First Draft of the SRD's Poverty Reduction Plan

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - The Strathcona Regional District is considering what could be an extremely innovative and societal changing plan. As CAO David Letich informed the Board, at their Wednesday June 26 meeting, the draft Poverty Reduction Plan is already more than 100 pages long. It was his intention to have the plam introduced through a presentation and then, hopefully, they will forward it to the Committee of the Whole for further discussion. Madison Stewart, the District’s Community Health Network  Coordinator, made the presentation: “A large group of folks worked on this plan, so I'm happy to be here to present it to you.” “In April 2023, the Strathcona Regional District was successful in receiving $147,000 from the UBCM (Union of BC Municipalities) Poverty Reduction Planning and Action Program, which aims to support local governments in reducing poverty at the local level and to support the province's poverty reduction strategy, known as Together BC.” “The plan is meant to build on and align with similar foundational reports such as the Housing Needs Report and be utilized for the following government functions. One being providing a strategic framework to focus and align poverty reduction efforts, lending to policy and program development, leveraging funding and resources to secure provincial, federal, and private funding, facilitating collaboration to foster a sense of shared responsibility.” “To monitor and evaluate, measuring success, ensuring accountability, and informing data driven adjustments, raising awareness, and serving as an advocacy tool to educate the public and policy makers. And to build on and leverage existing efforts, creating a more robust strategy.”