Majority of British Columbians willing to pay higher taxes to strengthen community services

A majority of British Columbians not only want improved community social services, but are prepared to pay higher taxes to provide them.

That’s one intriguing finding from a poll conducted by Strategic Communications (Stratcom) for the Roundtable of Provincial Social Services Organizations of BC.

The same poll found there is a broad public perception that access to needed services has declined significantly, despite growing demand.

“We know services supporting seniors and families and children are important, and a good investment,” said Roundtable member Tim Agg, executive director of PLEA Community Services Society. “It was heartening to learn that a majority of British Columbians agree, and are willing to pay a little more in taxes to provide needed help to people.” 

The poll found 53 per cent of British Columbians supported increased funding to community social services, even if it meant they would pay higher taxes.

Support for higher taxes to provide needed services for children, families and seniors has increased 12 per cent since a similar survey in 2000, Agg noted.

The poll also found that 57 per cent of British Columbians felt current funding for community services is too low, with only six per cent believing it is too high.

Agg said the Roundtable engaged Stratcom, an international research company, to survey British Columbians on issues relating to the community social services sector.

The survey found British Columbians are less confident that services are available to prevent problems or crises than they were 13 years ago.

In 2000, 45 per cent of the public believed access to support services in their communities was good or excellent. Today, only 36 per cent give high ratings for access to services.

The survey found 74 per cent of British Columbia residents had used community social services themselves, or knew someone who had. That’s down from 81 per cent in 2000.

“Our fear is that the need is still there, but budget cuts have made it impossible for families to get help,” Agg said. 

Agg called on all political parties and candidates to heed the poll and commit to a long-term funding plan to provide needed community social services.

More than 90 per cent of those surveyed said services for youth, women who have experienced violence, people with disabilities and special needs, seniors, people with mental health and addiction challenges and families and children are important.

“People are pragmatic, and compassionate,” said consultant Tim Beachy, another Roundtable member. “They know it is right to provide seniors with supports so they can live in their own homes. And they know it is far less expensive than a care home.”

"The public also understands that years of budget freezes - and cuts - have left community agencies in crisis,” he said. “Waiting lists for help, even for urgent assistance like support for vulnerable children and youth, people with developmental disabilities and victims of violence, have grown."

Almost 80 per cent of British Columbians believe community social services have a positive impact in their communities. 

“The public gets it,” Beachy said. “But we need to hear the candidates and parties make clear commitments to fund these vital services.”

The poll was conducted April 9 to 11 and used a representative sample of 802 adult British Columbians.  Margin of Error is not reported for online polling, as it is not derived from a probability sample.

Community social services are provided by agencies and organizations across the province - large and small, non-profit and private, in big cities and small communities.

Agencies and staff work with children and families in crisis, women and children struggling with few options to leave violent homes, help people find jobs, counsel families dealing with addiction, support new parents and help seniors stay in their homes.  

See a report on the poll results here.

See the detailed data here.

Politicians should walk streets to see need for services

JUDITH LAVOIE 

TIMES COLONIST 

Rev. Al Tysick believes that if the leaders of B.C.’s political parties looked into the eyes of homeless people awakening on the streets of Victoria, the province would have a comprehensive poverty-reduction strategy.

As politicians gear up for the May 14 election, Tysick has challenged Premier Christy Clark and NDP leader Adrian Dix to join him on his daily 5 a.m. walk, when he distributes coffee, muffins and blankets to street people.

“We don’t believe party leaders are ignorant to issues of homelessness,” said Tysick, founder of the Dandelion Society. “But you can learn a lot by looking at the faces of the street, by speaking to a homeless person about their day, by putting a blanket on someone or by trying to connect with a mentally ill person who is wandering aimlessly.”

Tysick wants to emphasize the harsh conditions that saw 30 members of the Victoria street community die within four months last year.

“I did funerals for two more people a couple of weeks ago. This is a crisis,” he said.

“How many more people have to die before B.C. gets a comprehensive poverty-reduction strategy?”

Victoria, as the seat of government, should not be the city with the highest death toll for homeless people, Tysick said.

“If this was any other demographic, our politicians would pay attention.”

Tysick wants to see more support for those in unsafe housing and more discussion about raising and restructuring assistance rates.

“I want to see jobs created, but jobs that pay enough so that moms don’t have to go to the food bank to eat,” he said.

Dix and Clark were not available to comment.

However, Victoria-Beacon Hill NDP candidate Carole James, who has previously gone out on Tysick’s early-morning rounds, said she believes that once the election is over, newly elected MLAs should either go out with Tysick or on the streets of their own communities.

“I don’t think it’s going to happen during the campaign, but I think it is a good idea,” she said.

“It’s an important invitation and it should be there for every elected politician.”

A poverty-reduction plan is part of the NDP platform, James said.

“It will have real targets and specific measurements and we will report out to the public,” said James, adding she’s a “huge supporter” of Tysick’s work.

