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Healthy Living Program 604.267.4430

Purpose of this Document:

To inform VCH staff about the link between poverty and chronic disease.

To inform VCH staff about barriers to public recreation in Vancouver and the role of public recreation in health promotion.

To provide VCH staff with a process to advocate for low-income Vancouver citizens to access to public recreation services.

The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that leisure is a fundamental right. Canadian laws state that everyone has the

right to enjoy quality parks and recreation services. Quality recreation opportunities are vital to the health and personal development of all Canadians.

Leisure is uncoerced activity engaged in during free time. Leisure is activity that people want to do and, in either a satisfying or a fulfilling way (or both), uses the individual’s abilities and resources to succeed. Leisure can also be viewed as a personal state consisting of seven essential elements:

a) an antithesis to “work” as an economic function;

b) a pleasant expectation and recollection;

c) a minimum of involuntary social role obligations;

d) a psychological perception of freedom;

e) a close relation to values of the culture;

f) an inclusion of an entire range from inconsequence and insignificance to weightiness and importance; and

g) often, but not necessarily, an activity characterized by the element of play (Kaplan, 1975).

Individuals living in poverty have physical, social, economic, or cultural barriers that prevent them from accessing the leisure they require for productive, healthy and active lives. People living in poverty do not have access to the same services, facilities, equipment, and transportation options. This may be because of stigma, costs, lack of time (many work two jobs), and location of affordable housing. Limited access to leisure means limited access to physical activity opportunities.

Making the Connection Between Low-Income, Public Recreation and Health: Advocating for Access to Vancouver Community Centres

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Poverty Is:Not being able to afford a pair of proper shoes in order to walk 30 minutes a day.

Knowing that I Should be physically active , but knowing that I wouldn’t be accepted or welcomed by others at the gym.

Being told by the doctor to get some exercise but not having the time or energy after working two jobs to make ends meet.

Having a free pass to swim, but not being able to use it because I can’t pay for the bus, babysitting, a bathing suit or a lesson to learn how to swim.

Adapted from Access to Inclusion, BCRPA

Chronic Disease, Poverty and Recreation

As the prevalence and related costs of chronic diseases increases, it is important to focus on prevention initiatives, particularly among the most vulnerable. Many studies have shown that lower income is associated with most chronic diseases and is also a risk factor for physical inactivity.

In fact, poverty is a more reliable predictor of poor health and chronic disease than factors such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and smoking. The three conditions of poverty that contribute to poor health are:

Material Deprivation

Living with Excessive Stress

Developing Health Threatening Behaviours

Currently, 26% of Vancouver residents are living in poverty. Those groups of people most affected by poverty are: women, people with work-limiting disabilities, recent immigrants, unattached individuals, single parents, and Aboriginal peoples.

Active recreation/physical activity is widely known to protect against a number of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, obesity, and some cancers.

Participating in quality recreation opportunities also enables people to:

develop skills and competencies;

achieve better physical, psychosocial and emotional skills;

improve self-efficacy, academic performance, peer and family relationships;

acquire pro-social values and develop life skills such as leadership, decision-making, social connections, and problem solving;

form healthy habits;

reduce isolation;

participate and take pride in their community; and most of all

have fun and be with friends and family (CPRA 2009).

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Reducing the barriers to recreation and physical activity for low-income individuals saves money for health care system, the school system, the criminal justice system, and in many areas of the economy, including productivity costs. Poverty is a health issue, a family issue and a community issue. Opening doors to quality recreation opportunities for low-income families requires passion, focus, and long-term commitment. Improved health outcomes can be achieved by building supportive community environments, healthy policy, and having an activated community. Part of the process is ensuring access to public recreation for all members of our community. Improved access benefits everyone. See Appendix 1:

Expanded Chronic Care Model.

The roots of the Canadian public recreation system stem back to the early 1900’s where playground programs were provided for underprivileged children – the Playground Movement. Over the years, the focus changed and in many communities, municipal recreation became the domain of the middle class. As a result, many programs are unaffordable to low-income families.

