In 2016, 1,328 Greater Victoria residents participated in the annual Victoria Vital Signs survey. You told us what you like about the capital region and what needs improving. You graded 12听key issue areas, letting us know what鈥檚 working and what鈥檚 not.
And we took your opinion to heart.
You might wonder why we host this survey, or what difference your voice could possibly make. I can tell you that your opinion matters, and has a direct impact on the future of our community.
Our board鈥檚 decision to declare food security and homelessness as the foundation鈥檚 priority granting areas came as a direct result of your input. The 鈥渉ousing鈥� issue area took the lowest dive in 2016, dropping from a grade of C in 2015 to C-. This was part of what prompted the Victoria Foundation to grant $450,000 to homelessness-related projects in 2016, including support of Threshold Housing鈥檚 efforts to provide housing and services for at-risk youth.
In our ongoing efforts to address food security, routinely identified by Vital Signs survey respondents as an issue in need of attention, the Victoria Foundation partnered with several local organizations to open the Food Rescue Distribution Centre last month. This project, which will help to feed the estimated 50,000 food-insecure residents in our region, is a direct response to the concerns identified in Vital Signs.
Belonging and engagement is another key area identified by respondents, falling from a grade of B in 2015 to B- in 2016. Many projects were granted in 2017 to address this area, including an Anglican Synod of the Diocese of British Columbia initiative that welcomes new refugees to our region and helps them to settle.
In our 10th anniversary issue in 2015, Victoria residents let us know just how important transportation had become to them as an issue. The following year, a $100,000 Victoria Foundation Community Grant went to the Capital Regional District for 10 projects throughout the region devoted to encouraging active transportation. This included a project encouraging students to walk, bus, bike or roll their way to school, and another that created an online map for seniors that highlights public-transit routes for services and places for social connection.
These are just a few of the ways your opinions have helped guide the work of the Victoria Foundation, and we know that other local agencies and organizations use these data too for similar decision-making.
Beginning Monday, May 8, I听hope you鈥檒l help us, and your听community, again this听year by visiting victoriafoundation.bc.ca and taking the Vital Signs survey.
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Sandra Richardson is CEO of the Victoria Foundation.
