Challenging assumptions

County Community Foundation presents Vital Signs report to council

It was an eye-opening presentation. For some on council, at least part of information documented in the Vital Signs report and projected on a large screen above their heads, challenged basic assumptions about their County.

A handful of the board of the County Community Foundation stood before a committee of council last week to formally present the findings of the first of what is expected to be an annual checkup on the community.

Brian Beiles skimmed through the report,highlighting some of the more surprising findings. For example, Prince Edward County residents endure a rate of sexual assault that is 26 per cent higher than the provincial average.

Our community also ranks badly in terms of obesity, rates of smoking and teen pregnancy. Yet, we are more active in our leisure time. The report concludes there is a sharp divide between the rich and poor in Prince Edward County

This gap is evident too in the comparatively poor performance as measured by the early development index—a gauge of five aspects of childhood learning development used to assess a child’s preparedness for Grade 1 and beyond.

Fourteen per cent of children in Ontario suffer low scores in two or more of the five measures. In Prince Edward County, nearly 17 per cent struggle by the same yardstick.

Adults, too, face challenges in seeking training or further education. Nearly 15 per cent of adults in the County have no postsecondary school education, compared to 11 per cent provincially. And those looking for such training or education opportunities must leave the community to find it. There is no public transportation to make this accessible to the folks who need it most.

Housing for many in Prince Edward County is increasingly unaffordable. Beiles noted for council that while 83 per cent of County residents own their homes—more than half could not afford to buy the homes at their current value.

Council had few questions after the Foundation’s presentation—just a few points of clarification. It wasn’t until the meeting was about to be adjourned, about an hour later, that the significance of what they had heard began to stimulate discussion. “They brought out a number of alarming stats,” said Hallowell councillor Keith MacDonald. “Nobody said anything.”

That prompted others to air their reactions.

“There was a lot of interesting information,” said Sophiasburgh councillor Kevin Gale. “Some are finding that some of our assumptions about the County may not be accurate.”

Ameliasburgh councillor Nick Nowitski, too, said the report challenges commonly held beliefs around the council table and beyond.

“It is a good, concrete report,” said Nowitski. “Some of this information should shape our priorties.”

It had taken some time to simmer, but the information had begun to bubble to the surface.