Storied Lives: Shifting Perspectives on Poverty is a joint research project by the Guelph & Wellington Task Force for Poverty Elimination [1] and the University of Guelph's Community Engaged Scholarship Institute [2] and Live Work Well Research Centre [3]. By amplifying the voices of those experiencing poverty, the project encourages members of the public to examine their assumptions about the causes of poverty.

Podcasts

Using composite stories that highlight lived expertise and commentary from experts who work in fields related to poverty reduction, this podcast series shines a spotlight on structural factors that shape poverty in Ontario and beyond. The use of audio allows for a grounded and intimate approach to mobilizing knowledge about the intersectional experience of poverty.

 

Illustration by Katie Carey

Storied Lives Trailer [4]

"There is a social safety net, but it's not a net that actually catches you, it's one that entangles you." Listen to the trailer for Storied Lives, a podcast that looks at the lived realities of poverty through an intersectional lens.

 

Illustration by Katie Carey

Episode 1: Saving Grace [5]

This episode explores intersecting themes of poverty, mental health, and physical disability. We hear from Elsa Mann, Team Lead, Mount Forest Family Health Team, who leads a team of outreach workers to support people living with poverty in rural communities.

 

Illustration by Katie Carey

Episode 2: Quota [6]

This episode explores intersecting themes of poverty, racism, and xenophobia. We hear from Jasmine Ramze Resaee, Director of Advocacy & Communications at YWCA Toronto, advocating for poverty reduction, gender equity, and racial justice.

 

Illustration by Katie Carey

Episode 3: Old Enough To Hit [7]

This episode explores intersecting themes of poverty, family and sexual violence, intimate partner violence, and harassment. We hear from Lieran Docherty, Director of Programs at Women Abuse Council of Toronto, a policy and planning body working to eradicate violence against women through system change.

 

Illustration by Katie Carey

Episode 4: Paying Customers Only [8]

This episode explores intersecting themes of poverty, addiction, drug use, mental health, racism, policing, and physical violence. We hear from Dr. Akwatu Khenti, Assistant Professor at University of Toronto's Dalla Lana School of Public Health, who focuses on mental health, addictions, and antiblack racism.

The Research Behind the Podcasts

To create the story that begins each episode, we invited people living with poverty to share their stories with us. During a series of focus groups, participants revealed their unique experiences, and how these are impacted by multiple, overlapping, and compounding oppressions.

Using their testimonies, we composed four composite stories. These are fictional stories based on real experiences. Every scenario in these stories happened or was informed by themes that emerged in the focus groups. Each podcast pairs one of the stories with commentary from a poverty elimination advocate.

This 4-part podcast series is a collaboration of the Guelph & Wellington Task Force for Poverty Elimination [1], and the University of Guelph's Live Work Well Research Centre [3] and Community Engaged Scholarship Institute [2]. This research was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and received ethics approval from the University of Guelph Research Ethics Board (#18-12-027).

We're deeply appreciative of the advocates and the people experiencing poverty who shared their stories, knowledge, and time with us.