Tackling poverty and its impact on social and emotional well-being
“Stay calm. You’re in the Kootenays.” The slogan caught my eye as I waited in line with my grandchildren to order gelato.
As my three-year-old grandson twirled himself repeatedly around my legs, I began to wish we’d chosen the ice cream shop down the road. No one was in a hurry here; the wait seemed interminable.
When it was our turn, we ordered crazy coconut, cookies and cream, and my personal favourite, salted caramel. I paid the bill and we headed to the veranda to savour our treat. The gelato was worth every second of the wait.
Later that afternoon, as the memory of salted caramel bounced around my mouth, I felt somewhat guilty. Unbidden from the depths of my subconscious, I recalled the situation of a local family. With two weeks remaining in the month, a mother had a meagre $30 in the kitty with which to feed her family. I had just dropped $10 on gelato.