Fifth annual Ottawa’s Vital Signs report released today
No ‘A’s in sight: city scores ‘C’ grade among Ottawa residents over five years of annual checkups on the health of our community
Since it was first released in 2006, the Ottawa Community Foundation’s Vital Signs report is showing little improvement in many of the quality-of-life areas of concern to local residents. Over the five years it has been published, the city has maintained a ‘C’ average across the 11 indicator areas measured in the report. While the 2010 report has a number of bright spots, it is darkened overall by some particularly poor grades in certain areas. “This is not a report card I’d proudly bring home to my parents,” said Barbara McInnes, President & CEO of the Community Foundation. “While we aren’t seeing any ‘F’s in this year’s report, we aren’t seeing any ‘A’s either.”
In fact, the 2010 checkup gives the city a ‘D’ for its performance in the areas of Gap Between Rich and Poor and Housing. Those two areas were also rated as the highest priorities for action by community graders, followed by Health and Wellness. “Issues around poverty, homelessness and health care are top-of-mind among our citizens,” said Barbara, “and it’s clear from the grades and priorities being set each year by Ottawa residents that there is growing frustration with the lack of improvement in these areas.”
Among the concerns raised in this year’s report are the high rates of both food bank and shelter usage in the city, along with the swelling population of working poor. Access to child care and affordable housing has also shown little improvement over the years and is seen as a significant obstacle for those struggling to get ahead in our community. On the upside, Ottawa continues to score relatively well in the area of Learning and has brought up its grades in both Arts & Culture and Belonging & Leadership.
“Over the five years of producing this report, we have seen Ottawa’s Vital Signs gain importance as a powerful tool to help Ottawa residents to better understand their community and work together to improve the city’s quality of life,” said Barbara. “There has never been a better time to take the pulse of our community than right now, and to take the opportunity to closely examine our priorities for the future.”
Ottawa’s Vital Signs measures the community’s quality of life in 11 key areas, including: the Gap between Rich and Poor; Housing; Health and Wellness; Safety; Learning; Arts and Culture; Getting Started; Environment; Work; Getting Around; and Belonging and Leadership. A compilation of data from numerous research sources, Ottawa’s Vital Signs is a comprehensive annual checkup that identifies significant trends and issues in our community. To view the entire 2010 report, visit www.ottawavitalsigns.ca
Ottawa’s Vital Signs is part of a national initiative led by Community Foundations of Canada through which 15 communities across the country release Vital Signs reports on the same day. These cities include Victoria, BC; Vancouver, BC; Red Deer, AB; Calgary, AB; Medicine Hat, AB; Sudbury, ON; London, ON; Hamilton, ON; Waterloo Region, ON; Toronto, ON; Kingston, ON; Ottawa, ON; Montreal, QC; Saint John, NB; and Lunenburg, NS.
The Ottawa Community Foundation is a public, non-profit organization created by and for the people of Ottawa. It connects donors who care with causes that matter and serves as a trusted resource for addressing issues and leveraging opportunities in the community. It attracts and manages a growing endowment, the invested earnings of which provide grants to charitable organizations.
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Iona Green
Senior Associate, Marketing and Communications
Ottawa Community Foundation
613-236-1616 X 232
igreen@cfo-fco.ca