the class. That's how it was back in my day. So if it's changed, I apologize. We always need to be shifting and changing to include so that we can break those barriers.
[Becca] So in your capacity at Bissell what does your agency see in the community as it's related to period poverty, do you see a lot of demand for a period products, or do you find that it's not really something that your clients are talking about.
[Scarlet] I think it's more of one of those urgent needs that happens. So the rest of the month, I think a lot of our participants have a lot of other things they're thinking about and just like any of us, we get busy and we totally forget, like, I think that it's one of those urgent things that it's just like, oh, this is upon me. I need to figure out how to get this product. And you know, I've chatted with folks and you know, they've talked about committing petty theft to fill that need. They're like, well, that's what I'm going to do if I can't find it at an agency. And so Bissell Centre, like, we are stocked up so it's here when folks need it. And just like anecdotal experiences. People have their, like, "I got to worry about food and I have to worry about, like, socks and shoes on my feet. And I have to worry about where I'm going to stay at night. And now this is another thing that can create a barrier and how I am in the community." And so, if you don't have access to changes of clothing and you don't have access to clean underwear, what are you supposed to do? And that can also like present a lot of health issues. So we've got issues of people using products too long. So that can lead to like toxic shock syndrome. Many participants that are using agencies, such as Bissell Centre, they have compromised immune systems. And so when you add that extra layer, you know, that's a real problem. And a person could die from using a period product for too long. Like, that's the reality. And so that's terrifying.
[Becca] Is there an initiative that other Edmontonians can put their efforts towards, or is there other things that Edmontonians can do right now to help combat period poverty?
[Scarlet] There's a couple of things. I think that we all need to be advocating to all of our representatives, you know, just as we would do with any other thing such as clean water.
I think donate to organizations such as ours. I know you folks are also having a period product drive and, you know, so do that. The other piece is if you're a small business that has general public, you're a store, you're a restaurant, provide those products in your restaurants. It's not going to cost a lot of money, like in your bathrooms in your stores, it's not going to cost a lot of money. We're not all menstruating at the same time. And the amount of us that need a lot of product chances are we're already prepared. But it's for the folks that it, oops, this came up, I've been busy and this just kind of, or I've been super stressed out, whatever your issue is, just have them available. Have a little bat basket, different sizes, a couple of little different products. That will really help because if you keep it top of mind that this needs to be available to people, that's another way to keep the conversation moving. On our website, we have a letter templates that are already done. So you just need to copy, you can find your MLA, your MP, that's all on our website. Like those are available. You can just copy paste, put your name on it and send it off. And I'm sure other organizations are doing the same. I know, I know that there is a, the conversation is happening across the country. So it's not just our organization. It's not just you folks. There's Period Promise, there is Tampon Tuesdays out of Toronto, Girl Up Brampton. I think there's Girl Up Brampton and Girl Up in other cities. Here for Them is another youth based organization that's really great. And so I know all of these initiatives are happening kind of all across the country. And so wherever you're watching or listening to this from it's important to find which of your local agencies are available and to support them in that way.
[Noreen] A link to No Period Without’s website and MLA letter templates will be in the show notes.
While there’s plenty of ways to get involved on the local level, Scarlet wants to keep pushing the issue of Period Poverty to governments. Because like we saw with Pamela and the school board, or with Monica Lennon in Scotland, large, lasting changes often come at the policy level.
[Scarlet] We meet as a board once a month. When we were coming on to 2021, it was like, well, what's our, you know, with COVID and everything, we had to kind of switch up our donation process, et cetera. And then it was just like, well, what is our objective? Is this something that we want to continue on to do for the longterm? Or do we eventually not want to be an organization that needs to do this work? And so if we can get the province or the country to work towards providing it just like other countries have, Scotland being one of them, you know, that's really our initiatives. And so that's why, like everybody needs to be part of the conversation. When we advocated to the city to, like, how can we work together to end period poverty in our city? And when they were so receptive to that conversation in different meetings and said, "yep, we are going to figure this out." And then when they announced that they were providing the product in city owned facilities, aside from, I believe it was the library, and I can't remember the other buildings, but in a hundred washrooms, they're providing period products in those washrooms. And, you know, we're so proud of the City of Edmonton because they we're just like, "oh yeah, let's just figure out I do this. This doesn't need to go to council. Let's get some data, figure out what this is going to be for us. And let's just do it. Nobody's going to have the opportunity to vote this down. Cause it's just the right thing to do." It's not a matter of yes or no, it's a yes, but when? Yes, and how?
[Becca] So it's not just one initiative that's going to solve this. It's really, you know, all of these different areas working in concert to really make this a priority and get it.
[Scarlet] Yeah, that's right. That's a hundred percent right. There are stakeholders in every single conversation. For our organization the stakeholders are the general public. We wouldn't be able to do this work if people didn't donate to us. Right? So they're important. Media. Nobody would hear our message if media didn't come to us and say, "yes, we want to have this conversation." The agencies that we serve. We wouldn't be able to have this conversation and support if agencies didn't know that this product was needed and say, "Oh yes, please. We are having a hard time fulfilling this need." That's the greater community. The people who request it, who are, you know, they they're like, "Hey, I need this product. I can't supply this for myself. I don't know I'm going to do." Everybody needs to be part of it, our agency, your agency, Bissell Centre, that's how we make that real change. You can't just have one person, you know, leading the charge you need to work together in concert. And then again, look for your grassroots people support period products initiatives. I don't know all the people that are supporting yours, but I know Sugar & Spice is and they're a great local organization pick up some bread from them or a cake and bring in period products. Like they're wonderful, incredible people over there running that. And then listen to Peace Out Poverty and just do what you can to pay attention. I know it's hard right now. There's so many things we have to manage. Different announcements, COVID, work family, and we're just trying to get through, but pick one thing and pay attention to it.
[CONCLUSION]
[Andrew] We’ve seen how both big organizations and individuals have taken action against Period Poverty. And we’re not just seeing movement on this here in the Alberta Capital Region. Ending Period Poverty is a widely popular idea! The vast majority of people interviewed by Plan International Canada supported free access to menstrual hygiene products at school and work. You can read more in the full report. Link in the show notes.
[Noreen] We think it’s time to re-examine how we see menstrual products. Like Pamela says, they’re an absolute necessity that should be as freely available as toilet paper. A human right. So, What can you do? In addition to the funds raised, United Way’s GenNEXT committee has collected more than 500 packages of menstrual products to help those in need. United Way Alberta Capital Region will distribute the donations to their network of more than 50 partner organizations across the region, including the Edmonton Food Bank and Bissell Centre.
[Andrew] You can also write to your MLA to advocate for a province-wide mandate against period poverty. And if donating just isn’t within your means right now, share this episode. A big part of this fight is ending stigma and spreading awareness. We can get to a place without Period Poverty, but the journey is going to take all of us.
[OUTRO MUSIC]
[Noreen] This has been Peace Out Poverty, a podcast by GenNEXT. This episode was hosted by Noreen Remtulla and Andrew Mason. It was written by Tokunbo Adegbuyi. Interviews by Rebecca Price. This episode was produced by Castria. GenNEXT is a volunteer committee of United Way Alberta Capital Region. If you’d like to learn more or find out how you can be a part of the plan to end poverty, visit MyUnitedWay.ca.