The relative lack of mental health resources, senior supports, and youth support resources remain key concerns of Rocky View County (RVC) residents, according to a Social Needs Assessment report presented to RVC’s Governance Committee on May 16.
Conducted for the first time in a decade, the Social Needs Assessment was commissioned by the County’s Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) Committee in 2022, and compiled by consultant Tim Moorhouse of Moorhouse and Associates.
Moorhouse presented the report’s findings to the Governance Committee on behalf of FCSS. The report will allow the County to target its FCSS grants more effectively based on the identified social needs contained with the assessment.
Before jumping into specific recommendations, Moorhouse first explained how Rocky View County differs from the provincial average in terms of population demographics, as a way to give insight into the County’s social priorities.
“That has an impact on the types of services people may be looking for, and what sorts of capacities are available within the county agencies and organizations,” confirmed Moorhouse.
Significant differences include a substantially higher average household income of $137,000 versus the provincial average of $99,000. The median age of county residents is also slightly higher than the provincial average (38 years) at 42 years.
There are also far more couple families living Rocky View County (98 per cent as opposed to the provincial average of 84 per cent).
The consultant went on to state these demographics are largely consistent throughout different quadrants of the county, but not all services are offered consistently in different areas of the region despite these similarities.
“There are some differences in capacities; so different areas ability to deal with particular social issues from resources that are either resident in or accessible to the grouping that are there,” he explained.
Moorehouse went on to suggest, based on the survey results, that Rocky View’s FCSS grants should be targeted to support five key priorities. The first area identified as a priority was mental health supports, as there is a perceived lack of resources in all regions of RVC.
The second was support for seniors, particularly due to a relative lack of supports that allow seniors to stay in their residences longer and which would allow them to transition to residential care within the county after they have moved out of their own houses.
Children and youth supports, particularly in the area of child care as well as a general lack of productive youth programming in rural areas, was deemed another priority.
Moorehouse also admitted the municipal government can't do it all by themselves, and so that is why it is important for FCSS to also fund as a fourth priority, community connections. Community connections are initiatives which allow residents to come together to address social issues and prevent social breakdown from occurring.
According to Moorhouse, it was also important under this priority to fund opportunities to foster greater collaboration among different social agencies to work together to address common concerns.
In keeping with that collaborative theme, Moorhouse also recommended FCSS consider funding programs that foster collaborative partnerships. It is an area where the County already excels at, Moorehouse said, and it could be leveraged to accomplish even more.
At the County level, through FCSS, it means funding services that increase information sharing and referral services between agencies and organizations – helping to create a “holistic wrap-around approach.”
“Now that is a little jargony,” he admitted, “It is not that a person has to individually go place after place, and tell their story time after time. The collaboration allows those services to be structured around the whole picture of what individuals, families, seniors, youth are needing in order to improve their social health and quality of life.”
Moorhouse's report was received for information by RVC Governance Committee members after his presentation concluded.
