by Laura Walz [email protected] A community checkup has provided a snapshot of Powell River, illustrating both successes and challenges.
Powell River Community Foundation launched Powell River’s Vital Signs 2011-2012 at a luncheon on October 4 in Dwight Hall. Real Sigouin, president of the foundation, welcomed about 60 community leaders and representatives from businesses, local government and educational and non-profit organizations.
The Vital Signs report is one of 21 undertaken by community foundations in other towns and cities across Canada. The report includes research data on how Powell River is doing in 12 key areas: economy, disparities between rich and poor, work, learning, environment, housing, transportation, getting started, safety, health and wellness, belonging and leadership, and arts, culture and recreation. It also reports on the results of the Vital Signs community survey to which 685 Powell River residents responded in July and August.
Paul Schachter, foundation vice-president and Vital Signs manager, gave an overview of the findings. “Looking at Powell River’s Vital Signs reveals that our community has many successes, but it also has many challenges,” he said. “I’m going to highlight just a few of those areas, paying special attention to some of the challenges, because the idea is that we want to be able to recognize and address our needs.”
For the most part, the report has not attempted to identify causes or provide solutions, Schachter said, as the mission of the project was to report findings from the data research and survey. “That task is for the governments and Powell River’s active community groups.”
Close to one third of Powell River’s children live below the poverty line, said Schachter. “That’s the highest in all of the 21 communities across Canada who did Vital Signs reports this year,” he said. “Times are also hard for a significant portion of our population. Nearly one quarter of families in Powell River live in relative poverty.”
Seniors fare better in the community. The population 65 years and older has a lower rate of poverty than the BC average.
Schachter said the report found a growing income gap in Powell River. “We’ll have to be watchful for potential destructive effects,” he said. “High inequality diminishes an area’s economic growth by failing to fully use the skills and capabilities of all citizens and by undermining social cohesion. That leads to increased social tensions and raises questions about fairness and social justice.”
The survey reveals that income disparities and the lack of programs to offset economic hardships greatly affect the Tla’Amin (Sliammon) First Nation community, Schachter said. “We all need to see to it that there is equality in opportunities for work and for access to the area’s resources,” he said. “It should not be considered the sole responsibility of the first nations population to deal with those issues.”
While the majority of people believe that the community is doing well on literacy and learning in Powell River, the report indicates otherwise.
Powell River falls below the provincial average in high school graduation levels. In 2007-2008 and 2009-2010 school years, 35.2 per cent of 18 year olds did not graduate, compared to the provincial average of 29 per cent for the same period. More than 50 per cent of the students enrolled in grade 12 did not write or did not pass the provincial English exam in the same period, notably higher than the provincial non-completion rate of 32.7 per cent, according to the report.
The community rated high on the Composite Learning Index (CLI), which measures lifelong learning in all areas, including school, home, work and the community. Powell River had an overall CLI score of 83 in 2010, which exceeded the national score of 75 and the provincial score of 78.
However, Powell River’s rate of university degrees is significantly lower than the BC average. “Unfortunately, employers look at that and not CLI scores,” Schachter said. “Current job trends show that employers are requiring more education. Without improvement in this area, residents may find themselves out of the running even for many local jobs.”
Powell River has one of the smallest public libraries per capita in BC, said Schachter, and the effect shows up in the data. “While Powell River residents make the same number of visits to the library as the BC-wide average, the number of items in circulation is much lower, which may indicate that we cannot make enough items available to the community with our small facility,” he said.
The survey results indicate residents are positive about their individual efforts to protect the environment and not as positive about the government, Schachter said. “Despite good intention, our area emits large amounts of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases primarily from vehicle use. We’re also not making enough headway to increase recycling and reduce waste production. In fact, recycling has gone down in the last couple of years.”
With respect to protection of the environment, Schachter said “active help is needed from all levels of government to undertake programs to assist institutional and individual desires and efforts to preserve the environment.”
In the area of safety, Vital Signs found that Powell River’s reputation as a safe community is well-deserved. Violent crime, nonviolent crime, property crime and overall crime severity have all been in decline in recent years.
Transportation is a problem. Eighty-three per cent of survey responses rated the ability of BC Ferries to meet the future needs of the community as below average or poor. “Transportation is a pressing problem,” Schachter said. “We are contending with skyrocketing ferry rates, which create a barrier for personal travel and commerce.”
As well, Powell River residents are heavily dependent on private vehicles for local and out-of-town travel, Schachter explained. “Despite the efforts to upgrade public transit, the low rate of use by commuters indicates that current bus service is not able to adequately to serve the needs of the working population.”
The report and complete survey results are available
. Information about the foundation is available
.
