A local study is hoping to hear from everyone in Castlegar over the age of 15 as part of a community dialogue about homelessness, marginalized labour and labour mobility.
The study is being conducted by Castlegar and District Community Services Society and will include online surveys, in-person interviews and point-in-time counts of the homeless population.
The study is based on the premise that poverty, unemployment and inequality are not simply social issues — they are economic issues that influence a community’s prosperity.
The study hopes to gain some insight into those individuals who have been marginalized in the work force. This includes the homeless, those in poverty, those with mental health issues, those struggling with trauma and abuse or anyone at risk for the previous situations. It also includes youth and the aged.
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After the study is completed, CDCSS hopes they will be able to use the information to develop a system for maintaining the mobility of a labour force. Labour mobility is considered to be the ability to move workers from one job or sector to another.
“That systematic approach is something that is missing in B.C.,” said study co-ordinator Hugh McGillivray.
He explains that mobility is crucial for British Columbia’s economy due to the wide range of sectors of industry. Lack of mobility can prevent business and industry growth and keep otherwise productive people drawing on public supports.
McGillivray says doing a study like this in the Castlegar area is important.
“Mostly, studies like this are done in [large] cities, and so although we know that rural areas are different than cities, we have very few studies for them,” he said.
By reaching out to the whole community, McGillivray also hopes to learn what is going through the minds of property owners, business owners, people in the labour force, social workers and the broader population as a whole.
“Attitudes and stigma that you can find in any given town regarding these issues are often part of what keep those people immobile,” he said. “We can find out what we actually think about this as a community and where do we go from here.”
The questionnaire is simple and straight forward, requiring no disclosure or identification, but just a consent form. It is as anonymous as the client wants or needs it to be, and is confidential.
The survey will be open until February 2020 on the CDCSS web page. Volunteers are available to do in-person interviews with those not comfortable taking the online survey.
There is also a dedicated Facebook page for the study that will be updated as information is collected throughout the study.
CDCSS is looking for more volunteers to help with administering the surveys. For more information contact McGillavry at 250-365-2104.
betsy.kline@castlegarnews.com
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