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What is The Social Planning Council?

Activities:

o Monthly Meetings: Attend meetings with guest speakers from within the community &/or presentations at each meeting. We currently meet the fourth Monday of every month (excluding summer) at City Hall with light lunch by donation.

o Facebook & Email Group: Utilize the network on Facebook. Start discussions, learn about & share upcoming community events, projects and meetings. If you don’t use Facebook, then join the email network instead.

o Inform City Council: The SPC provides reports to City Council regularly and the City keeps the SPC informed. Use the network and have your voices heard.



Strategic Direction of the Social Planning Council of Williams Lake & Area:

o Poverty Reduction and the local Living Wage Campaign.

o Community Collaboration and Networking.

o Retention and Succession of residents within the Area.



Community Social Planning:

o Supports communities in building an integrated approach to complex problems that take into account social, economic, and environmental concerns.

o Maximizes the effectiveness of often scarce resources by working to reduce duplication, overlap and competition.

o Provides an ongoing forum for communication, coordination and conflict resolution.



Friday, June 22, 2018

Community Updates (17) - Jun 22, 2018


Please visit http://cm.pn/3sw1 for the following updates from around the community!

Table of Contents:
1) Next SPC Meeting - Monday Jun 25 from 11:30 am  - 1:00 pm
2) 92nd Annual Williams Lake Stampede - Fri Jun 29 - Mon Jul 2
3) Stampede Breakfasts - Jun 29, 30, Jul 1 & 2nd (7 - 11 am)
4) Daybreak Rotary's Stampede Parade - Sat Jun 30th
5) Four Directions Festival
6) 50th Anniversary - CRD
7) Tour de Cariboo - Saturday Sept 8
8) Seniors Village is looking for volunteers
9) Accessibility Advisory Committee - first Tuesday each month from 12 - 1 pm
10) TalkInToughTimes.ca - Stress, Anxiety, Fear and Depression...
11) Performances in the Park 2018 - July schedule
12) Citizens on Patrol - looking for members (19 and older) & office volunteer
13) Support Group for Parents of Children with Developmental Disabilities
14) Williams Lake Stampede is in need of volunteers - Jun 29 - Jul 2nd
15) 1st Annual Golf Tournament - Aug 11th (pre-registration required)
16) Summer Youth Access Pass - unlimited drop-in swimming
17) Ministry of Mental Health & Addictions' strategic plan for child & youth mental health.

SPC Monthly Meeting Minutes (draft) - May 28, 2018

May 28, 2018 - 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Location: Community Futures Office
In attendance (from sign-in sheet): Pratyush Dhawan, Jon Jackson, Daphne Johnson, Mark Doratti, Jessica Dunn, Carla Bullinger, Diane Wright, Anne Burrill, Larry Stranberg, Shannon Thom, and Stefanie Hendrickson.

Accept Minutes & Agenda
During lunch we:
·   Review meeting agenda for May 28, 2018
Motion to accept agenda as presented - MFSC
·   Review meeting minutes from Apr 23, 2017
Motion to accept minutes as presented - MFSC

Business Meet & Greet
Business "Meet & Greet" with:

·         1) Mark Doratti, new Executive Director of the Williams Lake and District Chamber of Commerce

-Informal introduction - Chamber is also a not-for-profit and Mark knows many people at the table already including: Carla Bullinger, Shannon Thom, Larry Stranberg, Pratyush Dhawan and Jon Jackson.
-Moved back to Williams Lake seven years ago.
-After the fires, Mark was looking for employment, and around that time Claudia put in her resignation and encouraged Mark to apply.
-Mark is excited to have a paid position, doing what he loves (already was very engaged with the Chamber).
-Their boundary extends to Bella Coola to the East, South to Lac La Hache (Canim Lake road), and north as far as McLeese Lake, and east to Horsefly and Likely... hence Williams Lake and District.
-Focus - stand up for business, as best as they can. Engage with local clients, encourage policy changes to be made (often these policy changes filters higher - BC Chambers, and even nationally).
-Monthly member meetings are encouraging and refreshing. The whole community benefits from local economic success.
-Exists to make the community a better place.
-Discussions - there are many commonalities between our organizations, and as the SPC has slightly changed their constitutional focus (includes economic now).

