July 2008

Welcome

Welcome to the new electronic version of the Indicator newsletter. Your comments and feedback are welcome; please email info@communitycouncil.ca or info@qolchallenge.ca. A limited number of paper copies are available. Call or email to receive the newsletter by mail.

What does it cost to live in BC’s Capital Region?

If we want a sustainable community, families need a range of opportunities so they can thrive. The Living Wage dialogue focuses on a typical family of two parents and two children. Based on annual estimates for census families and individuals (Statistics Canada, 2005), in BC’s Capital Region, 27.2% of two-parent, two-children families earn an income that is less than the Living Wage.

Find out more: click here (pdf)

Launching Phase Two of the Quality of Life CHALLENGE

130 people from all sectors met at the Victoria Conference Centre on May 13, 2008 to explore how to sustain your business while tackling poverty in the region. John Juricic of the Greater Victoria Economic Development Agency welcomed guests and introduced panel moderator Hon. Ted Hughes, Co-Chair, Greater Victoria Commission to End Homelessness. A panel discussion bringing together perspectives from the Office of BC’s Representative for Children and Youth, lead sponsor Coast Capital Savings Credit Union, Calgary Winter Club and their involvement in their local "Vibrant Calgary" initiative, and an employee from Value Village addressed the theme of tackling poverty. Maureen Young, Chair, Leadership Roundtable of the Quality of Life CHALLENGE launched the strategies of Phase Two of the CHALLENGE.

Quality of Life CHALLENGE partners are working together to generate long-lasting solutions that prevent and reduce poverty in BC’s Capital Region by focusing on three strategic areas: increasing sustainable incomes, reducing costs of living, and creating learning opportunities.

The CHALLENGE has a new Director and is very pleased to welcome Zsuzsa Harsman to BC’s Capital Region, and to this new role.

Zsuzsa has a long history of volunteering and community engagement, beginning during the Trudeau years as an advocate for bilingualism. She was part of the youth delegation that succeeded in changing legislation that opened the first French public high school in Toronto. A school she was later to attend.

Graduating from Concordia University with a degree in political science and communications, she spent the next ten years working in the private sector in media and culminating in owning and running her own successful communications company - specializing in public awareness campaigns, organizational development and training.

As rewarding as the work was in her own company, it didn’t offer Zsuzsa an opportunity to make changes at the root of problems. After getting her Master’s, she worked in the non-profit sector in building community capacity.

In this area Zsuzsa had the opportunity to be involved in visionary work across a number of sectors. From working in the disability arena where she taught the first university credit course on Barrier-Free Design in Canada at Ryerson Institute, to working in partnership with people with disabilities and the City of Toronto to develop internal and external systems changes in hiring practices, training of building inspectors and developing municipal guidelines for accessibility. She also worked in the childrens’ services, youth, seniors, and mental health sectors.

Zsuzsa’s specialty is in developing and implementing new programs in partnership with community members, social service providers and different levels of government. She has successfully combined theory with professional realization in environments that often have no established precedents. Before joining the Quality of Life CHALLENGE, she worked for the Government of Ontario, responsible for a 4.4 milion dollar grant program helping women who have experienced violence to gain economic independance and later moved to the Ontario Seniors’ Secretariat as a policy advisor.

Zsuzsa can be contacted at 250-383-6166 or zsuzsa@qolchallenge.ca. The Quality of Life CHALLENGE website is www.qolchallenge.ca.

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CHALLENGE Volunteer: Helle Kallas

What happens when people are inspired to work towards a common vision? Each person bringing their own expertise and inspiring others to do the same? These people make a difference. They transform lives. They give hope. They open hearts. Together they make an impact.

Paul Latour had such a vision: after watching a TV program where a team of people came together to build a house for a deserving family he was inspired to do something. He said, "So I thought to myself, why not give it a try! It doesn't have to be as big as tearing down a home and rebuilding it in a week. It could be something smaller yet still meaningful. I could gather a group of friends, and friends of friends. Together we could make a difference!"

"Immediately, the face of a woman I know popped into my head. Her name is Helle Kallas, and she has had multiple sclerosis for over 20 years. This neurological and degenerative disease increasingly saps her energy and decreases her mobility. Gainful employment is impossible. Despite this, she has given back to the community in many, many ways. Friends think of her as a quiet hero, a person who regardless of very difficult circumstances has continued to pay it forward. Unfortunately, to someone with such limited physical and financial resources, such giving has a price. In Helle’s case it has been her garden."

One of Helle's many volunteer activities is being involved with CHALLENGE. is a Community Action Team member and contributed to the development of the experiential too called the Poverty Experience.

Paul and friend Kanoux Larson wth their enthusiasm and commitment turned an idea into reality. The "Local Extreme Garden Makeover" engaged over 300 volunteers who put in over 400 hours in one day and completed a back-breaking garden project worth over $25,000 in Helle’s backyard. This doesn't even include the live music, BBQ lunch, face painting, massage therapists, clowns, film crew, and children who brought water to make sure everyone was hydrated. All this because they were inspired by Paul's vision, and by Helle!

So that's what happens when people are inspired with a great vision. They make an impact. They make a difference. They transform others' lives and their own. For more information about this event or to contact the companies that contributed their resources, check out the Supporters page of their website: www.extremegardenmakeover.ca.

New Research

The Community Council conducts community-based research about local quality of life issues in order to contribute to long-term community change.

