1. MLA Welfare Challenge
Jagrup Brar, MLA
January 1-31, 2012

2. Press conference to announce the
MLA Welfare Challenge

3. Jonquil Halgate, Jean Swanson and Constance Barnes at
the press conference to announce the MLA Welfare
Challenge

4. Talking to reporters at the MLA
Welfare Challenge announcement

5. January 1, 2012 my family walks me to the
skytrain station to begin the challenge

6. Press conference to begin the
challenge

7. Surrey Urban Mission where I spent
my first night

8. Homeless and sleeping in a shelter my
first night

9. Working cleaning the Mission before
my breakfast

10. Discussing my budget with reporters

11. Tracking where my money went

12. Looking for homes in Surrey

13. Rooms sometimes are only as big as
the bed

14. My home for the first 15 days

15. The results of my first shopping trip

16. Free bread from the Surrey Urban
Mission for those living in poverty

17. Meeting seniors who help support the
Surrey Urban Mission

18. Discussing the impact of increased
costs on fixed income seniors

19. Child poverty is the highest in the
country

20. Teen mothers struggle to make ends
meet and go to school

21. Farm workers make less than
minimum wage

22. Immigrants often struggle to find jobs
in their fields

23. The Food Bank is no longer an
emergency need

24. The Food Bank has become a regular
source of food for many

25. The Food Banks serve over 90,000
people in BC

26. Moving to Vancouver

27. Many are interested in where I will live
in Vancouver during the challenge

28. My new home for the month

29. Welcome to my room

30. The fridge doesn’t work

31. My bed against the wall

32. My new refrigerator

33. Thoughts from my children

34. No TV or internet wondering how I will
keep up with the outside world

35. The bathroom

36. Writing my journals

37. Learning my way around the
downtown eastside

38. Carnegie Townhall meeting on the
downtown eastside

39. Sharing my thoughts on the policy
discussion

40. Chatting with Seth Klein about
shocking numbers from the CCPA

41. Food lineups can consume your day

42. Washing up from breakfast

43. Binning is a way many on the
downtown eastside survive

44. Preparing to return to my life in Surrey, walking
to the final news conference with my buddy

45. Questions?