Jean Swanson

Jean Swanson is an anti-poverty activist living and working in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Jean Swanson is a coordinator of "Carnegie Community Action Project"(CCAP), an organization dedicated to the welfare of the Downtown Eastside, one of Canada's poorest neighbourhoods. [Swanson, Jean. "Downtown Eastside Seeks Foreign Aid", "The Tyee Magazine", Oct 18, 2007] She believes that "The way to “revitalize” (the) community would be to restore purchasing power to the low-income residents who live (there): Raise welfare rates, end the barriers to getting on welfare and boost the minimum wage." [Swanson, Jean. "Why poverty is worse than it was 30 years ago", "Canadian Dimension Magazine", February 21, 2006]

Swanson also founded and works with the group "End Legislated Poverty", a British Columbia coalition with stated aims to "educate and organize in order to make governments reduce and end poverty". ["End Legislated Poverty" homepage: [http://www2.povnet.org/elp ] ] ["News Release: Carleton University's Kroeger College Announces 2007 Winners of the Arthur Kroeger Awards", March 28, 2007 quoted at [http://www.carleton.ca/duc/newsroom/newsreleases/Mar_28c.html ] ]

In the 1980's, Swanson worked with the BC Solidarity Coalition, as well as Vancouver's Downtown Eastside Residents Association (DERA). ["News Release: Carleton University's Kroeger College Announces 2007 Winners of the Arthur Kroeger Awards", March 28, 2007 quoted at [http://www.carleton.ca/duc/newsroom/newsreleases/Mar_28c.html ] ]

She was also previous national chair of the "National Anti-Poverty Organization" (NAPO). [Thobani, Sunera. "Exalted Subjects: Studies in the Making of Race and Nation in Canada", University of Toronto Press, 2007, ISBN:0802094546] , and was also the recipient of the 2007 Carleton University's "Kroeger College Award for Citizenship and Community Affairs", an award recognizing "creativity, persistence, and overall leadership in demonstrating the value of a locally based initiative." ["News Release: Carleton University's Kroeger College Announces 2007 Winners of the Arthur Kroeger Awards", March 28, 2007 quoted at [http://www.carleton.ca/duc/newsroom/newsreleases/Mar_28c.html ] ] Swanson was chosen for the award "for her tireless work against poverty in Canada. (She) is a private individual living in Vancouver who the jury concluded best represented the qualities of commitment, leadership, and community ties." ["News Release: Carleton University's Kroeger College Announces 2007 Winners of the Arthur Kroeger Awards", March 28, 2007 quoted at [http://www.carleton.ca/duc/newsroom/newsreleases/Mar_28c.html ] ]

Swanson is also the author of "Poor Bashing: The Politics of Exclusion".

References