Low-income families and the positive outcomes associated with participation in a community-based leisure education program

ABSTRACT

Leisure is promoted as critical to enhancing both individual and community wellbeing; however, for individuals living in poverty, access to and participation in leisure is often difficult, which makes experiencing the positive outcomes associated with leisure and recreation even more difficult. The purpose of this paper is to describe the positive outcomes low-income families experienced through participation in a community-based leisure education program. Through semi-structured interviews with ten mothers living in poverty and two staff members that delivered the leisure education program to low-income families, this study highlights the positive outcomes associated with participating in a community-based leisure education program.

KEYWORDS:

• Poverty
• community recreation
• leisure education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Jackie Oncescu is an Assistant Professor and a leisure researcher in the Faculty of Kinesiology at UNB. Her research focuses on community leisure delivery systems and access and inclusion provisions, and she teaches courses on topics related to community health, community development, and leisure education.

Chelsey Neufeld was a research assistant and a former graduate student in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management at the University of Manitoba.