What are your priorities for improving social or community services?
In order to improve social and community services, we need to take inventory of what interagencies are providing by taking a close look at times being offered and how we can fill the gap. It is unnecessary to have programs of similar nature, running at the same time in two different locations, while not meeting the demand of the community.
After interviewing the youth, again, communication is lacking; there is a void of knowing what is available in terms of activities and programming, and they want to have a voice. There are a lot of great programs in Cochrane but the question remains, does the community at large know all that is offered?
I believe this next council needs to seriously advocate for 24-hour health care, mental health resources for all ages, senior/youth programming, more schools, emergency shelter, hospice care, and more housing options for single people. While healthcare and schools are provincially mandated, it does not mean we cannot advocate.
With growth comes the responsibility to make sure our social and community services are prioritized and advocated for whether provincially, municipally, or privately funded.
