City of Courtenay Annual Report 2022

RECREATION, CULTURE AND COMMUNITY SERVICES Recreation Fees and Charges Framework

Strengthening Communities Grant The $1.1 million Strengthening Communities’ Grant awarded in 2021 is administered by the City of Courtenay on behalf of the Comox Valley region, and supports the Comox Valley's response to the increased demand and need for critical homelessness support services. To guide the use of these funds, the City has established an advisory committee with representatives from the Comox Valley Coalition to End Homelessness, Wachiay Friendship Centre, and Comox Valley Transition Society. To date, over $600,000 in grant funding has been distributed to service providers. As of fall 2022, the program supported over 18,000 individual service interactions across the Comox Valley, 52 engagement events, and over 90 people receiving specialized training towards their work on the front lines supporting or interacting with individuals experiencing homelessness, addiction, or mental health challenges. The Strengthening Communities’ Grant supports: • A Daytime Community Access Hub providing services six days a week focused on health, hygiene, personal safety, and administrative support to those in need, as well as security services • Rural outreach on Denman and Hornby Islands facilitating connections to housing and support services • A peer-based outreach team including cleaning and site remediation activities • Community engagement and anti-stigma outreach • Training and capacity building activities for regional local government and First Nations staff, elected officials, outreach workers, and volunteers For more information visit courtenay.ca/scgrant

The City of Courtenay completed a framework for user fees and charges for Courtenay Recreation facilities, programs and services. The framework's goal is ensuring user costs for these important community services are fair, practical, and consistent, as well as establishing a transparent process for setting fees and charges. Recreation programs and services help meet the social, physical, and mental health needs of the community, with services funded through a combination of individual and group user fees and charges, grants from various sources, and property taxes. The intent has been to align fees and subsidy levels with the amount of benefit the community receive from services, also known as a benefits-based approach . Consultation took place starting in July 2020 through a survey for the public and recreation user groups, with additional feedback opportunities once the draft framework was released in May prior to its final adoption in June 2022. Cozy Corner Accessible Playspace Cozy Corner Preschool at the Lewis Centre now has an accessible outdoor play space. The new play area is used by preschool participants on weekdays, but is available to the public after 3:30 p.m., and all day on weekends and statutory holidays. This project was made possible thanks to a grant from Employment and Social Development Canada: Early Learning and Child Care small project component under the Enabling Accessibility Fund.

Cozy Corner Accessible Playspace

City of Courtenay | 2022 Annual Report

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