Vital Signs report reveals province’s biggest challenges

A research project done by local organizations reveals what the province’s biggest issues are and what community groups or people can do to make change.

The South Saskatchewan Community Foundation (SSCF) held an event last week to launch its project called Vital Signs Research.

Victor Roman Morrow is the manager of community impact and communication with the SSCF.

“We hope to bring light to those challenges but also provide engagement to the community to find ways to get involved and make a difference,” he said.

The main issues outlined by the project are all centred around the rising cost of living. The issues include safe and affordable housing, food security, mental health services for substance abuse and suicide prevention, and sustaining community infrastructure.

Another finding was community funding gaps. According to the SSCF research, charities are short $23.2 billion to meet the demand for their services.

Roman Morrow said there’s many ways for community members to get involved to make change.

“We’d hope that people use the report as a tool so they can actually figure out, ‘What are some charities I could volunteer at or donate towards?’ There’s countless ways — being a voice, being an advocate (or) trying to press for policy changes,” he said.

He wants people to understand that behind all their findings are real people facing real problems.

“We’re all community members. Everything in these reports affect everybody in the community, no matter what socioeconomic status you are or where you live. The reality is our community is only as strong as our most vulnerable,” Roman Morrow said.

He used the example found about affordable housing. The report found that the average Saskatchewan mortgage payments rose by $4,032 since 2020.

Roman Morrow acknowledges that he is in a privileged position to be able to afford that cost, but knows many others cannot.

“As a citizen, you can realize a lot of people that aren’t (privileged). There’s a lot of people that are being put into vulnerable situations or in situations where they have no idea how they’re going to afford life,” said Roman Morrow.

The rising cost of living is something everyone can relate to, he said.

“I think it’s really important to realize that our community is stronger when there’s less people in vulnerable situations,” he said.

How the report is done

The SSCF involves as many community organizations as possible. It starts with community consultations and a survey is sent to those organizations.

The survey asks what its most pressing needs are. The results then are looked at further to find common themes.

Then the SSCF works with a researcher from the University of Regina. She took the themes and did a deep dive into data and research around the country to attempt to answer why it’s happening locally.

It also works with other groups through Luther College and an organization called Flow Community Projects to make sure the results were highly refined, criticized and verified.