Mothers Leading Change: Transforming Lives through Participatory Action Research
I think it was learning for all of the Center for Family Equity staff, and a real collaboration because lots of the single moms were very hesitant at first to speak, to say, “Oh, gee, I don’t think you’re right, Lea,” but by the end, they realized that they actually had something to say. They had an equal voice, and they were arguing and saying, “No, well, what about this?” And it became a really, really lively, engaged moment.
Dr. Lea Caragata
Pictured: Making Mothers Matter – Childcare peer researchers and Centre for Family Equity staff at a research retreat in Kelowna.
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About the Episode
Vivica Ellis from the Centre for Family Equity and Dr. Lea Caragata from the UBC School of Social Work discuss how their participatory action research has helped to address family poverty in British Columbia (BC). They speak to several projects, like the Making Mothers Matter project which explored how low-income mothers’ health and wellbeing are affected by childcare access, and the Justice at Work project which examined the impacts of COVID-19 on income and the precarious labour and employment of lone-mothers in BC. The participation of women and gender diverse peer researchers allows a greater understanding of the diverse experiences of lone mothers and has resulted in sound public policy recommendations grounded in lived experiences.
Timestamps
0:57 – Get to Know: Dr. Lea Caragata
1:13 – Get to Know: Vivica Ellis
2:05 – The Centre for Family Equity
3:33 – Dr. Lea Caragata’s Research
5:43 – How Women and Gender Diverse Individuals are Involved in the Participatory Action Research
7:20 – The Making Mothers Matter Project
7:55 – Peer Researchers and the Advantages of Peer-to-Peer Dialogue
12:55 – The Justice at Work Project
18:10 – Integrating Rural and Remote Communities in British Columbia for Regional Diversity
19:25 – Reflections: The Importance of Trust and Shared Values in Partnership
Mentioned in this Episode
Partner: The Centre for Family Equity
Project: Making Mothers Matter
Project: Justice at Work for Lone Mothers in BC
Report: A Whole Life: The Impact of $10-a-Day Child Care on the Health and Socioeconomic Well-being of Low-Income Lone Mothers in BC
Report: No Way to Escape: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Low-Income Lone-Mother Workers in BC
Letter to the Minister: Evidence-based recommendations on $10-a-day child care sent to the Province
Our Guests
Viveca Ellis serves the Centre for Family Equity in the role of executive director and is a founding member of the organization. In 2014, she banded together with other lone mothers impacted by poverty and lack of access to legal aid, housing, and child care, to mobilize grassroots leaders and advocate for public policy solutions to lone-parent family poverty in BC. Viveca remains dedicated to mobilizing grassroots movements and campaigns toward human rights, gender equality, and socioeconomic equality.
Dr. Lea Caragata completed her PhD at the University of Toronto, focused on the interplay between land use, social movements and the democratization of public space. Her areas of research and specialization include gender, poverty and marginalization including in international context. Her research has examined welfare and labour market changes, critical constructions of resilience and the provisioning roles played by children and youth in low-income families.