The WindsorEssex Community Foundation (WECF) is out with its 2024 Vital Signs Report and it's positive news for youth in the region.
Vital Signs Report is a community snapshot that gives residents an opportunity to provide feedback about what's important to them.
Some of the priorities identified in this year's report include increasing the number of arts & cultural opportunities for those wanting to pursue a career, improving the amount of connected green spaces and increasing opportunities for people to feel included and connected.
Speaking on AM800's The Shift, WECF's executive director, Lisa Kolody, says youth aged 24 and younger feel the happiest and the most connected for the second report in a row.
"We saw that throughout the whole report. Our youth are the most positive about our community and that makes us really happy because we want to find opportunities to keep our youth happy and to keep them in our community, and to include them in decision making so that they will stay for the long term."
Other results showed that:
Kolody says when it comes to work opportunities, the community and seniors said we're doing okay, but we could do better.
She says youth however gave a low score on this topic.
"So our youth are really saying we need to invest more in providing a living wage, and so when we track priorities providing a living wage to our employees, 50 per cent of people said that's a top priority, and that's one of the top priorities across all of the sections. Ensuring youth are better prepared for the workforce were next, and providing support for our local businesses was the next priority."
She says the survey results will be for strategic planning and grant decision making.
"So we really want this to be a conversation starter to say under health, wellness and activity we have to improve access to mental health programs. Ten years ago that was not a top priority. The last three, four, five years it's become one of our top priorities."
The full report can be viewed by clicking the link in the story at am800 cklw dot com.
To view and read the full report click here: https://wecf.ca/windsoressex-community-foundations-vital-signs-2024-report-launch/.