Sustainable Society

1. Sustainable Society Lorraine Copas SPARC BC

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

3. 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

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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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” • www.bcnonprofits.ca

14. 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.

15. 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

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