The demographics in and around the neighbourhood of Burnside Gorge Community Association are that of many low income families. The bus tickets help our clients to find or maintain housing, access job interviews or meet with their counsellors. We don't have the budget to purchase the number of bus tickets needed to assist our families and rely on the buy 1 get 1 free model that LITA provides. One of the biggest users of bus tickets is our Homeless Family Outreach Program. Over the past year, we have seen the number of families who access this program increase dramatically and the kinds of crisis they are in increase in severity. More and more families are presenting to us as "homelessness" as their issue and not just being at risk for homelessness.

The individuals we serve have been displaced from their homes because of abuse. Most women have very limited access to the family finances when they come in; in fact, many come with virtually no money. Often times, they have to travel to areas of town that are far away from the house to attend legal meetings, apply for income assistance, attend to their children's needs and apply for housing. It is essential for them to have transportation to these locations, and we rely heavily on the tickets purchased through the LITA program to make this happen. The impact of poverty in the lives of the women that we serve is becoming more and more significant with each passing year. Income assistance rates remain at such a low level that women cannot survive without support from outside sources. A single women living on $590 per month, for example, simply does not have enough money to pay for food and rent, yet alone transportation.

We work with adults that range from age 18 right up to their 80's, a group of people who are marginalized and living in poverty. Providing bus tickets to our clients allows them to attend appointments with health care providers, get to work, search for housing or attend training programs that increase their employable skills. Many of our clients also attend support groups and counselling sessions to help deal with issues arising from trauma they suffered in the past. We provide bus tickets to those who are staying with us here at the shelter but more and more we are also providing tickets to those who are housed in the community and are the "working poor." Between Rock Bay Landing Shelter staff and Client Service Workers we give out 500 to 600 tickets a month and probably turn down about as many requests for tickets due to budget constraints. The increase in demand is likely due to the increase in numbers of people using shelter services, both those who are homeless and those who are working poor.

Without the bus ticket program, my clients could not go to job interviews, hospital appointments, income assistant interviews, counselling and run away from domestic abuse. The bus ticket program not only provides new comers with opportunities to access community services but also learn about BC transit systems. We have been providing clients with bus tickets to attend a number of workshops which have increased their self-esteem and sense of belonging in Canada.

We see many families at the Centre who do not own vehicles and would not normally be able to cover the costs of weekly travel to and from the agency due to their restricted budgets. Thankfully, the LITA enables clients and their families to come to our centre for the services they so desperately need. We expect to see further increase in our ticket usage in 2020 as a number of inquires have been made by current and wait-listed clients/families.

The program allows us to provide tickets to our volunteers, most who are on a limited income, to travel to and from their homes to volunteer with us. Our volunteers are a core piece to ensure the successful running of our centre. We also provide tickets to clients in crisis, if a need is expressed. We order bus passes for each of our staff, two of whom have just begun to work with us. As a non-profit organization which employs persons with disabilities, staff are not able to afford their own passes as most are on a limited income as well.

I would like to share a story about a young family who has been provided free bus tickets for the past three years to get to our Journeys of the Heart (JOH) program in the Westshore. This family is struggling with poverty, the mom works part-time and dad does cultural sharing and he is an artist which means his monthly income is never reliable. This family has three children, their youngest son James has been coming to our program since he was a year old. In the beginning of this year, James was not able to talk in class, because of his shyness and he was behind developmentally for his age. In the last few months, this little boy has blossomed into a happier, more confidence child due to the program's safe and friendly environment and the devotion his parents who brings him to class come rain or shine. Now, James can sit quietly whilke working in his workbook, he can sign the cultural song and participate in the wing chief role with great pride.

This family would not be able to attend JOH without the bus tickets your agency provides Hulitan on a monthly basis. This Aboriginal child will have a greater chance to complete his grade 12, because of his positive early years' experience and the devotion of his parents who learnt in program that education is an important part of a child's rearing to become more successful and healthy adult.