By Erica Osburn
The Food Bank. Emergency shelters. The Crisis Line. Three
services essential to the social support network in any community. In times of
crisis they may be the difference between suffering alone and finding the
support to go on.
But as important as emergency services are, Peter Ackhurst, of
the Community Foundation of Whistler, recognizes there are less critical
situations where people also need support.
“There are many people in Whistler and Pemberton who are in
need, but not in crisis,” he says. “These people are trying to make ends meet,
and trying to remain in Whistler, but do need assistance. Unfortunately, most
social services require a person to be in dire circumstances in order to access
them.”
What Ackhurst is talking about is known generally as social
justice.
“Social justice means that society should provide equal
opportunity for all its members,” says Kerry Chalmers, executive director of
the CFOW. “Every individual should have equal access to the benefits of a
society, regardless of race, age, gender or economic status.”
Chalmers is using the concept of social justice to steer the
CFOW’s efforts. Social justice is a guiding principle behind the initiatives of
nearly all Community Foundations across Canada, which began exploring the role
of foundations in promoting social justice in the fall of 2001.
Chalmers likes to illustrate the social justice approach with a
story of a town where babies are seen floating down the river every day, each
one rescued by citizens swimming into the river. “Social justice is going up
river and finding out who is putting the babies in the river and why —
getting to the root of the problem.
“A real life example,” she continues, “is the food bank versus
Whistler’s Community Greenhouse Project (a Whistler Community Services Society
initiative, now in its fourth season, which enables Whistlerites without space
or adequate sunlight to grow their own food).” Both programs feed people, but
“the Greenhouse Project gives people the skills they need to help themselves in
the long term.”
Chalmers adds that the primary role of the CFOW is to
facilitate dialogue, and fund social programs that are in sync with CFOW
values. She emphasizes that organizations, not individuals, are the recipients
of funding. In turn, non-profits such as the WCSS work with individuals on a
one-on-one basis.
Other groups benefiting from CFOW grants in the last two years
include the Rotary Club of Whistler, Signal Hill Elementary School, The Kelty
Patrick Dennehy Foundation, the Whistler Writer’s Group, and the Mount Currie
Community School.
To get dialogue flowing on social justice issues in the
corridor, the CFOW held community forums in Whistler and Pemberton. Christine
Buttkus, CFOW volunteer and former executive director, strove to make the
forums as representative as possible.
“We started the process by contacting people we thought had an
interest in social justice work and asked them to provide input (to a social
justice questionnaire). As they responded, they also identified additional
people that they thought would be interested. As we reviewed the issues
addressed through the submissions, we identified content gaps and tried to
connect with people who might be able to provide more information,” she says.
“We did advertise the event as well, so additional participants
self-identified.”
Two community forums were held, in November 2006 and January
2007, and involved more than 20 individuals from Squamish, Whistler, Pemberton,
Mount Currie and D’Arcy. Participants included youth, seniors and members of
First Nations communities in the corridor. Two group facilitators from
Vancouver and Montreal were also brought in to lead the forums, representing
the Community Foundations of Canada.
While many issues were discussed, poverty, transportation, and
cultural awareness were identified in the forums as the most important social
justice concerns affecting living conditions in the corridor. Armed with this
information, the CFOW knew where it was headed with its fundraising
initiatives, and had a framework to facilitate change. “We provided a vehicle
for discussion. The forums have given us a good starting place,” says Buttkus.
Ackhurst, a forum participant and CFOW Board member, whose late
wife, Jill, was extremely active in Whistler fundraising and volunteer work,
acknowledges that affordability is not an issue that is adequately addressed in
Whistler.
“Whistler is a one-horse town that caters to wealthy tourists,”
he says. “If I am a resident of Whistler, where do I go to purchase basic items
at an affordable price? There is a prevalent attitude here in Whistler of
‘tough luck’ if you can’t afford living here. Shopping for necessities is
expensive. There is no place to socialize for free.”
Greg McDonnell, Supervisor for the WCSS’s Community Youth
Outreach program, echoes that sentiment.
“Whistler has an almost natural social justice system in place
— those who are here can afford to be. If you can’t afford to be in
Whistler, or can’t find a job, or are under some other
social/political/economic pressure then you are going to leave. So a strictly
wealthy community of ‘haves’ remain here, and the have-nots go elsewhere, and
as a result, there might be a perception that programs to tackle socio-economic
problems aren’t needed,” McDonnell says.
“With the social justice lens on, we can look critically at
ourselves and see what forces we are formally (knowingly) or informally
(unknowingly) contributing to that prevent people from equal access to a just
life in Whistler.”
Housing is an important issue, a part of the affordability
equation, that McDonnell feels relates to social justice.
“We have some bad landlords in Whistler. We obviously have a
lot of good ones too. But some of these people demand payment up to 12 months
in advance, don’t give damage deposits back, and are taking advantage of
seasonal workers. People from overseas, many with a language barrier, have
little capacity to follow through with things like the landlord-tenant
resolution process, especially if they are from out of the country. So is this
a social justice issue that the community needs to deal with?”
On the subject of transportation, McDonnell believes that the
corridor, on the whole, is overly car-dependent.
“Social justice is not being met in Pemberton in the fact that
there is no or bad public transit. You need access to a car to get around. The
poor can’t get to hospitals. Mothers can’t attend parent-tot drop-ins easily.”
Transportation is also a key issue for jobs.
“Most jobs are in Whistler and getting to Whistler is not easy
without a car, adds McDonnell. “We have bus service but it is not as frequent
or convenient for most people who need it.”
