A new report that takes a pulse of the Tri-Cities' socio-economic wellbeing confirms what most of here already know: It's a pretty good place to live.
On Tuesday, representatives from the United Way of the Lower Mainland will present their inaugural report to Port Coquitlam city council — one that highlights such indicators as employment, income and graduation rates.
Mary Ellen Shaafsma, director of United Way's community impact and investment, told The Tri-City News Thursday the profile was compiled using numbers from a variety of sources such as StatsCan, the 2011 Census, bc211, UBC Help and Civic Info BC.
"It's the best and most recent data we have available," she said.
The report makes a point of highlighting the Tri-Cities' growth since 1991 though Shaafsma said the region "seems to be keeping up with it really well," noting its low unemployment and crime rates as well as a median family income of $93,124 (that's almost 17% higher than in the rest of Metro Vancouver, where the median family income is $80,006).
As for education, School District 43 ranks the 49th best out of 57 districts in B.C.
The Tri-Cities has also taken in its fair share of immigrants, with most hailing from South Korea, China and Iran, as well as government-assisted refugees (Coquitlam was the second most-selected destination municipality in Metro Vancouver between 2010 and 2013).
Shaafsma hopes the new document can be used as a resource guide as city councils, social planners and non-profit groups — like the United Way — make funding decisions.
Her agency sinks more than $2 million into the Tri-Cities to help 45 agencies deliver 62 programs and services to local residents; one example is the United Way's Avenues of Change in Coquitlam River.
As for the bc211 help line it also funds, that program logged 5,713 calls for assistance from the Tri-Cities in 2014 — most of them for substance use and housing (in Port Moody, gambling addiction was the third highest issue while, in Coquitlam and PoCo, it was abuse).
The Tri-Cities Community Profile is the third report published by United Way in last nine months, following Surrey/White Rock and Richmond.
