According to Powell River Community Foundation’s 2015 Vital Signs report, Powell River’s child poverty rate is a serious problem, the rental-housing vacancy rate is low, rent is high, the unemployment rate is high and overall poverty rates are expected to trend higher. Those findings are now the focus of Tapping the Groundswell. When the project ends in June, it will make recommendations and report on a social plan for Powell River
“We’re engaging the community,” said project coordinator John Young, who has been working on policy and social change initiatives for more than 20 years. Before moving to Powell River, he was director of communications and outreach with Oxfam Canada in Ottawa.
Young believes the current city council has identified social planning as a top priority. He and a staff of three are in the final planning stages for the project’s biggest community engagement; a free, two-day conference and public discussion on Friday, April 1, and Saturday, April 2, at Powell River Recreation Complex.
“People give themselves of their time and talk a lot with genuine concern and wish to do something,” said Young. “I really do hope this project leads to action, to make it as easy as possible for council to act with the work that we’re able to provide, as well as make it as hard as possible to make it not to act.”
Close to one in three children in Powell River under five years of age live in poverty, a statistic higher than provincial and national averages and one that is particularly worrisome to Adrienne Montani, provincial coordinator for First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition.
“There are particular groups that are way over represented in child poverty stats,” said Montani, one of the guest speakers at Groundswell.
Montani identified children of single parents, first nations, recent immigrants, children with disabilities and children of visible minorities as being particularly vulnerable.
Both Montani and Young agree projects such as Tapping the Groundswell are important public consultations.
“You need to have community support to sustain political will,” said Young.
City of Powell River councillor Karen Skadsheim said council has identified social planning as a strategic priority.
“Communities can do a lot if we know what’s wanted and needed,” said Skadsheim. “There are certain things we do control and what we do control, we’d like to make work in this community.”
Young and Montani are aware of the problems, but most people do not know poverty exists in their neighborhoods and at what scale.
“It’s partly the stigma attached to it,” said Montani. “Unfortunately there are lots of judgements about why people are poor, so people go to great lengths to hide their poverty.”
Tapping the Groundswell is sponsored by Powell River Diversity Initiative and funded by provincial and federal governments through the Job Creation Partnership. Admission to the conference is free, but participants must preregister.
For more information, go to tappingthegroundswell.ca.