·         2) Beth Veenkamp, Economic Development Officer with the City of Williams Lake

-New role for just over a year now.
-Meeting at City Hall tonight - discussing the legalization of cannabis.
-Working on Wildfire Recovery - event on May 30th
-Used to be more of a community piece in City Hall, now this falls under Beth's mandate.
-Community Development pieces also.

Some City updates:
-Laurie Walters and Sue Zacharias have announced they are not running again for Council.
-Cariboo Lodge - roof is now on.
-First avenue social housing - parking is a contentious issue at this time (project will likely break ground next spring).
-Hospital - group meeting again shortly - team to start drawing up plans (likely 3 years timeline).
-Heavy Industrial lands - interest from investors for cannabis production.
-Investors - interest in TRU and partnerships.
-Williams Lake has largest stockyards sales in BC
-Meat producers - looking at local abattoir facilities
-Large log building plans - will be part of a new training program
-Movie producer interest has been discussed
-Housing prices are up
-Working with Mark and Stephanie - everyone is paddling together towards similar goals
-It is a good time to live in Williams Lake

·         3) Stefanie Hendrickson, Executive Director for the Williams Lake Central Business Improvement Association.   
       
       -New position (8 - 9 months).
-Comes from a family of entrepreneurs
-Non-profit, non voluntary (formed under provincial law) representing 50% minimum of the owners who pay a levy within the downtown core.
-New branding has taken place this past year.
-Shop local, shop downtown
-Branching out is harder due to limited capacity (some larger BIA organizations can take on more e.g. crime and social housing)
-As they grow - expanding their focus is a possibility.
-General marketing of the downtown core is primary focus at this time.
-Checkout new video made - entrepreneur attraction video
-Comment - the BIA has been doing a great job.
-Boundaries do not include industrial areas, or Boitanio park.
-Property owners decide if renewal takes place - currently in renewal phase (properties in boundary are mostly business).

Comments:
-A one-stop shop for our area would be beneficial (preventing confusion and running around in circles).
-More than 50% of homes being sold right now are being bought from families from the Okanagan and the Fraser Valley
-10 775 population within city limits (but this is misleading as the area served covers over 30 000 people from surrounding areas).
-Attachment to the area is important for people to want to stay (currently hard to meet friends, etc.).
-Doctors are doing well at recruiting new doctors to the area - make them have such a great time they will want to stay (or come back).
-School attendance is currently up.

Social Innovation Approach - Presentation
Anne Burrill, of Change Maker Consulting discussed what a Social Innovation Approach is, and how we can apply it to our work in the community to address poverty and other complex issues across sectors.

Social Innovation... what does this mean? (purpose of this presentation)
Note - Anne is not an expert in this area, but is quite well versed in this process.

Social problems are very complex and cannot be solved with one approach, or by figuring out a single solution. e.g. just giving someone a job, will not necessarily solve their problems.

Sometime the causes and effects are muddled up.
Question - Mental Health and poverty - are they living in poverty because they are mentally ill, or depressed because they are living in poverty?

Look from different lens and bigger picture of the whole system.

Definition of Social Innovation: Many definition exist. In summary - Changing the systems, and policy, in a way that has durability and transformative impact to resolve complex issues.

Universal Health Care (video)

Society is made up of systems, and some people fall though the "cracks".

Whose fault is poverty, and whose responsibility is it to fix?
There is no clear answer to this!

Fact - The more inequality in a society, the more serious health problems residents are affected by (regardless of income levels). This means a solution would affect everyone within the community (not just those living in poverty).

