Sustainable Society Lorraine Copas SPARC BC

“Working with communities to build a just and healthy society for all.”

What is sustainable society? Social sustainability – is an invitation An invitation for all citizens to be part of their communities It is about providing opportunities for citizens to be engaged and to be included About thinking about ways that we can create our cities and communities such that they are inclusive of everyone

Forces For/Against An aging population More people living alone Growing inequality Rising levels of poverty and exclusion Social innovation

Aging Population/Smaller Households Aging population –changing housing needs, more seniors living alone Smaller households sizes means changing housing demand –more and smaller units Sustainability impacts Affects how we plan our communities

Increasing Social Isolation Places and spaces within our communities that promote inclusion Increased need for social contacts outside the home Need to strengthen the connections with civil society

Growing Inequality “hollowing out of the middle” Cities/communities needs a vibrant middle class to survive BC had the highest level of polarization in incomes of all Provinces

Income Inequality Those at the upper end of income distribution had incomes 12.6 times higher than those at the bottom Average income of $227,164 compared to $18,070

Put another way Those in the top 10% had 24% of the income for the Province compared to those in the bottom 50% who combined had 25% of the income Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Rising Poverty Levels BC has the highest incidence of poverty (15.5%) BC has the highest incidence of child poverty (18.6%) BC has the highest incidence of poverty for children under 6 (20.7%) First Call 2013 Child Poverty Report Card

Incidence of Poverty 699,000 families and individuals are living in poverty 153,000 children in BC are living in poverty I in 3 children (52,600) living in poverty were children under six. First Call 2013 Child Poverty Report Card

Need for Social Innovation What do we need to think about, or act on, or do differently to create change? Are there changes that we can make to our systems, our process, regulations or incentives that could make a difference? Is it possible that if we were to think about things differently or do things differently is it possible to create real and lasting change

New Directions for the Non-Profit Sector in BC Demonstrate the social and economic contribution of the non-profit sector in BC Development of a sector impact report that we want to call “Collectively Speaking”

Survey of the Sector Identify the values, the strengths and the impact of the sector Received 972 responses to date Organizing a series of community conversations to broaden and deepen the conversation Identify regional champions and partners to advance this work across the Province.

Reflecting on Impact Because of the work of my organization, my community has …. We have had more than 200 organizations respond to date with impact statements

Final Reflections Small changes can make a huge difference in the lives of a large number of people Robert Reich