Chatham-Kent's social assistance levels continue to be steady at just over 3,000 cases where they stabilized after the last recession.
Director of Social Services Valerie Colasanti says a community profile put together by the legal department shows most of the people living in poverty are middle-aged, not seniors.
"Our largest demographic living in poverty is a moving target, it does often change. What we are seeing in Chatham-Kent though, we have a lot of people living below the poverty line in their 40s," she says. "We've seen an increase in the education levels in the last number of years, we certainly are seeing an increase in the number of people achieving their Grade 12 but we still are below the provincial average."
Colasanti presented the statistics to the Chatham-Kent Board of Health as part of an orientation session for new members.
