ALIVE’s Executive Director, Scott Clark, spoke at the public meeting on Feb. 4th in favour of pooling community centre revenues and services. It ended with the city’s park commissioners voting to go ahead with implementing the new funding model which the park board states will create equity between have and have-not community centres. The proposal was met with much opposition.
ALIVE’s Stance on Vancouver Community Centres:
- Community centres are the living rooms of all 24 communities in Vancouver
- Community centres should be more than for-profit recreation spaces. All community centres are subsidized by us, the tax payer, which goes towards paying for the land, buildings, programs and services
- Some community centres generate surplus using public space, while several community centres do not have resources for programs. Resources should be redistributed to support community centres in less affluent neighbourhoods
- Low income, immigrant, and Indigenous children and families cannot afford many of the programs. All community centres should develop place-based strategies to support vulnerable populations
- All community centres need to develop programs and service that reflect the diversity of community interests
- All community centres need to employ local vulnerable populations
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