“He’s one of the heroes of our community. It’s thankless work and he’s out there speaking to some of the most troubled and most challenged members of our community.”

A statement from Rich Coleman, minister responsible for housing and Liberal candidate in Fort Langley-Aldergrove, said the B.C. Liberals will continue to support initiatives that help reduce homelessness and poverty in Victoria.

Tysick said the morning rounds tell him who is in hospital, arrested or in crisis.

They also offer a hard look at the darker side of homelessness, he said.

“It makes you realize we’ve created some terrible conditions. Poverty becomes very real when you’ve seen its heart, its face.”

Children's services need long-term commitment from government

'It’s easy to say we care about children. But what’s needed today is action, not more words. Ask your local candidates to commit to adequate long-term funding for these vital services. Push the parties for specific answers about what they will do to ensure services for family and youth are available when and where they are needed.'

BY REBECCA ATAYA 

Most British Columbians would say they care about children.

Not just their own. We’ve agreed, as a society, that when children and youth need help, and their families can’t provide it, it’s up to us.

Sadly, we’re not doing a good enough job. This election campaign is an important chance to press all candidates and parties for specific commitments on services for children and youth.

The good news is that we know what needs to be done to help families and children through tough times. We know effective, timely supports can change lives — and avoid the huge future costs that come when problems are ignored.

But, we haven’t acted on that knowledge. This has been tragic for some children, families and communities; particularly when families are struggling to provide safe, appropriate care for their children, and the state steps in to protect and support those families.

Some families need help developing better parenting skills. Some have to face addiction problems. Children might need counselling, or treatment for behavioural issues. Many are struggling with the impacts of living in poverty, or parenting with a chronic health condition. The range of needed services is enormous.

The children’s ministry receives more than 30,000 “protection reports” a year — warnings that a child might be at risk of abuse or neglect. In the most extreme cases, children are taken into government care. Some 8,000 children are in care today.

Often ministry involvement is focused on linking families with help and support so they can be successful. And that support is provided by community social service agencies across the province.

Quick access to services can help families overcome problems, the ministry report notes, and “prevent families’ challenges from becoming entrenched.”

Those of us who work in the community social services sector are only too aware of the problems undermining that approach.

For many families, quick access to services is impossible. Funding for agencies has been frozen or cut, while demand for services has increased dramatically. Waiting lists have grown. Problems become more serious while desperate families can’t get the help they need.

That’s wrong. And it’s wasteful. As a society, we will pay far more in future because we aren’t providing needed support to children and families today.

We are failing in other ways. Parents know, for example, that their children need continued support as they grow into adulthood — help with school costs, a safe home, support and encouragement.

Yet youth in government care are denied that support. On their 19th birthdays, they are basically left to fend for themselves.

The results are predictable. The Ministry of Children and Family Development released a report this month that found almost half of youth who “aged out” of care were on income assistance within six months.

That’s a grim life, with an income of $610 to $906 a month. (The higher rate is for people with disabilities; a majority of youth leaving care qualify.)

Attending school, finding work and a place to live, staying healthy — they are all difficult, perhaps impossible, for an unsupported 19-year-old.

The ministry recognizes the problem, and is looking for ways to extend support. But it lacks a clear mandate, and the needed resources.

We know that small supports can encourage those youths to stay in school, help them find safe housing, provide life skills and prevent bad decisions.

So far, we haven’t acted.

Part of the problem is a fundamental misunderstanding. People tend to think government, especially the children’s ministry, delivers the needed services. And government does play a large role, particularly in areas like child protection.

However, community-based agencies and foster parents deliver many of these government-funded services.

People facing these kinds of problems tend not to be effective advocates. Their focus is on getting through the crisis. And there remains a stigma around the whole issue of struggling to provide adequate care for your children.

So it’s up to the rest of us. Ask your local candidates to commit to adequate long-term funding for these vital services. Push the parties for specific answers about what they will do to ensure services for family and youth are available when and where they are needed.

It’s easy to say we care about children. But what’s needed today is action, not more words.

Rebecca Ataya is the interim executive director of The Federation of Community Social Services of BC and is writing on behalf of The Roundtable of Provincial Social Services Organizations of BC. This article originally appeared in the Vancouver Sun.

Making the economic case for community social services

We know timely support saves lives and money. It’s much less costly to provide community services to help a senior stay in his or her home, for example, than it is to provide residential care.

But there are broader benefits. British Columbia competes in a global economy. And it can’t afford to waste the potential of any citizen.

“We help people and thus the province reach their full potential.  The next Tommy Douglas could be struggling with addiction; the child who could grow up to discover a cancer breakthrough could be facing serious family problems that mean she won’t succeed in school.  Our job is to help them live happy, fulfilling lives.  And as a result, everyone benefits.”

Please,get the word out before election day. Visit the Take Action! section to see how you can support the sector, and ensure a brighter future for families, individuals and the province.