Complexity (according to Brenda Zimmerman's analysis):
We have simple (baking a cake/known), complicated (rocket to the moon/knowable) and complex problems (raising a child/unknowable).

Tools of Social Innovation:
Systems Thinking
Adaptive Cycle
Design thinking and prototyping

What does all this really mean for us?
-Recognizing the problems but seeing the opportunities
-Addressing the root causes ad not just treating the symptoms
-Focusing on solutions that put people and the planet first
-Choosing optimism and action over apathy.

Multiple brains from all the sectors present is required.

Working harder alone is not enough to solve complex problems.

Community has a critical leadership role to play in generating and implementing new, innovative solutions.

Roundtable Updates  

Stefanie (WLCBIA) - Four directions festival after stampede parade on June 30th

Jon Jackson (Red Cross) - small business program is coming to an end (deadline May 31), Community Partnership program is still taking applications, and Red Cross is continuing to help individuals and families. NEW Support to individuals and families - who suffered damage to or loss of property. NEW Disaster risk reduction - focus more resilient for future disasters. Keep talking to people, many people thought they could get over things on their own but are now feeling overwhelmed. Red Cross - Still here, still busy.

Beth Veenkamp (City of Williams Lake) - Volunteers can be hard to find in Williams Lake (Vol-inspire - online platform for volunteer engagement). Requires a community champion. Coordinated effort around volunteer opportunities. Could there be a permanent home for something like this? Answer - Daphne from Williams Lake Hospice offered to be the sought after champion.

Mark Doratti - National Tourism Week - events taking place this week. June is almost here, which means Stampede is just around the corner.

Larry Stranberg (Community Futures) - 1- 4 pm free workshop on "Fireproofing your Business". Financial workshops are taking place this week.

Motion to adjourn the meeting (1:03 pm) - MFSC

Friday, June 8, 2018

Community Updates (18) - Jun 8, 2018


Table of Contents:
1) Free Public Legal Workshop on Kinship Care - Jun 14 at 1:30 pm
2) Positive Action Word of the Week(s)
3) Seniors Village is looking for volunteers
4) Accessibility Advisory Committee - first Tuesday each month from 12 - 1 pm
5) Access Awareness Day promotes removing barriers
6) TalkInToughTimes.ca - Stress, Anxiety, Fear and Depression...
7) POPS in the Park - Jun 15th from 5 to 10 pm Boitanio Park
8) Chief William Fathers Day Pow Wow - Jun 15 - 17, 2018
9) Aboriginal Day Celebrations in Williams Lake - Tuesday, Jun 21
10) Performances in the Park 2018 Line-Up Announced!
11) Citizens on Patrol - looking for members (19 and older) & office volunteer
12) Support Group for Parents of Children with Developmental Disabilities
13) Lunch and Learn Jun 22: BC Societies Act Review Engagement Requirements
14) Williams Lake Stampede is in need of volunteers - Jun 29 - Jul 2nd
15) 1st Annual Golf Tournament - Aug 11th (pre-registration required)
16) Next SPC Meeting - Monday Jun 25 from 11:30 am  - 1:00 pm
17) Summer Youth Access Pass - unlimited drop-in swimming
18) Ministry of Mental Health & Addictions' strategic plan for child & youth mental health.

Please visit the following link for these updates!
http://cm.pn/3p8s

Contact Us

The Social Planning Council is made up of volunteers from the community. Many of us work in social services agencies or also volunteer for other organizations.

Our Mailing Address is Box 20045, Williams Lake BC V2G 4R1

To reach the Society Coordinator Jessica Dunn please email spc-coordinator@xplornet.com or call 250-243-2126

To reach the Communities that Care Project Facilitator Barb Jones please email communitiesthatcare.wl@gmail.com or call 250-305-4838

To reach the THRIVE Williams Lake Project Manager Anne Burrill please email annelburrill@gmail.com or call 250-267-7211

To reach the current SPC Chair Larry Stranberg please email happytrails@cfdccariboo.com or call 250-392-3626