By Roy L Hales
The City of Powell River, qathet Regional District and Tla’amin Nation, along with Lift Community Services and First Credit Union, have begun work on Phase I of the Regional Poverty Reduction Strategy. This includes a community well being survey, which will be conducted between March 15 and April 15, 2021.
Groceries by Rex Roof via Flickr (CC BY SA, 2.0 License)
The online survey is accessible through Participate Powell River.
A 2019 report concluded that one in four children and youth in Powell River and one in six seniors have experienced poverty.
The average person receiving disability assistance spends 82% of their income on rent
Indigenous people and people with disabilities are twice as likely to experience poverty and children in single parent families are three times more likely to experience poverty than those from two parent families.
The survey is meant to identify challenges and opportunities to reducing poverty in Powell River.
Regional Social Planner, Kai Okazaki, said, “By engaging multiple agencies and stakeholders, we can make a collective impact to improve the well-being and quality of life in our community.”