Mission and Vision

Despite historically low unemployment and new sources of wealth creation, poverty in British Columbia's Capital Region, particularly among the working poor, is unacceptably high. The high costs of housing (both purchased and rental) coupled with low paying jobs is a disturbing trend that is undermining the vibrancy of our region and resulting in the expansion of the working poor and further economic and social deterioration.

While recent community attention has focused on the increasing number of homeless in the Capital Region, less visible and also in grave danger are even larger numbers of working poor. Young people and families with children continue to leave the region, school closures have become common and the average age of our population continues to grow.

The good news is that employers have begun to increase wages in response to the low unemployment rate and average wages in Greater Victoria are increasing faster than inflation.

Everyone pays a high price for poverty. Taxpayers pay for increased social services, health care and policing. The region loses its economic vibrancy when affordability and social instability are prevalent. Society suffers as income gaps widen and social cohesion is weakened.

The Quality of Life CHALLENGE is a group of diverse community partners working together to generate long-lasting solutions that prevent and reduce poverty in BC's Capital Region. It is established as a non-partisan mechanism to bring all sectors of our community together to find solutions that will prevent and reduce poverty in the Capital Region.

Mission & Vision
Vision: a sustainable quality of life for everyone in BC's Capital Region.
Mission: The Quality of Life CHALLENGE is a group of diverse community partners working together to generate long-lasting solutions that prevent and reduce poverty in BC’s Capital Region.

OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
Quality of Life CHALLENGE partners are working together to generate long-lasting solutions that prevent and reduce poverty in BC’s Capital Region by focusing on three strategic areas:

• INCREASE SUSTAINABLE INCOMES
• REDUCE COSTS OF LIVING
• CREATE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

Working Principles

The Quality of Life CHALLENGE:

• works collaboratively and strategically towards common, shared goals;
• works respectfully with people who live on low and limited incomes through full inclusion in all phases of development and decision making;
• fully engages our communities through increasing awareness and understanding about quality of life and poverty;
• fosters corporate and personal leadership and responsibility for the care of our community, in particular for people who live in poverty;
• respects those who are already involved in reducing and preventing poverty by recognizing, linking and building on all efforts in order to increase efficiency while minimizing duplication and cost;
• tracks and celebrates all efforts and contributions that are made toward the goals.

In so doing we will achieve long-lasting outcomes.