Many low-income Vancouver citizens are excluded from recreation and leisure services at many Vancouver Community Centres

Vancouver has twenty-three community centres that are jointly operated by the Vancouver Park Board and a local Community Association.

Low Income Vancouver citizens who have met the requirements for a Vancouver Park Board Leisure Access Card (see http://vancouver.ca/parks/rec/lac/index.htm) are given free admission for:

pools and skating rinks,

use of skates

The Leisure Access Card also gives a 50% discount to:

the drop in fees or monthly “Flexi-Passes” at Vancouver Park Board owned and operated fitness centres. See Appendix 3: Table of Community Centres and Access Practices.

Park Board swim lessons

racquet court admissions

Stanley Park Children’s Farmyard and Miniature Railway

Bloedel Conservatory and VanDusen Botanical Gardens

pitch and putt golf courses, and the Vancouver Aquarium

However, eleven of the fitness centres and all of the health and fitness classes are operated by local Community Associations. The Joint Operating Agreement between the Vancouver Park Board and Community Associations allows the Community Association to develop programs and set fees as they deem appropriate. This means that they can choose to reject the Leisure Access Card from low-income individuals and refuse any requests for discounts to programs and services. See Appendix 2 for requests that have been denied. See Appendix 4: Table of Community Centres and Access Practices.

In some cases, a low-income citizen is asked to present their case for subsidy to the Board of the Community Association. This process is difficult for most low-income citizens to do, and is often felt to be demeaning. The Community Association Board has the authority to reject the application after the presentation.

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Why Does this matter?

Public community recreation centres exist to provide “an important fundamental public service”*, and represent the communities of which they are part of. If there are barriers to low-income citizens to using these services, these citizens are being excluded from public services.

Public community recreation centres have an important role to play in mitigating the negative effects of poverty. Services offered at community centres can reduce the risks for chronic diseases, promote social inclusion, and increase levels of self efficacy and self confidence: all building blocks for life-long health.

Vancouver Coastal Health supports healthy lives in healthy communities. As part of the organization’s mandate, it is vital to support the people we work with and to ensure they have access to the services that will help improve their health and prevent chronic disease. VCH is focused on reducing the risk for our most vulnerable residents and reducing health gaps. At the Provincial level, the ActNow BC Framework has recognized the need to increase access to recreation centres for low-income individuals.

Why should citizens who have low-incomes be excluded

when they may be the ones that need it the most?

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The Stories of Two Vancouver Citizens:

BillBill hasn’t been able to work because of a back injury. He has to use a wheelchair to go long distances. He lives in a basement suite 2 blocks from the Killarney Community Centre. He receives about $800 a month from social assistance. Bill has a Leisure Access Card and uses the pool at Killarney to help with his pain. He would like to use the fitness centre but can’t afford the fees. He has talked to the staff and they told him to go to Riley Park or Champlain because they are Vancouver Parks Board run facilities and will discount the fees. He was told that sometimes people send a letter to the Board asking for a fee reduction but the Board has never accepted any requests. Traveling to Riley Park or Champlain

would mean taking two buses an additional 30-45 minutes one way. Bill doesn’t understand why he just can’t use the fitness centre at his local community centre.

CathyCathy is a single mom with two kids. She rents a ground floor suite near Dunbar Community Centre and works 2 jobs to make ends meet. After she enrolls her kids in their school programs and after school activities, she doesn’t have money left over for her own physical activity needs. She would like to take a yoga class at the local recreation centre so she could meet others and learn a way to cope with her stress. She saved up $60 of the $100 fee then asked the staff if she could apply for a fee reduction to help her make up the rest. The staff told her to make a presentation to the Board. She wrote a compelling letter but the Board turned down her request for $40 assistance. One of the staff members

and a Board member decided to pay the $40 out of their own pockets. Cathy pays taxes and can’t understand why the local programs are out of her reach. “Aren’t they supposed to be meeting my needs?”

