Community Updates – November 16, 2012

Community Updates – November 16, 2012


1) Update from the United Way
a) Interior Savings is donating $10 to our United Way campaign for every "like" we send their way on Facebook! Please like their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/InteriorSavings) and ours while you're at it :)

b) Seeing is Believing Tour - Wednesday, November 21 from 1 - 3 pm (Kamloops BC)

Seeing is Believing Tours offer an opportunity for donors, campaign volunteers and interested individuals to see – first hand – the impact of their donations at work in our community. Participants are able to visit community agencies and hear directly from agency staff and clients about the difference United Way and community partners can make in the lives of individuals in our community.
Email amber@unitedwaytnc.ca and book your seat today! Space is limited

2) Annual Month Long Christmas Market at the Station House Gallery

December 1 through 31st, 7 days a week, from 10 to 5 Mon thru Sat and 11 to 4 pm on Sundays, Showcase and Sale of Fine Arts and Crafts

3) Update - Better at Home United Way helping seniors remain independent betterathome.ca

William’s Lake Better at Home Community Engagement Highlights and Update:

“Over the last month I have been spending time in Williams Lake and connecting with many people and several organizations/agencies from multiple service areas. I was hired through the Thompson, Nicola Cariboo United Way to develop a community profile, identify the key stakeholders, identify local senior’s needs, as they relate to the Better at Home Program, and organize a community meeting for stakeholders and potential lead organizations.
Community Meeting:

When: Tuesday December 4th, 2012 from 1-3pm
Where: Williams Lake Public Library
What: Better at Home Community Meeting. Everyone is welcome to this meeting including seniors, prospective lead agencies, service groups, and anyone interested in supporting seniors in the community. At this meeting there will be:

1) A general introduction to the Better at Home program, and with a focus on non-medical services;

2) An overview of what has been collected while meeting with people and services:

What’s working in the community? (community strengths, available services, assets, etc.). What’s missing? (areas of need, gaps in service, priority areas, etc.). What agency would be the best fit to house the Better at Home program in Williams Lake? (suggested agencies, potential partnerships, etc.)
3) After this presentation there will be time for people to add to what has already been collected.
Stakeholders Meeting:
When: Wednesday December 5, 2012 from 9 am to 12 pm
Where: Williams Lake Public Library
What: Key Stakeholders Meeting. Key Stakeholders can include representatives of senior’s organizations, volunteer organizations, First Nations communities, caregiver associations, cultural and faith-based groups, health authorities, and other community based groups.

1) The Key Stakeholder Meeting will draw from the information gathered in the Community Meeting to select the Lead Agency for the Better at Home program in Williams Lake

2) Following the selection of the Lead Agency, people will encouraged to put their names forward as potential Advisory Committee members. The list will then be forwarded on the Lead Agency as they begin to establish an advisory committee and the Williams Lake Better at Home program.
Better at Home Lead Agency Eligibility:

In order to be considered as a Lead Agency you must satisfy these requirements:

1) Qualified donee according to Canada Revenue Guidelines;

2) Comply with all Federal, Provincial, and Municipal laws (labour, employment, and human rights included);

3) Demonstrate community accountability through strong volunteer governance and leadership;

4) Demonstrate effective Human Resources, program and financial management and deliver programs and services in an effective and efficient manner.

5) Be recommended/identifies as a potential candidate to offer a Better at Home program as a result of the better at Home community development process.

To Date: Williams Lake non-medical support Services top 4 requests:

Drawing from several interviews, meetings, and emails, there are a few services that have been continually highlighted.

Transportation: It seems that there is a heightened concern for isolated seniors in the community of Williams Lake. Getting seniors around for appointments, errands, and recreation has been identified as a need.

Fire Wood: Helping seniors with wood (chopping, delivering, moving it inside, etc.) is identified as a specific need for Williams Lake

Snow Removal: Identified as a concern, specifically in regards to the strenuous nature of the work, and the presented slipping hazard.

Light Housework: Including laundry, groceries (shopping, unloading, etc.), vacuuming, bed changing, etc., with a focus on strenuous everyday activities.

Other services have also been identified, however, these four have been repeated several times by many people.

Action Points:

Please feel free to forward the introductory information I have attached to this email (brochure and FAQ document) to anyone who is interested in the program. At this point, getting the word out about the program and collecting feedback is very helpful to ensuring that the Better at Home program is truly based on community input and meets the needs of Williams Lake to the best of our ability.

