You will need speakers turned up to listen! HUMS 1581 Community Mapping Presentation

1. Qualicum
Beach &
Oceanside
Communities,
Vancouver
Island, BC
Community Mapping
Presentation – click on the
speaker icon!
Sarah Faulhafer

2. Stats about Qualicum Beach
 As per the 2006 census there are
approximately 8500 people who live in
Qualicum Beach
 The largest age groups include people
over the age of 55 however there is a
growing population of 0-19yrs
 The smallest population is the age group I
belong in 25-40

3. More info about the area
 “Oceanside” is the term used to
incorporate the communities nearby
including Qualicum Beach, Parksville,
Coombs, Errington and Bowser
 The population doubles in the summer
months as many islanders and others
vacation or have summer homes here

4. Seniors
 There is a thriving seniors community in QB
and many resources for seniors are
available at the QB Senior’s Activity
Centre such as:
 Fitness classes, cheap meals, singing,
book clubs, hobby groups, art and music
programs. These are all run by volunteers
 There are three major retirement/senior
care facilities in Qualicum Beach

5. Qualicum First Nation
 The Qualicum First Nation Band is located
slightly north of Qualicum Beach – there is
a very small reserve with a population of
105 as per the 2006 census.
 The nearest Aboriginal services offered
(such as the friendship centre, Aboriginal
rec centre etc.) are located in Port
Alberni, BC (which is 45 minutes away).

6. Community Needs Map
Diverse
services
addictions
Youth
programs
Affordable
housing
Food bank
Aboriginal
Services
Cultural
diversity
and
awareness

7. Qualicum Beach/Oceanside
Capacity Map
Minority/multicultur
al community
promote
awareness
Growing younger
population to
become involved in
reaching out to
others in the same
age group
Churches offer some groups/activities –
potential to build a stronger youth-based
focus
Society of
Organized Services
(SOS 69) supports
families in many
ways – Parksville,
BC
Thriving seniors
community with
many
resources/activities
/groups for seniors
to be among
peers
Public awareness for
all services offered
(which is in progress
but could be
stronger)
Family Resource
Association offers
support to “high risk”
families that require
it (Parksville, BC)

8. Economy
 Qualicum Beach is made up mostly of
retirees, however the workforce that does
exist is small at 34%
 Most jobs are in the service industry and
the median income after taxes per year is
$22000 CAD
 Housing is expensive and very little is
available for rental accommodations

9. Age & Diversity
 There is a range of age within the
community but not as many services
directed to the different ages
 There is no youth centre and very few
activities for teens unless they participate
in organized team sports/classes which
requires a considerable amount of money

10. Multiculturalism and Diversity
 There are very few visible minorities in QB itself and
no multicultural centres or events that celebrate
other festivals (Chinese new year, no Synagogues,
etc.)
 There is an Aboriginal community on the outskirts
of town but little interaction with that community
and QB itself
 There is currently a Cultural Planning Process
underway to promote cultural events in the town
and community involvement was invited in the
summer (however as noted, the community is
mostly retired, Caucasian people)

11. Services do that exist
 The few social services (unrelated to seniors
specifically) that are offered, are mostly located in
Parksville which is 15 minutes south of Qualicum
Beach
 Society of Organized Services 69: provides a
variety of services to children, youth, adults and
seniors that may be in crisis
 SOS69 is a non-profit that helps Oceanside
residents to access resources such as financial
assistance, grief and loss, victims of abuse,
accessing formal dress-wear for $5, tutoring
among many others
 http://www.sosd69.com/

12. Services cont.
 Family Resource Association 69 assists families and
children that experience a variety of different
challenges such as:
i. Children that experience any form of violence
ii. Mental health issues
iii. Developmental disabilities
iv. Parenting support
FRA provides education and intervention strategies to
break the cycle of children that have a high risk to end
up in the care of the Ministry for Children and Family
Development which carries a negative stigma and to
help parents work through challenges that they are
facing http://d69fra.org/

13. Services Continued..
 There is an extreme weather shelter in
Parksville – which is the only shelter of it’s kind
for all of the Oceanside area
 The shelter is mostly run by the Salvation Army
and has partial funding from BC Housing
 The shelter is only activated in “extreme
weather” which is determined by 10am on
the day of
 Currently this program is experiencing
adversity because there is little turn out to use
the services

14. Services Continued…
 The emergency shelter is working on
providing more advertising on the days
that it will be open
 It was very difficult to find information
about the shelter online (I have been
following the stories in the local
newspaper about it since November 1st)
 The shelter only receives funding from
Nov.1 – March 31st

15. Services Continued…
 There is a very limited food bank service in
Parksville that is offered 2x a week for a
few hours, otherwise the nearest food
bank is in Nanaimo (40 minutes south).
 SOS69 offers help to access affordable
groceries for emergency situations for
families

16. Experiencing Qualicum
Beach/Oceanside
 I have done several community walks since
moving to this community to get to know the
area and residents. It certainly feels like a
retirement community during the day time, I
mostly met seniors. I have noticed that the
youth population are around and exhibit a
certain “style” that may be classified as
alternative (bright coloured hair, wild clothes,
body piercings). Everyone I have talked to,
both youth and seniors have all been very
friendly and I found it quite interesting
observing the difference in youth and seniors.

18. Experiencing the community
continued….
 I visited the Qualicum First Nation Band Office,
but it has limited hours that it is open and was
unable to obtain any information from the
band. As noted, it is a very small reserve (25
homes) with very few local resources. Most
Aboriginal resources are offered in Port
Alberni or in the Comox Valley which are
45minutes away. The band does have a
campground that is open to all visitors and
appears to be one of the economic
resources for the band.

19. Conclusion
 Qualicum Beach and the Oceanside
communities have adequate services for
the seniors in the community. The
strengths that the community has are a
thriving and active seniors community
that volunteer for community events and
services. Being a small town, it isn’t hard to
physically locate the services and to meet
someone that is involved.

20. Conclusion continued…
 There is room for improvement in the
Oceanside communities for community
building. There could be more services for
youth (such as a drop in centre), there is no
food bank, there is limited cultural diversity,
affordable housing, very little Aboriginal
resources for the local band, and nothing in
the town of Qualicum for addictions or
substance abuse. Most of the services that
are offered are located in Parksville, BC.

21. Conclusion continued…
 Getting to know the community of Qualicum
Beach and surrounding areas has been
beneficial to learn how to look at a
community’s strengths and where
improvements can be made. Qualicum does
a fine job at accommodating for seniors, but
can definitely improve services for the
younger population as eventually the
demographic will change. It has been
rewarding to get to know the town and what
is in place and development for the residents
here.