It’s a very short trip from the limousine seat to the curb.? Jim Mann never missed a payroll for the dozen men who worked for his flourishing landscaping business he built from the ground up. Now he lives hand-to-mouth. His pockets are empty long before his next social assistance cheque arrives.

In early 2010 over two hundred civic and faith leaders fanned out into thirty Ontario communities. Their goal? To explore how the least fortunate people in one of the world's richest places are faring.

The Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition's latest social audit exposed a tattered social assistance system run by volunteers desperately struggling to fill the gaps. There can be no papering over the savage inequalities and suffering exposed in this compelling look at life from the margins.

Brice Balmer is an adjunct professor in the Graduate Theological Studies program of Conrad Grebel University College and the University of Waterloo. He works in a variety of ecumenical and multi-faith organizations, and his research interests include spirituality, addiction, social justice and poverty.

Brice Balmer's profile page

Mira Dineen is entering her final year of study at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, where she is completing her Honours B.A. in Global Development Studies.

Mira Dineen's profile page

Kingston writer Jamie Swift is the author of a dozen books, most recently The Vimy Trap, or How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Great War (with Ian McKay), finalist for the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing and the Canadian Historical Association Prize for the Best Scholarly Book in Canadian History. He has held the Michener Foundation fellowship for public service journalism and was a longtime documentary producer for CBC-Radio’s “Ideas.” In addition to the writing life, he is a social justice advocate. He taught “Critical Perspectives on Business” at the Smith School of Business, Queen’s University for many years.

Jamie Swift's profile page

• Short-listed, Speakers Book Award, Legislative Assembly of Ontario

?”How long, O Lord? How long before our politicians listen? Four poverty audits have taken place since 1986. But we still desperately lack affordable housing. More families still use food banks. Sole-support mothers still must plead for relief from mandatory school fees. People with mental illness still wander our streets. This is scandalous in a rich place like Ontario. I encourage people to read Persistent Poverty and take action. Show that we still care for one another.? “

Terence Finlay, retired Anglican Archbishop of Toronto

“According to Jewish liturgy we are all capable of rising above our petty self interest and acting in a truly humane way by taking concrete steps to end the suffering of the poor and the trauma of the oppressed?. This book identifies injustices and provides direction for the policy change we so urgently need.?”

Rabbi Shalom Schachter, Beth Israel Synagogue, Peterborough, and National Representative, CUPE

“Persistent Poverty is peppered with the stories of real people facing economic hardship and the humiliation, shame and stigma that come with being at the have-not end of the table in an affluent province…. As a former businessman, now on social assistance in Kingston, said wryly, “It’s a short trip from the limousine seat to the curb.” “

The Kingston Whig Standard

?”ISARC’s faith community is in solidarity with people one stumble from the street. The voices know the scene. The authors have done their homework. This is a must read in classrooms and in public conversations, but most importantly for those in government.”?

Father Paul Hansen C.Ss.R, Director, Redemptorist Biblical Justice Consultancy

“?Persistent Poverty will leave you demanding dignity for those left behind by our inadequate social policies. Elected politicians should be forced to read a chapter each night before bed.?”

Margaret Little, Political Studies, Queen's University