Child poverty, among other social issues, is still very much a concern in Powell River, according to Powell River’s Vital Signs Report 2015.
Released by Powell River Community Foundation on Wednesday, October 7, Vital Signs examined data such as census reports and over 500 individual surveys to assess 13 key issues, including arts and culture, health, housing, economy and jobs.
This is the first Vital Signs report released in Powell River since the initial one was released in 2011. Like the report four years ago, this year’s report pinpoints child poverty as a special area of concern.
“We haven’t been able to reduce child poverty in Powell River,” said Paul Schachter, manager of Powell River’s Vital Signs project. “The trend is still going upward.”
According to the report, the rate of child poverty in Powell River is “alarming,” at just over 23 per cent, more than 20 per cent above the provincial average.
Although Vital Signs showed that many survey respondents rated Powell River’s community safety and commitment to the arts positively, there was concern about the lack of well-paying full-time jobs.
According to Schachter, the lack of local jobs providing a living wage and the high number of Powell River children living in poverty is related.
“Most youth poverty involves children in working families,” said Schachter. “We found that around 50 per cent of people in Powell River earn under $30,000 a year.”
In the report, a living wage to support a family of four in Powell River is listed as both parents making $21.30 an hour at 35 hours a week each, for a combined income of just under $78,000.
Vital Signs also reported that Powell River does better than average preparing students for trade careers. While 53 per cent of last year’s first-time grade 12 students graduated, the number who eventually achieved graduation requirements was 93 per cent.
Lack of affordable and properly maintained rental housing was another area of noted concern in the report, with rental units being three times more likely to need repair than owner-occupied homes.
According to Kevin Wilson, Vital Signs coordinator, the purpose of the report is to assess where local groups should focus their efforts.
“People have a lot of love for Powell River and are willing to work to better their community,” said Wilson. “We hope that now that these problems are identified people will move towards fixing them.”
Powell River is one of 29 communities across Canada issuing Vital Signs reports this year. The report cost just under $25,000 to produce and was paid for by sponsors.