I hope this provides a clearer outline of the next steps for the Better at Home program in Williams Lake; if you have any questions please feel free to contact me directly.”

Thank you again for your interest and continued support,

Jennifer Dustin
Better at Home Program Community Developer – Williams Lake
250-318-1359
Jennifer.dustin@gmail.com
You may also contact Jody Olsen (Field Coordinator) for further information:

Jody Olsson, Field Coordinator at jodyo@betterhome.ca
United Way of the Lower Mainland
4543 Canada Way, Burnaby, BC V5G 4T4
P 604-294-8299 ext 2464

For further information and examples follow these links:
Better at Home website: http://betterathome.ca/
Pilot Projects (formerly CASI program):

Osoyoos: http://www.casiosoyoos.org/

Dawson Creek: http://www.spcrs.ca/community.html#5

Vancouver: http://casirenfrewcollingwood.wordpress.com/author/casirenfrewcollingwood/

Surrey: http://www.dcrs.ca/index.php?page=CASI§ion=services&cat=community&sub=2

Maple Ridge: http://www.comservice.bc.ca/programs-services/senior-services/seniors-outreach-home-support
4) Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex Events
Free Skate - The Kiwanis Club of Williams Lake is sponsoring a Free Skate and everyone is welcome to attend! November 17th 1:00-2:30pm
Free Family Swim - The Children First community table is hosting a Free Family Swim & PJ Storytime on November 20 6:45-8:00pm to celebrate National Child Day. All children must be accompanied by an adult.
Skate with Santa on Nov 24 from 1:00-2:30pm (Regular drop in rates apply).

*All free events are advertised under the FREE events tab on the www.activewilliamslake.ca website. Feel free to print off posters to display throughout town.

5) Update from the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition:

“Dear Supporters,

October was an exciting month and there is lots more going on as we enter the last six months before the provincial election! On October 17, 22 schools around the province took part in End Poverty Day - more details below, including a video called "This is what inequality looks like in BC" produced by students at Princess Margaret Secondary in Surrey. I also joined over 130 people who took part in the Welfare Food Challenge, eating only what we could buy for $26 for the week of October 16-23. Links to the blog, media attention and ways to take action can be found below.

We have a new resource available for you below. Produced in collaboration with our child care partners, this fact sheet highlights the relationship between a plan for early care and learning and a poverty reduction strategy for BC. Also, new poll results reveal that 3 out of 4 British Columbians support a poverty reduction plan. Read on for more details.

My mid-October trip to Vancouver Island to meet with members and supporters was hugely successful and thoroughly enjoyable. Thanks to Faith in Action and KAIROS BC/Yukon Network for hosting me. I'm always open to invitations to meet with other organizations throughout the province and to present within your local communities so please keep that in mind if you're hosting any upcoming events.”

End Poverty Day: Student Day of Action:

On October 17, students in 22 schools around the province worked hard to raise awareness about the crisis of poverty we're facing in BC. From Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey, Richmond, New Westminster, North Vancouver, Hope, Quesnel, Summerland and Telegraph Creek, students came together on End Poverty Day to take action. Instead of doing food bank drives, they asked for a long-term solution that addresses the root causes of these issues.

“The whole goal of this was not to ask for donations but to help raise awareness about poverty issues and hopefully motivate the government to do something about this,” says Gurpreet Dhaliwal from Princess Margaret Secondary in Surrey. Students collected hundreds of signatures for the petition urging the government to commit to a poverty reduction plan. Big thanks to all the students and teachers that got involved!

During the week, we worked with students at Princess Margaret Secondary in Surrey on this short video that shows what income inequality looks like in BC through a really effective visual demonstration.

Video Launch – “This is what inequality looks like in BC” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vTxmi_i-vE&noredirect=1)

Welfare Food Challenge:

We worked with Raise the Rates on the Welfare Food Challenge, which took place from October 16, World Food Day, to October 23. Over 130 participants took the challenge including myself, Ted Bruce, Coalition co-chair and Executive Director of Population Health for Vancouver Coastal Health, and two groups of students involved with End Poverty Day, one from Surrey and one from Richmond. Here's the food I bought for $25.77 (see photo) - it was a hard week with constant hunger, no meat, few vegetables and fruit, and no flavour!
The Challenge was a huge success in changing people's personal perceptions and raising public awareness, and got a lot of positive media attention.

