The gap between rich and poor continues to grow in Squamish, despite community groups’ efforts, stated the town’s latest report card.
On Tuesday, Oct. 7, the Squamish Community Foundation unveiled its 2014 Vital Signs overview. The document grades the community on a broad spectrum of issues, from residents’ health and wellness, to crime. It’s the second year the community has been a part of the initiative, the foundation’s president Carl Ingraham said. The last report was published in 2011.
Over the past three years, the disparity between those with money and those without has grown.
“Squamish continues to have an alarming poverty problem that is in contrast to our image as a young, hip and active community,” the report stated.
In 2012 the average family income in Squamish was $90,759 — topping B.C.’s average by $331. But Squamish has its own one per cent of top earners, pulling up the average. The community’s median income is $80,910.
What caught Ingraham’s attention was Squamish’s crime rate. The high rate can’t be pinned solely on bicycle thefts, he noted. Squamish RCMP reported a sharp spike in domestic violence cases in 2013. That year, at 1,878 per 100,000 persons, the violent crime rate in Squamish was 71.9 per cent above the national average and 48.8 per cent above the provincial average.
“In 2011 the crime was represented as a low point in the report,” Ingraham said. “The crime is better now than it was, but property crime and violent crime are still an issue.”
On a high note, the number of First Nations between the ages 25 to 64 with at least one certificate, diploma or degree is on the rise. In 2011, 89.7 per cent of Squamish’s Aboriginal community held some form of higher learning — an increase of 19.7 per cent from 2006.
The report will help community groups and politicians focus initiatives and gauge what’s working and what’s not.
“The Vital Signs 2014 report is both an important and helpful tool for communities in the sense that it provides key statistics and insights that can help us set local priorities,” he said.
Squamish is one of 28 communities across Canada to participate in the report. For info visit squamishfoundation.com.
