The Latest

St. Albert Includes Social Well-being in their COVID-19 Recovery Plans

Soon after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, municipalities across the country began setting up COVID-19 recovery task forces. The majority of these task forces had one main purpose: to help local businesses recover from the financial devastation of the pandemic. While economic recovery is vital to ensuring our communities can bounce back, few communities are prioritizing the importance of social recovery. Rates of loneliness, social isolation, burnout, anxiety, and stress are rising nationwide. It’s clear now more than ever before that our social well-being needs to be prioritized alongside our economic well-being.

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Fostering an age-friendly community on the East shore of Kootenay Lake

The world’s population is rapidly aging, and the population in BC is no exception. Within the next 10 years, it is expected that a quarter of the population in the province will be over the age of 65. Through the Age-friendly BC initiative, the province is working with local governments and community stakeholders to ensure that older adults can continue to live active, socially engaged and independent lives in their communities. The Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) is providing funding to support age-friendly community planning and projects across the province.

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Exploring the Role of Placemaking in a Pandemic

The pandemic is challenging not only our physical, mental, and economic health but also our social health. Lockdowns have shifted our daily routines and impacted our access to public places. Outdoor gathering spaces like parks and farmers markets are being redesigned to meet new public health guidelines. Indoor gathering spaces like libraries, community centres, and places of worship have closed to help prevent transmission of the virus. And despite our best intentions, Zoom conversations and social media platforms remain poor substitutes for in-person interactions. After months of social distancing, we are realizing how important public spaces are in fostering the social connections that are so vital to our collective wellbeing.

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10 Ways to Rekindle Democracy

In a recent webinar discussion hosted by Tamarack, Cormac Russell talked about his new book Rekindling Democracy: A Professional's Guide to Working in Citizen Space. Cormac, who describes himself as an itinerant storyteller, filled the book with stories from his travels while asking the question what these stories might call forth from us. His overarching thesis is that citizens must be at the center of any authentic democratic response to the challenges we face.

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Looking Ahead: Proposals for a Just and Inclusive Recovery

COVID-19 has exposed many of the structural inequities in our country and has highlighted many of the gaps and inadequacies of our social safety net. At the same time, the pandemic has demonstrated how our government can take bold and swift action to support the most vulnerable through meaningful investments, policies and social supports.

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Rent Banks: An Innovative Strategy in a Time of Crisis

As the economic toll of COVID-19 continues to deepen across Canada, Canadian renters are facing an unprecedented housing crisis. Many have lost their jobs and are worried about keeping a roof over their head in the months ahead. While renters wait for federal and provincial relief programs to come into full effect, local rent banks are ramping up their efforts to support low-income households that are no longer able to pay their rent or utilities.

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