Health, housing priorities says poverty report

NEWS — There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to poverty, says a provincial report released today.

The B.C. government and the Union of B.C. Municipalities released the Community Poverty Reduction Pilot Projects 2014 Progress Report, which includes several cities including Kamloops.

When the pilot projects launched in May 2012, UBCM recommended the participating communities — Cranbrook, Kamloops, New Westminster, Port Hardy, Prince George, Stewart and Surrey — to reflect a mix of B.C.’s metro, urban, rural and remote communities.

Family consultants from the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) were assigned to work with them to form local teams, with the goals of identifying the key barriers families face and connecting families to the services they need.

Different communities expressed different priorities based on the needs of their local families, said a news release.

In Kamloops, health, housing and education were recognized as among the most important issues to address. A key priority in all communities was to ensure that the families knew about the existing programs and services offered by community agencies and all levels of government, and that they were also supported in accessing them.

Many families either were not aware of the services and supports available, or did not know how to access them prior to their participation in the pilot projects.