Recent reports from the Community Council include:

Labour Market Dialogues Phase Two Plain Language
Summary Report (pdf)

Youth Housing Needs Report - coming August 2008

Family and Community Well-Being Social Infrastructure Assessment Survey Results (pdf)

Recent reports from the Quality of Life CHALLENGE:

Addiction, Recovery and the Workplace:
An employer information guide (pdf)

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Volunteer Profile: Sia Zabaras

Soft-spoken, effective, important contributions to strengthen community - that's the way some volunteers work. Aspasia (Sia) Zabaras is one of these volunteers. In her day job she is a Planning and Information Consultant with VIHA, and in her volunteer life, Sia brings her knowledge, experience and connections to the Community Council. She has been an active Board member, has contributed significantly to the research work of the Community Council, has supported the Board in their succession planning work and continues to be actively involved on committees. As well as her work with the Community Council, Sia contributes to local cultural events like the annual Greek Festival.

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"Out of the box" Hiring and Retention Practices

"Greater Victoria has the lowest unemployment rate among major metropolitan areas in Canada", reported the Times Colonist in its June 6 edition. The large number of entry-level jobs available is considered by most analysts a sign of a growing economy.

But economic growth isn’t always good news for employers, who need stable and committed staff. Recruiting new staff is time-consuming and expensive. Staff turnover and shortage of skilled workers cost employers in many ways. Advertising for new staff, administration related to an employee leaving and another starting, overtime to other staff while a position is vacant, and training new employees to the point where they are productive, all directly affect employers’ bottom line.

The Labour Market Dialogues, LMD project, has demonstrated that employers in the Capital Region are very interested in "out of the box" hiring and retention practices. The third phase of the project continues to identify positive and innovative practices used by local employers in successfully hiring and retaining talented people with transition and scheduling barriers to employment.

The impact of introducing a simple practice, such as "regularly asking for staff input", can be very positive for both employers and employees in generating a culture of open communication that improves productivity.

"Communication is everything!" says owner Amanda Schofield of Clean Conscience Ltd. "How do you know what problems employees are having if there isn’t a safe place they can regularly voice concerns and have their problems addressed?"

Local practices to design an easy to implement Human Resources plan that will address the hiring and retention needs in the Capital Region will be documented. The plan will be tested by a number of employers participating in the project, and then evaluated to produce relevant, practical and easy to implement recommendations for local employers.

The LMD project is identifying realistic alternatives for employers to tackle the current labour market challenges, and take an active part in improving the quality of life in our community.

Find out how to be part of the solution to the labour market challenges. Contact Álvaro Moreno, tel: 250-383-6166, alvaro@communitycouncil.ca.

Vancity Credit Union contributed funds to the Labour Market Dialogues project.

The Government of Canada contributed funding to this initiative. The opinions and interpretations in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of Canada.

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Food Matters! – Matching Supply and Demand for Local Foods

Understanding and action related to food security issues have increased dramatically in the past couple of years – from being the concern of a marginalized, small group to making front page news and becoming a movement, both here in BC’s Capital Region, and across the country. Yet if 10% of people changed their buying habits and bought 25% of their foods locally, there would not be a food security problem in this region. We would have a food supply problem. Rising land prices, lack of on-farm labour, increasing regulation in food production and processing and now farm tax assessments stand in the way of meeting the supply and demand of local foods.

This is an important time. There has been great success in building the demand for fresh local foods. Now access to and supply of local foods needs to grow. This means working with local governments, farmers, environmental groups and planners to explore ways to address land tenure issues for new farmers. And it means working with agencies in the social sector on access to quality foods for people living on low income.

Capital Region Food and Agriculture Initiatives Roundtable (CR-FAIR), a program of the Community Council, has important work to do still – from supporting the establishment of a regional food policy council to updating the food security assessment – to strengthen regional food security.

Organizations, individuals, businesses and local governments have roles to play in the food security puzzle. One easy step is to adopt or adapt the Regional Food Charter.

Have a look at the Food and Health Action Plan for ways that different sectors in the community can take action.

Send CR-FAIR your Food Security Charter: info@communitycouncil.ca

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The Intersection of Non Profit Agencies and Funders

In May 2008, Tim Brodhead, President and CEO of the McConnell Family Foundation, continued a discussion begun in November about the state of the non-profit sector. Addressing members at the Association of Family Serving Agencies' Annual General Meeting, Mr. Brodhead reiterated that the sector, as it is currently structured, is not sustainable.

Read more in the summer edition of AFSA news...

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New and Changing Faces at the Community Council

The Board of the Community Council is very pleased to announce that Peggy Mahoney has accepted the position of Executive Director, effective July 28. Peggy’s many years of leadership experience in the social sector, her high level of commitment and strong vision complement those of the Board and staff and position the Community Council on strong footing to move forward.

Jane Worton, usually known as Research Director for the Community Council, is currently starring as Mama! Jane gave birth to baby Oliver on Saturday 17 May in Duncan. Congratulations to the whole family: Jane, her husband Greg Awai and big brother Finnegan. We miss you here, and value the important work you’re doing growing that wonderful family.

Jodi Sturge is the Research Director while Jane is on maternity leave. Jodi brings a wealth of experience, knowledge and enthusiasm to the Community Council.

The Board of SPARC BC recognized Mabel Jean Rawlins at their annual meeting on May 23 by presenting her with the 2008 Deryck Thomson Award. The award honours groups and individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to social planning and community well-being. The event was made even more significant for Mabel Jean as Deryck Thomson has been such a strong and sage influence on the Community Council and Mabel Jean, and as Derek Gent, Board President and former Community Council Treasurer, presented the award.

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