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November 12, 2004
New chair for Yad b'Yad
Jewish tradition motivated Rivkin's work in social justice.
KYLE BERGER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
September was a month of change for Yad b'Yad, the Coalition on
Poverty. At the beginning of the month, the organization welcomed
Shelley Rikvin as its new chair. Then, at a planning meeting later
in September, members decided to change the name to the Council
on Poverty: Addressing Economic Security in the Jewish Community.
"We have moved from a coalition to a council to be more in
alignment with other existing structures ... based on individual
representation rather than organizational representation,"
Rivkin told the Bulletin. "We also wanted to include
the concept of economic security to allow us to broaden the scope
of the issues addressed and to communicate a commonly understood
goal and desire of most people in our community – that of economic
security."
Rivkin's interest in taking on the chair position of Yad b'Yad came
from the success of one of the organization's primary goals –
raising awareness.
"When I learned about the work of Yad b'Yad and heard the very
compelling statistics about the extent of poverty in the Jewish
community, I saw taking on a leadership role as an opportunity to
bring my commitment and experience to this issue with the hopes
of making a difference," she said.
Increasing awareness even further will be one of her personal objectives
for her two-year term as chair.
"The first goal is to keep the issue [of poverty] in the public
eye and on the Federation agenda," she said. "This is
not an issue that can be resolved quickly or addressed within a
time-limited way.
"The second goal is to increase the planning and policy development
aspects of the council so that we can bring concrete, doable and
measurable recommendations to the Social Service Planning Council.
With more than 30 years experience dealing with social justice issues
within the Jewish and general communities of Greater Vancouver,
Rivkin is not new to the struggles of those who are living on marginal
incomes.
For the past 20 years, as a social worker, she has been involved
in developing training and education materials to raise awareness
of issues related to violence against women and abuse of children.
She is currently the director of the Centre for Leadership and Community
Learning at the Justice Institute, has just finished her term as
a member of the grants advisory committee of the Jewish Women's
Endowment Fund and has served on the boards of the Jewish Family
Service Agency and the Burquest Jewish Community Association. She
is also the chair the New Westminster Police Based Victim Services
Association.
Rivkin suggested that her Jewish roots have emphasized the importance
of helping those who are less fortunate.
"Our traditions teach us the importance of tzedakah and tikkun
olam," she said. "I think that one of the most important
things that the council can do is work with organizations and agencies
to identify ways to reach out to those who are struggling and find
ways to include them in respectful and non-judgmental ways.
"Yad b'Yad can conduct the research, document the findings
and facilitate action but ultimately it is up to everyone in our
community to implement the changes," she added.
Along those lines, Yad b'Yad is currently involved in the creation
of a central assessment mechanism for the Jewish schools and camps
that the local community members attend. This process would eliminate
the need for a family to go through an assessment procedure every
time they needed financial assistance with the schools or camps.
Statistics suggest that one out of every seven members of the Jewish
community in British Columbia lives below the poverty line.
"I think our goal now is to sustain the attention, deepen our
understanding of the impact of the statistics and develop much-needed
policies to address the issue," Rivkin concluded.
For more information on Yad b'Yad, call 604-257-5151.
Kyle Berger is a freelance journalist and graphic designer
living in Richmond.
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