About this report:
ISSUE AREAS:
This report covers ten issue areas that should be considered when assessing the overall health and vitality of a community.
RESEARCH FINDINGS:
The statistics were collected with the assistance of Community Foundations of Canada and SPARC BC. Reliable sources such as Statistics Canada were used with an emphasis on the most current and geographically specific data possible. Existing data from a variety of local, provincial and national sources were also used.
COMMUNITY VOICES:
During the months of May and June, 1024 citizens from Comox Valley completed an online survey on their perceived quality of life. The idea was to capture a wide variety of peoples’ opinions regarding key quality of life issues and priorities for action within the region. The top priorities are survey respondents’ most commonly reported priorities for each issue. Survey results are also displayed on a scale from -10 to 10. These were based on agree/disagreetype statements, converted to the following numerical scores: Strongly Disagree (-10 points), Disagree (-5 points), Neutral (0 points), Agree (+5 points), Strongly Agree (+10 points). Economic comfort levels were determined by respondents indicating if they always (high), sometimes (medium) or never (low) generally have enough money to buy the things needed to live well.
Housing:
Communities with housing options that meet the diverse needs of their residents are more inclusive, economically competitive and vibrant.
Results from surveys with 157 homeless in the Comox Valley (2016) reveal that homelessness starts at a young age: 31% became homeless under the age of 27 and 26% of respondents had been in the foster care system
Top Priorities:
- More affordable housing units
- Increased efforts to reduce homelessness in the Comox Valley
- Increased number of secondary suites
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