It's now been 3 weeks since the Welfare Food Challenge but thousands still face the challenge every day. $610 per month is completely inadequate.

Ideas for taking action can be found at http://welfarefoodchallenge.org/
Child Care Fact Sheet Now Available:

$10 A Day Child Care: A Key to Ending Family Poverty is a fact sheet that we worked on with our child care partners and is now available online http://www.cccabc.bc.ca/plan/ (scroll down to download Fact Sheet 4). I also have printed copies so please let me know if you need any for distribution within your organization or at an upcoming event. I'll be presenting on these issues at the BCGEU provincial child care conference on Friday evening.
Over 3 out of 4 British Columbians Support a Poverty Reduction Plan:

A recent poll conducted on behalf of the BC Healthy Living Alliance surveyed British Columbians on a number of BCHLA's advocacy priorities and support for a poverty reduction plan ranked highest for overall support at 78%, in relation to other disease prevention measures. The response shows that the public clearly understands the relation between poverty and health. Support for a poverty reduction plan was even higher among seniors (82%), women (84%) and those with household incomes below $50,000 (86%). They also placed a high importance (80%) on increasing income assistance rates to account for the real cost of a nutritious diet and market rental rates. Here is the full press release http://www.bchealthyliving.ca/hungry-change-poll-shows-british-columbians-want-action-poverty
Updates from Members

BC Teachers' Federation Members are Mobilizing:

Exciting news from the BCTF! They're mobilizing their members around poverty reduction throughout November. They kicked off the month with a slideshow on Poverty as an Election Issue and teachers have taken up the challenge to take action within their local communities. For example, teachers in Prince George are organizing a rally to their local MLA office (contact Tina Cousins to get involved) and, in Nelson, they're taking part in the Welfare Food Challenge and challenging parents to make lunches for their kids for only $26 for the week. Nov. 19th-23rd will be the focus of the month and teachers around the province will be wearing band-aid stickers saying "End Child Poverty." Please check out the BCTF http://www.bctf.ca/SocialJustice.aspx?id=21362&libID=21352 website for the slideshow, speaking notes and more anti-poverty resources.
ACORN Canada Update and Upcoming Event:

ACORN began a campaign in September calling on the Ministry of Social Development to provide livable allowances for people with disabilities. The ACORN Disability Rights Group is a large group of determined disabled people committed to justice and they have been holding monthly actions at ministry offices in the Greater Vancouver area.
If you're in the Lower Mainland, please join them in their next Action on Thursday November 22nd at 12pm at Minister Moira Stilwell's Constituency office - 5740 Cambie Street #365 (Oakridge Station/Canada Line).

If you have a community event or news that you would like to be featured in our e-newsletter, please let me know by the beginning of each month.

5) Reminder – TODAY - CCPL’s Financial Literacy Symposium - Nov 16th 12 – 8 pm at Boitanio Mall

TODAY - Free workshops (Retirement Savings, Budget for Life, and Smart Consumers), discussion groups, and “Ask the Experts”. For more information contact kirsten@caribooliteracy.com or visit: www.caribooliteracy.com where you can find out about all the literacy programs and resources available in your community.
6) Reminder - Boys & Girls Club AGM – Nov 20/12
We are pleased to invite you to our Annual General Meeting, this year highlighting one of our new programs for 2012. We hope you can join us for coffee, tea and dessert!

WHEN: November 20, 2012 at 7:00 p.m.
LOCATION: The Glass Slippers Program, upstairs above Haines Office World (1st Avenue).

6) Reminder - National Film Board Fall Screenings (all FREE screenings are in the CRDL Williams Lake Branch program room (Suite A, 180 N. Third Ave - Call 250-392-3630 for details or email cderksen@cariboord.bc.ca)

Film - Surviving Progress on Wednesday November 15th, 7:00pm

Ronald Wright’s bestseller A Short History of Progress inspired this cinematic requiem to progress-as-usual. Throughout human history, what seemed like progress often backfired. Some of the world's foremost thinkers, activists, bankers, and scientists challenge us to overcome progress traps, which destroyed past civilizations and lie treacherously embedded in our own.