May Kwan
VFR: May, tell us about yourself and the work that you do at YWCA Crabtree Corner.
May Kwan: I am the Supervisor of Community Programs at YWCA Crabtree Corner and am passionate about people and community. This passion pairs well with my role where I work alongside a wonderful team of colleagues who listen to community members and try to bring forward programming and services to meet their needs. I help to support many of the staff’s programs, but I am also aware that before many families are ready to focus on programming, the basics of food security and shelter need to be met. At YWCA, we work on providing direct resources or community referrals to help support these basics as a part of the wrap-around model for both parent and child.
VFR: YWCA Crabtree Corner is a hub of activity. Please share with us about the programs YWCA Crabtree Corner runs under one roof and the importance of having integrated programs and services at a single location.
MK: YWCA Crabtree Corner started as a small grassroots community movement in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside during the late 90s. A small group of single moms who needed help with childminding came together to offer this support for each other. At the time, it was a basic one-room facility. The increased need for this type of service quickly became evident and the voices of the single moms were heard. In 2003, our current facility was built.
We have come a long way from those simple beginnings: we now regularly serve 800 community members. The programs that are offered to our community range from emergency childcare services, children and parenting groups, transitional housing to programs that support food security such as our lunch program that serves 100 individuals daily.
There are also programs to help address issues on how to reduce income inequality gaps, especially for folks in single-parent families, older adults on fixed incomes, and Indigenous and Newcomer populations.
Empowerment of all who identify as women and their families are key to shifting change, and in listening to the community we try to bring programs that people identify as needed.
VFR: What role does the YWCA community kitchen and rooftop garden play in your programming and how is food instrumental to the work that you do?
MK: YWCA Crabtree Corner’s community kitchen team works hard to bring a warm and healthy mid-day meal Monday through Friday to the community and families in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. We are able to serve about 100 meals each day, with higher numbers of meals served during special holiday events. This translated to 30,496 meals prepared and served in 2021! Additionally, we introduced a hamper program for families during the pandemic. In hearing from many single parent families and older adults in our community about how low-cost healthy food is becoming more inaccessible, we share any of the produce not used in our daily meals with the community. The rooftop garden is located in the heart of downtown Vancouver, and while surrounded by concrete, it yields 1.5 tons of organic produce each year. In 2019, participants and program leads started an Indigenous Gardens program on the rooftop garden, and we had families take part in the tending and harvesting of these plants.
VFR: How do the food donations dropped off by VFR volunteers support the food programs run at Crabtree Corner?
MK: VFR’s donations support the food programs run at Crabtree Corner in so many ways. Due to the unique partnerships that VFR has with different suppliers, our families have had a chance to share staples like bread and other baked goods, but also enjoy specialty items such as delicious Okanagan apricots or gluten-free breads and pastries. In 2021, we received 329 food donations from VFR totalling 42,199 pounds of food, and this additional food support helped to narrow the gap of food insecurity among our community.
VFR: Research shows that female lone parent-led households in BC with children less that 18 years of age have the highest rate of food insecurity at 34.2%. It is clear there is a relationship between gender and the ability to regularly access affordable, nutritious food. Please explain more about this interaction between gender and food (in)security and how race, class, sexuality, and ability also have an impact as well.
MK: Barriers in women’s economic well-being relates to their ability to regularly access affordable, nutritious food. Women who face systemic barriers to good employment and economic security, including a lack of affordable housing and childcare, gender pay gaps, and over-representation in low-wage and part-time work, will have to prioritize what is essential to the household. Additionally, social norms and attitudes also play a role. For example, women take on the bulk of unpaid care work at home, which leads to work-life conflicts and impacts their ability to retain their jobs and advance in their careers.
Indigenous, racialized, and Newcomer women, women living with disabilities, and LGBTQ2S+ women face even greater barriers to economic well-being. Moreover, the pandemic is also intensifying the economic barriers that women face, and the long-term implications for their economic well-being are significant.
With the programs offered at Crabtree Corner, we understand that many individuals who turn to Crabtree Corner are looking for support to address a cross-section of challenges and issues. This may include homelessness, financial insecurity, intimate partner violence, intergenerational trauma, racism, family separation, childcare affordability, addictions and recovery issues, challenges as new immigrants or refugees, and insufficient employment or educational opportunities.
At YWCA Crabtree Corner, 80% of program participants report having an annual income of less than $20,000, and 70% are single mothers. One example of a barrier many single moms face are the types of jobs available. For example, working shift work means that affordable childcare is not always available at the same time as the work schedule, so additional childcare costs are often associated with these employment opportunities.
VFR: Engaging government, companies, and the wider community to advance policies and practices that promote gender equity is a core part of the work done by YWCA. Tell us about this work and why it is so vital to improving women’s lives in our community.
MK: YWCA Canada Initiatives:
A Feminist Economic Recovery Plan for Canada
Women, Two-Spirit, and gender-diverse people have been at the forefront of Canada’s pandemic response and women need to be centered in Canada’s economic recovery efforts going forward. 56% of women workers are concentrated in occupations known as the 5Cs: caring, cashiering, catering, cleaning, and clerical functions. Many of them are the essential workers folks call heroes, but neglect to provide protection or benefits. Women have also borne the brunt of the economic losses.
Within Canada, in March 2020, women represented 70% of all job losses in the core demographic aged 25 to 54 years. 1 in 5 women workers lost their jobs or the majority of their hours in February and March.
Instead of giving in to the urge to cut government spending, now is the time to invest in communities hardest hit by the pandemic.
YWCA Canada has launched 'A Feminist Economic Recovery Plan for Canada: Making the Economy Work for Everyone', an 8-point plan to advance gender equity in the post-pandemic recovery.
In addition, YWCA Metro Vancouver works to promote gender equality in the workplace and help more women ascend into leadership roles.
We advocate for universal early learning and child care, which increases mothers’ participation in the labour force, contributing to their long-term economic security, higher tax revenue yields and fewer labour shortages.
We advocate for work/life balance and family-friendly workplaces. Flexible work arrangements, including distance-working and flexible schedules, provide for better retention of female leaders within organizations, which become part of the talent pipeline eventually moving into senior management positions.
We provide mentorship programs for young girls giving them the opportunity to meet positive role models, explore their career and education options, learn leadership skills and better prepare for their futures.
We provide employment programs such as FOCUS@Work that empower women in job search and career transition.
We provide a myriad of services for single mothers to reduce the barriers to their full participation in education, employment, and economic independence.
VFR: How can people get involved with and/or support YWCA (Crabtree Corner)?
MK: There are a myriad of opportunities to support YWCA Metro Vancouver. This includes direct donations, volunteering, become a voting member, or utilizing our services in one of our Social Enterprises such as the Health and Fitness Centre, or staying at the YWCA Hotel. The revenue generated helps to support our community programming. Please connect with our website https://ywcavan.org/ to see what best matches your involvement interests.
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