More than 35,000 people in the London area — a population roughly the same size as St. Thomas — are living in extreme poverty, according to new data from the Poverty Research Centre at King’s University College.

For an individual, that means living on an annual income of less than $11,000, and for a lone parent it means about $19,000.

“That puts things in perspective. That’s a lot of people, isn’t it?” said researcher Don Kerr, who has been working with colleague Tracy Smith-Carrier to scour through a decade’s worth of Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Payment data in effort to examine the depth of poverty in London.

“People don’t really see the scale of it in the city, because so much of it is hidden, but 7.4 per cent of the CMA (Census Metropolitan Area) is experiencing very, very difficult economic circumstances.”

Extreme poverty is determined by taking what’s known as the Low Income Measure — which is determined to be half the amount of the median income in Canada — and halving it. London has the second- highest rate of people living below the LIM in Southwestern Ontario, next only to Windsor.

That is bad enough. But when you talk about only half of that amount, you are “almost getting into the realm of absolute poverty. You cannot feed yourself,” said Smith-Carrier. “That’s growing, not only the breadth of poverty, but the depth.”

“As a single person, trying to get by on less than $11,000 a year, it must be brutal,” added Kerr.

“A single person maybe can find an apartment for $500 if they are lucky. That’s half their income right there. The stress associated with it must be enormous.”

One of many startling statistics to come out of Kerr and Smith-Carrier’s research, the high number of people living in extreme poverty is “appalling,” said Helene Berman, academic director for Western University’s Centre for Research on Health Equity & Social Inclusion.

“It’s another reminder that we can’t be complacent,” said the Health Sciences professor who was a member of the Mayor’s Poverty Panel, which last spring came out with a slew of recommendations to tackle poverty in the city.

“We need to be shifting the conversation and stop asking why people can’t get out of poverty and instead ask what are the social and structural barriers,” said Berman. “We need to look at issues like racism, homophobia, the social and structural inequities that make it very difficult for people to access the services out there.”

Berman said politicians and community leaders need to listen to stories that explain how poverty differs for people in different demographics that are most likely to be poor.

“How it’s different for newcomers, for seniors, for single mothers, for aboriginal people, for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people,” she said. “We need to create safe spaces and establish meaningful partnerships to develop meaningful solutions and create safe and meaningful spaces for their voices to be heard and acted upon.”

The researchers say tax files from Statistics Canada provide the best source of information available on low-income Londoners.

“With the tax files, people have an incentive to report the minimal amount of money they are earning and just to qualify for Ontario Works you have to report income. But even having said that, there are probably people who have fallen through the cracks altogether. Some people living in (shelters) downtown, try to find a source of tax information from them,” said Kerr. A key part of the research is focused on determining who is poor in London, and breaking down the numbers by gender, education, background and the neighbourhoods.

Smith-Carrier is focused on looking at poverty and social-assistance levels across Ontario.

“It’s surprising for people not experiencing poverty. You think London is doing quite well, but then you compare it to other cities like Guelph or KW, and you say, ‘What is happening?’” she said.

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What is extreme poverty?

This means after-tax income of less than:

$11,020 for individuals

$19,300 for lone parent families

$21,000 for couples with/without kids

Median family income for couple families is about $86,370 before tax, $75,620 after.

Lone parents, $40,880 before tax, $39,180 after tax

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Great Recession lingers

London has the second-lowest rate of employment among Southwestern Ontario cities and employment growth is not keeping up with population growth, stats that have poverty researchers asking “What is it about London?”

Labour-force data compiled by Statistics Canada shows 75 per cent of Londoners aged 24-65 are employed, compared to 84 per cent of their counterparts in Guelph and 81 per cent in Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge. Only Windsor has a lower rate.

“It’s not like Londoners are lazier than people in Guelph or Kitchener Waterloo. If you had the opportunities in the city, you’d expect the same proportion to be working,” said Don Kerr of King’s University College Poverty Research Centre. “The Conference Board of Canada has been saying that our economy is turning around, but we haven’t seen it yet. Our city has a ways to go to recover from the last recession.”

Of course, the numbers don’t tell the whole story, and could include people who have retired early, for instance. But when there is still a discrepancy when you look at the narrower age demographic of 25 – 54. In that group, 70 per cent of people in the London CMA are employed, compared to 73 per cent in Kitchener Waterloo and 78 per cent in Guelph.

London’s population has grown since 2005, but the city’s employment growth hasn’t kept up. In fact, the gap between population and employment growth is the largest in Southwestern Ontario – where most other cities’ employment growth has outpaced population growth.

“What is the difference between these cities?” asked Kerr. “Things have really been taking off for some of our neighbours who are closer to Toronto. Why don’t we continue to see job growth in this city?

“What is it about London?”