A new poll confirming British Columbians’ support for restoring funding to communitysocial services is welcome news to a sector that has endured significant cuts and reductionsduring the economic downturn.Sixty-five per cent of British Columbians surveyed in a recent poll agree that currentfunding levels are too low for community social services such as daycare; seniors’ care;employment services; supports to families and children; help for vulnerable populations; and residential care.Almost 90 per cent agree that community social services make their communities a safer,better place to live, and that such preventive services reduce the cost and societal burden offamily breakdown and crisis intervention down the line.“It’s great to see that British Columbians really recognize what’s important about socialservices,” says Doug Hayman of the Federation of Community Social Services and Board VoiceSociety of B.C. “There’s a tendency sometimes to see these services as frills - supports that arenice to have when times are good, but not essential. That couldn’t be farther from the truth.And it’s pretty clear from these poll findings that British Columbians know that.”The Angus Reid poll was conducted in August on behalf of an affiliation of 40 B.C. provincialorganizations involved in the provision of community social services.“We work in this sector, and we see first-hand the difference that comprehensivecommunity-based social services make in people’s lives, especially during difficult economictimes,” says Shabna Ali, Executive Director of the B.C. Society of Transition Houses. “These pollresults show us that British Columbians get that as well. Any further cuts to social services willput community health even more at risk, now and long into the future.”A number of community social services organizations will present the poll results inpresentations to government, including the Select Standing Committee on Finance on tour inB.C. right now. One in three British Columbians will use community social services in theirlifetime, but services and access in the province have been eroded through a decade of reducedfunding, increased demand and the unintended consequences of policy changes.

Contact:
Doug Hayman, doug@fcssbc.ca , 250 480 7387
Shabna Ali, shabna@bcsth.ca, 604.724.4636
Glenn Hope, glennh@bccf.ca, 604.678.8884 #226

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