Pump (pictured) said this presentation is meant to share resources available to low-income people in a comfortable and low-barrier way. Photo courtesy of Sarah Pump

Since its start in December of 2023, Poverty Advocacy Nanaimo has worked to connect low-income people and families with resources that tend to be harder to find.

Poverty Advocacy Nanaimo (PAN), led by Sarah Pump is a non-profit organization that aims to improve the standard of life for those with lower incomes by breaking down barriers and sharing resources available in Nanaimo.

PAN was started by Pump in 2023 after becoming unable to work due to chronic illness four years ago. She quickly discovered the difficulties those living with low-incomes face finding resources. She said she and her family were lucky, her skills as a researcher from her past work as a librarian helped her find the resources she needed to keep a roof over their heads.

“Most people who are just trying to survive don't have the bandwidth to search all that information out,” Pump said. “So I became really determined to start sharing the roadmap that I had designed for me and my son to survive because we live on Provincial Disability. I'm proud that we are thriving, not just surviving.”

She said it became clear she had a passion for sharing information and increasing accessibility to resources and aid.

As an university-educated person, Pump said she is fortunate to be comfortable researching online or making phone calls to find the best-fitting resources for her. But this is something she said is not the case for everyone.

“A lot of the clients I work with aren't comfortable with phone calls. Or maybe, unfortunately, judgment is often made when people meet someone for the first time, so it really can limit people's opportunities,” she said. “Whereas I had a sort of an easier time, and I'm very conscious of that.”

Since starting PAN, Pump said they have gotten feedback from the community about how an organization like this was needed in Nanaimo.

“The reaction on a daily basis is, ‘oh my gosh. I didn't know about that. Oh, wow.’ So that's incredibly rewarding to have someone message me and say ‘I just saved $10 on my cell phone bill because I didn't know that I could apply for a disability discount,’ or for someone else to say ‘I just got a gift card for my groceries to feed my family because I didn't know that [the Society of] Saint Vincent de Paul offers gift cards,” she said.

PAN has since grown to become a team of 16 volunteers who work behind the scenes or directly with clients navigating them through applications for support.

PAN’s primary program is Snacks 4 Kids which offers children’s snacks to low-income families in Nanaimo. Ten families at a time sign up for the four-month long program, where every two weeks, they receive a snack hamper in exchange for working with a PAN volunteer to learn about local resources.

“We're asking them to stretch out of their comfort zone, to apply for programs they haven't applied before, to sit down and do these applications to try new things,” she said.

One example she shared is when she worked with a mom with five kids through the Snacks 4 Kids program. She was able to get them signed up for the new Canadian Dental Plan. One less thing that mom has to worry about.

In hopes of connecting more people in the community with resources they might not know about, PAN is hosting a one-hour presentation on November 15th between 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the downtown Nanaimo Harbourfront location of the Vancouver Island Regional Library.

Pump said this presentation is meant to share resources available to low-income people in a comfortable and low-barrier way.

Pump has already done this presentation for staff members at organizations around Nanaimo, but this will be the first time they are offering it to the general public.

She said this event is for anyone who is struggling with things such as housing costs, the price of food, and managing daycare costs.

“I think often, when I meet with clients, and I meet with most of them virtually, because of, again, my own physical limitations, they are shocked at the suggestions I have that they didn't know about before,” Pump said. “There's not one magic bullet that is going to make life easier, but if you can put things together, puzzle pieces into a puzzle, then it can start making life more manageable.”

She said the downtown library is a great location for this presentation as it is already a hub of information and supportive community space. If this presentation goes well and is well attended, she said she would be happy to continue offering it to the public.

More information on the presentation and Poverty Advocacy Nanaimo can be found on its website and on its Facebook and Instagram @povertyadvocacynanaimo.

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.