These stories are based on real people. Names and circumstances have been adapted slightly.

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What CaN we do to Support Change?Advocate for: All local Community Associations to honour the Leisure Access policy and apply it to their programs and fitness centres. Use the VCH Documents and Guidelines:Please refer to the VCH Population Health Advocacy Guideline and Resources:

http://www.vcha.ca/programs_services/population_health/advocacy_resources/_docs/advocacy_toolkit/binary_50932.pdf

Using this VCH Population Health Advocacy model may be helpful as you organize your thoughts and action plans:

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Step by step ideas for your advocacy plan:

• Contact the Vancouver Park Board “Access Services” department at 604.257.8497 and explain the situation. They may be offer some assistance or guidance.

• Speak with the Vancouver Park Board staff person at the Community Centre assigned to programs and or fitness and try to negotiate a solution. Many staff are aware of issues and will try and support low-income individuals in their communities.

• If no reasonable resolution is found, the client needs to write the first letter, in their own words, outlining their needs, what they are requesting, and the benefits they would have from the fee reduction and participation. Your client may need assistance with this process. See Template, Appendix 3.

• Write a supporting letter from your professional perspective to support the client’s request.

• Send this to the Community Association Board (find this from the Vancouver Park Board Website and the individual community centre). Keep copies for further advocacy if necessary.

• If refused by the Community Association Board, ask for reasons in writing.

• If you wish to advocate further, the client writes a new letter outlining their needs. Include their feelings regarding the process of the application to the Community Association Board and the denial of access.

• Write another supporting letter. Put your letter, the client’s letter and copies of the original requests and Board refusal in a package and send it to:

• the Chair of the Vancouver Park Board: Raj Hundel email: raj.hundal@vancouver.ca

• the Parks Board Commissioner assigned to the community centre in question. Check the Vancouver Park Board website for changes.

As of April, 2009 they are:

Loretta Woodcock: False Creek Community Association and Hastings Community Association loretta.woodcock@rogers.blackberry.net

Constance Barnes: Britannia, Mount Pleasant, and Strathcona constance.barnes@vancouver.ca

Sarah Blyth: Marpole-Oakridge and Ray-Cam sarah.blyth@vancouver.ca

Aaron Jasper: Douglas Park, Kerrisdale, Kitsilano, West End aaron.jasper@vancouver.ca

Stuart MacKinnon: Kensington, Renfrew stuart.mackinnon@vancouver.ca

Ian Robertson: Dunbar, Trout Lake, Riley Park, West Point Grey igrobertson@telus.net

Needing to advocate further? Contact:

The General Manager of the Vancouver Park Board: Susan Mundick email: susan.mundick@vancouver.ca

The City Manager for the City of Vancouver, Dr. Penny Ballem email: penny.ballem@vancouver.ca

Mary Clark, VCH Active Living Coordinator, email mary.clark@vch.ca

Mary is tracking all requests and refusals for VCH.

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Other Actions VCH Staff Can Take:

Tell others: Many people in Vancouver don’t know about the exclusion of low-income citizens from public recreation programs and services.

Support recreation as a fundamental public service, not just a “market driven” model.

Call the Vancouver Parks Board elected officials and raise the issue. Ask them to ensure low-income citizens are welcome at ALL local community centres.

Email the Mayor, the City Manager, the Manager, and the Chair of the Vancouver Parks Board.

Ask for a “Low-Income Inclusion” policy that applies to all community centres.

Go the Community Association Board meeting at your community recreation centre, raise the issue and ask for change.

Become a member of your Community Association Board and make the changes from within.

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References:

*Key Operating Principles for Community Centres. From the Joint Operating Agreement. May 2005.