Addressing cultural awareness, McDonnell has some strong
opinions. “Up until two months ago, the Whistler Museum’s website had no
mention of the Lil’Wat or Squamish First Nations. That is brutal. I am sure it
wasn’t deliberate, but it is this long-standing ignorance that is not going to
get our communities together to engage in dialogue,” he says. “We need to shift
judgment for curiosity.”
A number of non-profits partner with the CFOW in dealing with
social issues in Whistler and Pemberton, with the premier social service
delivery group being the Whistler Community Services Society. While grants from
CFOW only account for .25 per cent
of
WCSS’s total budget, Janet McDonald, WCSS Executive Director, acknowledges that
WCSS has only just begun to apply to the CFOW for grants in the last couple of
years. So where does most of WCSS’s funding come from?
“Seventy-five per cent comes from the Re-Use-It Centre,”
McDonald says with pride. “We get a lot of volume flowing in and out of that
place. We’re really busy.”
McDonnell appreciates the sustainability factor of the
Re-Use-It Centre as the WCSS’s chief source of funding. “It’s environmentally
friendly, a huge cross section of the community uses the place, and it is a
creative way to fundraise,” he says.
Not only does WCSS run Whistler’s Food Bank, Interim Housing,
Emergency Financial Assistance, and other acute needs programs, it is very
supportive of social justice programs for lower income and at-risk members of
the community. The organization runs a wide variety of programs in Whistler and
Pemberton that impact a large number of community members of all ages, races,
and economic backgrounds. Such programs include Youth Outreach, Whistler
Welcome Week (for seasonal workers arriving in the fall), the Whistler
Employment Resource Centre, the Community Greenhouse Project, Parent-Infant
Drop-In, the Whistler Survival Guide brochure, and SNOW (Support Network of
Whistler), among many more.
“We want to enable at-risk people to stand on their own two
feet in the long term,” says McDonald of the SNOW program.
The Food Buying Club and SNOW, which is aimed at frequent users
of the food bank, provides mainly single-parent families with financial
difficulties access to a food-at-cost program through Whistler’s Grocery Store.
Participants are also required to attend weekly workshops on a range of topics,
including budgeting, healthy meal preparation on a shoestring, and resume and
career planning.
The CFOW contributed $1,000 to this program in 2006 through the
Jill Ackhurst Community Action Fund. Chalmers, an advocate of the program says:
“our goal is to direct our CFOW funding in a way that supports social justice
initiatives such as this one, which gets to the root of a problem and empowers
people.”
Last year, SNOW members decided stress management was an issue
they wanted some help with, and yoga classes were suggested.
“We held some sessions and they loved it,” says Chalmers. “If
we can empower people to deal with their difficulties in creative ways, we want
to support that if we can. This is not a top down group.”
CFOW has directed funding to six projects in 2007 that uphold
social justice principles. Grants were awarded to the Whistler Adaptive Ski
Program’s Adaptive Alpine Race Development Program, which supports disabled
youth in “club level” ski race training and competition; a unique math
teacher-training program at Mount Currie Community school; the Rotary Club of
Whistler, to provide educational software and playground equipment for Head of
the Lakes School at Skatin Nation; The Kelty Patrick Dennehy Foundation to
implement a depression awareness and screening program for Whistler Secondary
School; Whistler Writer’s Group to support the First Nations
Writer-in-Residence Program; and finally, Project Heartsong at Signal Hill
Elementary School in Pemberton.
The Project Heartsong program, now in its second year, brings
in elders Gerald Gabriel and Martin Thevarge, from Mount Currie and D’Arcy to
teach all students in the school traditional hand drumming, singing and
dancing. Students have learned to make their own drums and there is now a class
set for the children to use.
The project, which is taught within the school’s music program,
has been very successful, according to Signal Hill teacher Doris Zurcher.
“First Nations students are being validated for who they are.
There is a big difference between being able to express your culture, and being
validated for it.”
The goal of the project has been greater cultural awareness
between First Nations students, who come from Mount Currie, D’Arcy and the
Southern Stl’atl’imx Nations near Baptiste Smith, and other cultural groups. Drumming
is now being used to start school assemblies.
“When the drumming begins, the Native children really brighten
up,” continues Zurcher. “This is what some of them hear in their own homes.”
Dave Walden, Chair of the Board of School Trustees for the Howe
Sound School District, is encouraged by the initiatives being made at Signal
Hill to foster cross-cultural awareness.
“Twenty years ago, this would not have happened on such a large
scale,” he says. “Parents would have been much more reluctant to allow their
children to participate in this kind of program. Now at PAC meetings, parents
are open to it and encourage it.
“If we want to have peace in our world, we have to start by
understanding one another,” he says. “I have always believed that change needs
to start in the schools. It isn’t going to solve all our problems but it is a
step forward.”
Chalmers recognizes that much needs to be done. “We have only
been focused on social justice as our guiding principle for the last 18 months
or so. We are at the beginning stages, and the forums were a good starting
point. We got action items out of the discussions.”
“Poverty and cultural awareness are long term issues and we
need to develop long term strategies,” continues Buttkus. “Social justice is a
strategic focus we are taking. The more people who know what the term means,
the better. A lot of people don’t think we have social issues here in Whistler.
We do.”
BOX
How CFOW differs from other charities
The CFOW differs from, but is complementary to, other local
charities. It acts as a vehicle by providing financial support to
others. And most importantly, the CFOW creates and manages permanent
endowment funds that are held in perpetuity, from which only the investment
income is distributed. While individual gifts may be used to establish a
separate fund, the funds are pooled with all other gifts into a common,
professionally managed portfolio in order to maximize potential income and
minimize administrative expenses.
The CFOW’s vision is “To provide dedicated philanthropic
leadership and resources, in perpetuity, to the Sea to Sky Communities.”
