Checking Prince George Vital Signs
18 per cent of children are members of low income families, which means they are vulnerable in several ways, including low education, reduced employability and experience lower health outcomes.
Housing sees 90 beds in homeless shelters able to accommodate those in need with a program in place called the Homeless Prevention Program to connect the vulnerable population with organizations to help them get into a permanent home. Housing starts have increased by 126 per cent since 2000 and in the private rental market there is only a 4.2 per cent vacancy rate, making it difficult for people to rent.
Prince George houses are larger than the provincial average with more than 70 per cent having at least three bedrooms and are generally in good condition despite being more than 35 years old.
“As a philanthropic organization our role in the community is not to solve problems, it’s really to work with funders and organizations who do the work to support those in the community,” said Pennington.
During the question and answer period of the report launch, two community organizations offered to help the foundation.
Sean Farrell, executive director of the Prince George Community Arts Council, offered support through targeted programming while Nancy Harris of the local branch of Spinal Cord Injury BC offered seminars for those interested in how to make Prince George more accessible for those with a disability.
Saunders said this is just one of many meetings and reports to come and that the community foundation is eager to hear any and all input from residents of Prince George. The next meeting is scheduled for December which will gather organizations that offer assistance to the community in a variety of ways to get the conversation started about how the foundation can come to their aid.
For more information visit pgcf.ca and to read the report visit pgc.cc/2gx4uAy.