The number of families living in poverty in Toronto is increasing sharply, a report released Monday suggests.

Frances Lankin, president of United Way of Greater Toronto, presents a study, called Losing Ground: The Persistent Growth of Family Poverty in Canada's Largest City, on Monday in Toronto.
(MARKETWIRE/Canadian Press)

The United Way of Greater Toronto says 30 per cent of Toronto families, amounting to about 93,000 households, are living in poverty. A similar study in 1990 showed about 16 per cent of families in the same situation.

The United Way study, called Losing Ground, reports that more than half of all single-parent families were low-income in 2005.  It also shows the poverty rate in Toronto is growing faster than in other parts of the country, where prospects are stabilizing or improving.
 
"The numbers confirmed what we were sensing in our work in the community," said Francis Lankin, head of United Way of Greater Toronto. "But it was much more startling and it, to me, is a wake-up call."

Aster Tkelizgy, who came to Canada from Eritrea, is one example of a family head who calls life for herself and her children "very, very hard."

Tkelizgy is a refugee and a single parent who arrived in Toronto about 18 months ago. She takes English classes and gets $600 per month from welfare for herself and her children. 

The report says there are obvious signs of some families in Toronto slipping below the poverty line: increased evictions, the number of people applying for credit counselling, and the mushrooming of money-lending outlets in poorer neighbourhoods are all indicators of growing financial problems.
 
Lankin said the provincial government's commitment to a poverty-reduction strategy is a start to turning things around, but she wants all levels of government to do more.