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The Quality of Life Commission

The Quality of Life Commission is a community action and advocacy group that works with Faith in Action, Poverty in Action, Edmonton Coalition on Housing and Homelessness and the Edmonton Social Planning Council. We are a voluntary group of citizens established to listen to the voices of Edmonton people whose lives have been severely affected by policies in health, education and social service. Losses in job security and fear of further cuts are having a dramatic impact on people living in poverty. We seek to identify what is happening to people and to present the findings in a way, that would give voice to those who, are ignored by government policies.

Listen to Me

In 1995 , with the support of the Edmonton Social Planning Council, the Commission undertook a study of the effect of government cutbacks. The results were published in a document entitled Listen to Me , and resulted in a statement of concern by more than twenty faith group leaders about the interdependence of rich and poor throughout the world.

Listen to the Children

In 1999, building on the findings of the 1999 study the Commission undertook a study of children's experience of living in poverty, the results of which were published in a document entitled Listen to the Children. The problems that were identified were presented to officials of the provincial Health, Learning, Human Resources and Employment and Children's Services Departments of the Provincial Government and to the Edmonton Police Commission and Community Services Department.

Resulting from the discussions the Edmonton Community Services Department has undertaken a Pilot Project involving the development of a recreation program for needy children in a district in Edmonton.

Families First

In 2002, arising out of these initiatives, the formation of a programme Families First has been undertaken to be begun in the fall of 2003. This project has been developed on the model proposed by Dr. Gina Browne whose research in the Hamilton area showed how the integration of services delivered to families in need resulted in cost savings to the service-delivering agencies as well as resulting in improvements to family well-being. By building on the recreation project above, and initiated by a consortium made up of the Alberta Government Departments, of the Childrens Services and Community Services, and the Boards of Education, Capital Health Authority and the Community-University Partnership for Research on Children's Issues, the project's aim is: "To improve the well-being of low income families and their children through innovative service delivery, applied research, and well-informed public policy." The Quality of Life Commission is represented on the Advisory Board of Families First.
You can learn more about Families First: Edmonton by clicking here.

Vibrant Communities

The Commission has also been involved in the development of another initiative Vibrant Communities which is a poverty reduction project involving the City, the Province and a number of community agencies. There are similar Vibrant Communities projects elsewhere in Canada.

To learn more about Vibrant Communities click here.

Members of the Quality of Life Commission

 
Dr. David Cornish is a retired psychiatrist. Prior to retirement he was the medical director and Director of Clinical Services at the Alberta Hospital in Edmonton. Since retirement Dr. Cornish has been involved in a number of committees mostly dealing with issues concerning seniors including medical services, health and wellness.

 

 
Dr. Betty Farrell is a retired social worker who currently volunteers in the community in St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Parish, the Catholic Women's League, the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace, as a parish representative to S.T.O.P. [Striving to Overcome Poverty], Edmonton and twice a week volunteers at the Anawin Food Bank. She received an honorary Doctor of Sacred Letters from St. Stephen's College for her outstanding service contributions to the wider community.

My personal philosophy: My Christian upbringing, my social work studies and work developed in me a deep concern for marginalized members of society and a desire to find ways to assist in changing the systems that keep people in poverty. As a retired person, membership in the Quality of Life Commission affords the opportunity to study those issues affecting the disadvantaged, to inform the general public of our findings, and to lobby governments for change and improvements where needed in those social justice matters.

 
Kay Feehan is a professional social worker and educator who was Chair of the Social Work Program at MacEwan where she administered programs for day and evening students and developed on-site delivery for aboriginal and rural groups. She has volunteered in a variety community boards and was an initiator of the Quality of Life Commission, and Families First Edmonton. She received an honorary doctorate from St Stephen's College, Edmonton.

My personal philosophy: The opportunity to put social justice principals into practice is both a privilege and a responsibility. My hope is to contribute to community endeavors which fight poverty and advocate in regard to issues affecting the disadvantaged. I also want to enable systems to become more humane and effective.

 
Margot Herbert is an Associate Professor Emeritus, University of Calgary Faculty of Social Work and has been a social work practitioner, administrator and teacher for many years. Since retiring she has been active as a volunteer with a number of advocacy organizations, including the Quality of Life Commission. Her participation in the work of the Commission comes from a lifelong commitment to advocacy for better life opportunities for the most vulnerable among us, and her belief that the combined voices of groups of thoughtful and well informed advocates can effect needed change.

 
Clare Irwin is a retired lawyer and chair of the Social Action Committee of St. Paul's United Church. He has been active in social justice issues in the Edmonton city centre serving as board chair and full time volunteer staff at Bissell Centre and vice-chair of Inner City Agencies Foundation.

 
 

 
Bob Kayes is a retired minister of the United Church of Canada who has worked within the church's social justice ministry for years.

My personal philosophy: "I am motivated by a conviction that the resources of a community belong to all the people of the community, and all the people are entitled to access to these resources."
 

 
Edward F. Kennedy is a Redemptorist priest who has been actively involved in social justice initiatives in Alberta and British Columbia. He was an Alderman on Edmonton City Council for six years, a member of Alberta InterFaith, president of the Edmonton and District Council of Churches and a founding member of the Ecumenical Commission of the Archdiocese of Edmonton. A native of The Pas, Manitoba, he is of highland Scottish descent whose forebears came to Nova Scotia and Glengarry County in Ontario over two hundred years ago.

 
The Rev. Don Mayne is a retired United Church minister and former federal government employee working for the New Horizons program. He was the founding President of the Edmonton Interfaith Centre for Education and Action for five years, and President of the North American Interfaith Network for four years. Don's interests include aging, seniors, poverty, housing and Housing First, elder abuse and racial discrimination. St. Stephen's College awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Divinity degree in 1997 and the City of Edmonton inducted him into the Community Service Hall of Fame in 2007.

My personal philosophy: "I believe that all of us are God's children, so I have to care about my brothers and sisters who are hungry, who are homeless, who aren't being looked after by our health care system, those who are the victims of wars and natural disasters. I am limited in what I can do as an individual, but I must do what I can."

 
Patricia McGoey is a professional social worker with a background in counselling and social work education. She has a strong commitment to social justice and social work education and has been chairperson of the Social Justice Commission of the Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton. She is a founding member and past Chairperson of the Quality of Life Commission.

 

 
Jean Waters has an M.S.W. and worked as a Clinical Social Worker and as a Pastoral Counsellor in Edmonton for many years. She has a Doctor of Ministry degree. Prior to retirement Jean was a faculty member of St. Stephen’s College , co-coordinating the Master of Arts in Pastoral Psychology and Counselling program. She continues to be involved with student learning.

My Personal Philosophy: I am committed to the values of shared power, justice for all members of the community and advocacy on behalf of those who are often voiceless in our society.

 
Louise Zoerb throughout her life has been a taxi driver, cook, bouncer, waitress, gas jockey, dispatcher and customer service representative. Living in poverty, raising her two children alone and also raising her grandchildren has given Louise a clear view on how life is affected by things we think can not be changed for the better. As a result she has been involved in a number of organizations that assist people living in poverty including Poverty in Action, the Dickensfield Amity House and, was one of the organizing members of the first Western Poor People's Conference.


Honorary Members
Virindar Lamba
Jan Reimer
Senator Douglas Roche



Alberta Quality of Life Commission
c/o Edmonton Social Planning Council
#37, 9912 - 106 Street,
Edmonton, Alberta,   T5K 1C5, Canada 		Email

Phone: 780-423-2031
Fax: 780-425-6244

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