Hi there,

On the May BC CoP call, participants discussed successes & challenges of the past year as well as upcoming priorities.

You can now view the recording Passcode:?D2H=@4&

Please be sure to complete the BC CoP Survey by May 31st!

Key Takeaways

Challenges

• Impacts of pandemic – capacity issues (fewer volunteers, staff turnover)
• Stuck in day-to-day work makes it challenging to focus upstream
• Access to locally relevant data
• Increase in housing & food insecurity as cost of living rises with resultant increase in homelessness and food bank recipients

Successes

• A number of poverty reduction strategies released across the province last year
• Organizations have been able to pivot and grow programming (e.g. seniors, rent banks, food hub, community navigation)
• Partnerships have been solidified to strengthen networks
• Increase in equity focus
• Increased awareness of need to work better together
• More political awareness & will to act (eg. Village of Fruitvale living wage employer)

Upcoming priorities

• Finding sustainable funding
• Staff training & capacity-building
• Getting back to in-person meetings (from one-to-one to conferences)
• Intersection between climate change/equity/disproportionate impacts on vulnerable populations

Upcoming

June 1st - 9 am PT - Decent Work and the Labour Crunch: Attracting and Retaining Great Employees - Learn how your business can overcome staffing challenges and become more profitable. Business owner Devinder Chaudhary will speak to how adopting a Living Wage model and decent work policies have helped him to and attract and retain great employees. A panel will discuss barriers to employers and strategies to overcome them - Register HERE.

June 8th - 10 am PT - Multisolving: A promising strategy toward just and equitable futures - The multisolving concept refers to a process of building solutions to multiple problems into a single act. While climate change affects all Canadians, the impacts aren't equal. People already burdened by poverty often suffer the harshest consequences while having the least ability to cope. The climate crisis complicates their struggle to maintain their housing, earn a living, and feed their families. Register HERE.

SAVE THE DATE! for the next BC CoP Call - Tuesday July 19th at 11 am - BC Social Procurement Initiative

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83407255362

Thank you to everyone who joined us.

Best,

Jill Zacharias

BC Manager of Growth and Impact

Vibrant Communities