Centre Wellington’s first “Vital Signs” report was released this week at Aboyne Hall.
To read the report online click here.
On Oct. 6 community members and stakeholders were provided a “snapshot” of the community today, regarding three main areas: the gap between rich and poor, “belonging and leadership,” and arts and culture.
One of the goals of the report, which was completed by the Centre Wellington Community Foundation, is to provide direction as to where grant funding should be provided, said foundation chair Randall Howard.
The information used in the Vital Signs report was compiled using existing data from sources like Statistics Canada and community organizations.
However, another source of information was 420 community members who completed a “Community Voices” survey.
“They talked to us about what they thought about arts and culture, leadership and belonging and the gap between rich and poor in the community,” said project coordinator Erin Pratley.
“So I think those voices were very valuable to say, ‘this is what we, as members of the community, think about this.’”
Pratley emphasized the idea is to use the report to measure progress in a few years.
“It would be great, if in a year from now, this report, was no longer relevant because our community has changed and moved beyond this point,” Pratley said.
She added the way to move forward is through conversations about the report.
To do so a three-person panel of representatives from stakeholder groups highlighted areas of the report that caught their attention. The panel included Barbara Lee from the Elora Arts Council, Paul Holyoke from the Centre Wellington Social Justice Group, and Ron MacKinnon from the Community Resource Centre of North and Centre Wellington.
Lee was interested in the arts and culture indicators.
“There’s very strong evidence that it’s valued and that people really think that it contributes to a sense of community and that there’s indicators there that show they’re a social and economic benefit to Centre Wellington,” Lee said.
“So there’s huge irony in the fact that one of the biggest challenges that some of the core cultural entities in our community struggle with (is) stable funding.”
Based on the report, 87 per cent of survey responses indicated arts and culture creates a sense of community in the municipality; 90% agreed there was economic benefit and 95% agreed there was a social benefit.
One of the responses from the survey stated, the arts create “a sense of community – I have never seen another community so invested in artistry and with so many small businesses focused on the arts – it’s why we moved here.”
Lee said discussions about overcoming hurdles are necessary for the local arts community, which employs 2.8% of the Centre Wellington community. Additionally, 11.4% of Centre Wellington industries are classified as “creative,” making it the highest percentage in southwestern Ontario, according to the report.
The report indicates the cultural community operates in silos, so Lee said there’s a need for more collaboration and sharing among stakeholders. Large cultural events like the Fergus Scottish Festival and Highland Games (25,000 people in 2014) and the Fergus Truck Show (16,300 people in 2014) have been struggling as individual entities.
In response Lee suggested forming a focus group from the culture community to create stronger initiatives and shared economic viability.
“This is a great wake-up call, this is an opportunity and we have to grab it,” she said.
The inequality gap between rich and poor was Holyoke’s area of focus.
He pointed out the report indicates the township’s richest citizens made 13 times more than its poorest citizens, saying it provides a starting point for a conversation about fairness around income inequality.
Holyoke also highlighted the impact the inequality gap could have on health and stress.
“The facts in the Vital Sign report that talk about food bank use and access to the community resource centre services and so on, remind us that for some of the people in our community stress is an ongoing, enduring fact of life,” he said. “They worry about how am I going to get tomorrow’s supper? Am I going to have the rent cheque for the end of the month?”
The report states that in 2014 the Community Resource Centre served 336 Centre Wellington households, while the Centre Wellington Food Bank served 708 individuals.
Holyoke said he’s concerned that ongoing stress can increase the likelihood of sickness and chronic disease.
Another point Holyoke picked out was the gap in understanding about whether income inequality was an issue in the community.
“When we think about moving our community to be a better place, you have to think about reducing that gap in understanding and experience in our community between those who have a lot and those who have a little,” he said, indicating that the belonging and leadership section of the report may be the best place to start.
“Maybe if we bring people together so they understand each person’s life experience better, that kind of conversation, interaction, can lead to ways to think about reduced stress, ways to reduce the effects of low income and increase the fairness of our community,” he said.
The aspect of the report that jumped out at MacKinnon was the number of children living in poverty.
“One in 12 children in Centre Wellington are living in poverty,” he said. “Imagine yourself outside the school yard … and the children are all there.
“If you’re at Elora Public School there would be 454 children out in the playground and if you were to separate 39 from that group that would be the number of children that are living in poverty – just from that one school.”
He said it’s possible for the negative social determinants of health to impact the futures of the one in 12 children living in poverty in Centre Wellington.
“I think it is something that does deserve addressing,” MacKinnon said.
He also brought up survey results indicating the inadequacy of social supports available within the community. However, he pointed out the areas of concern were not identified so it’s the social services’ job to discover what the indicator means.
MacKinnon said in his opinion, the belonging and leadership section ties everything together because it measures the positive action being taken in the community.
The first Vital Signs report was created in 2001 by the Toronto Community Foundation. The reports are now completed in more than 65 communities across Canada and around the world.
However, it’s important to remember the report aggregates information.
“This report is only valuable if the community knowledge turns into action, if we can actually make something,” Howard said.
“Perhaps in this report are the seeds of something that could help us address the Governor General’s challenge to build a smart and caring nation.”
The full report can be found inside this week’s Wellington Advertiser.
