Poverty Awareness & Community Action

The PACA: Support Circle provides wrap-around supports for Lived Experience Educators who volunteer with Poverty Awareness & Community Action, including education and training, individual advocacy support, mutual aid (weekly produce deliveries and monthly grocery deliveries), and monthly social programming.

Joining the PACA: Support Circle is an opportunity to learn how to work in good ways with low-income communities. Support Circle volunteers receive poverty awareness education and peer advocacy training, so that they can appropriately volunteer, facilitate events, and provide 1-1 advocacy support.

The PACA: Support Circle has weekly one-hour meetings to share information, receive training, and provide support to each other as advocates and volunteers. Support Circle volunteers are expected to attend regularly, though we understand that people may be absent occasionally due to other unexpected commitments. 

The weekly meeting time will be set according to people's availability. Meetings will begin in October.

We ask that Support Circle volunteers make a one-term commitment, and we appreciate and encourage people to volunteer on a long-term basis.

This program is free and open to UM students and members of the wider community who want to learn how to work in good ways with low-income communities. UM students who successfully complete the program will receive recognition for Community Engaged Learning on their Experience Record.

Community Engaged Learning facilitates online and in-person poverty awareness workshops for students, staff and faculty at the University of Manitoba and the wider community. To book a workshop, please email povertyawareness@umanitoba.ca.

We have developed a variety of presentations and hands-on workshop exercises, which can be combined to create a tailored presentation or workshop that meets the learning needs of your group.

• Budgeting on a low income
• Resource look-up
• Service-provider role play
• Working in good ways with low-income community members
• Applying for Therapeutic Diet - Therapeutic Diet Allowance Request and Justification
• Applying for Disability - Disability Impact Assessment
• Know Your Rights
• EIA and MSPD Health Benefits

Timing

Workshops are typically 2-4 hours long and are preferably scheduled in the afternoon or evening.

Cost

Typically, people will book a 3.5- to 4-hour experiential workshop. The partial cost-recovery fee for the workshop is $1,500. Any additional contributions are welcome and would go towards training, advocacy, and social supports for the lived experience educators.

Each workshop can accommodate up to 50 participants. We limit workshops to ensure students support a more intimate learning atmosphere and encourage deeper discussion with each other and the lived experience educators.

Smaller presentations and workshops are possible. 
Please inquire directly.