Canadian Parks and Recreation Association. Everybody Gets to Play: Recreation Without Barriers. Position Paper on Poverty. Retrieved from: http://www.cpra.ca/UserFiles/File/EN/sitePdfs/CPRAPositionPaperFinal.pdf May 24, 2009.

Kaplan, M. (1975). Leisure: Theory and policy. New York, NY: Wiley.

Leisure Access Card Program. Retrieved Online http://vancouver.ca/parks/rec/lac/index.htm March 17, 2009.

Poverty Matters. BC Recreation and Parks Association, 2008.

ActNow Framework for Action.

Frisby, W. (1988). Leisure Access: Enhancing Recreation Opportunities for those Living in Poverty.

Raphael, D. (2001). Inequity is Bad for Our Hearts: Why Low Income and Social Exclusion are Major Causes of Heart Disease in Canada. North York Heart Health Network.

Reid, C., Frisby, W., & Ponic, P. (2002). Confronting Two-Tiered Community Recreation and Poor Women’s Exclusion: Promoting Inclusion, Health, and Social Justice. Canadian Women’s Studies. Vol. 21(3). P. 88-94.

Stebbins, R.A. (2005). Choice and Experiential Definitions of Leisure. Leisure Sciences. Vol.27. Pg. 349-352.

VCH Population Health- Advocacy Documents

Photos from:Pages, Apple.Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women in Sport

Contact Information:

Mary Clark, Active Living Coordinator, Chronic Disease Prevention TeamVCH Healthy Living ProgramE. mary.clark@vch.ca

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Appendix 1: Expanded Chronic Care Model

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Appendix 2: Request that has been denied

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Appendix 2: Request in Process

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Appendix 3: Table of Community Centres and Access Practices:On May 9, 2009, all 23 Community Centres were contacted and the front desk staff asked the following questions:

Do you honour the Leisure Access Card?

What about for classes like yoga and other physical activity classes?

This was cross-checked with information from the Park Board Website and Access Services.

Access to skating rinks and pools were filtered out as these are provided by the Vancouver Parks Board and are free with a Leisure Access Card.

Community Centre Run By Community Association or Vancouver

Park Board

Fitness Centre Leisure Honouring Leisure Access

Card

Leisure Access Card applies to health, wellness and physical activity programs/classes

Britannia Association Yes A subsidy policy is in place for recreation programs for people with Leisure Access and community residences who are in need of financial assistance but do not qualify for Leisure Access.

Champlain Park Board yes Depends. If instructor is paid per participant -no.

Coal Harbour Park Board No fitness centre No

Douglas Park Association Yes No

Dunbar Park Board Yes Depends on class size and instructors fees. Person needs to request assistance through CA Board

False Creek Association No No

Hastings Association No - will give 30% discount No

Kensington Park Board Yes No

Kerrisdale Association No Person must fill out subsidy request form and meet with Programmer to determine need.

Killarney Association No No

Kitsilano Park Board Yes Yes

Marpole Park Board Yes Yes – 25% off all programs except private music lessons

Mt. Pleasant Park Board Yes Person must apply for subsidy and it is contingent upon class size

Ray Cam Association Yes No

Renfrew Park Board Yes No

Riley Park Park Board Yes Person must fill out subsidy request form. Depends on class size.

Roundhouse No fitness centre Yes- 30% off programs

Strathcona Association Yes For some children’s programs

Sunset Association No No

Thunderbird Association Yes, but – only on monthly passes No

Trout Lake Park Board Yes No

West End Park Board Yes No

Aquatic Centre Park Board Yes No

West Pt. Grey Association Yes Yes, 25% discount on programs

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Appendix 4: Sample Templates for letters

Client Letter:Dear Chair of Community Association Board,

My name is XXXXX and I am writing to request a fee subsidy so I can take the following class/ have access to use the fitness centre.

I am a citizen of Vancouver, live at ________ , and this is my local Community Centre. Due to my current financial situation/medical situation I am unable to pay the full price for this program. I am able to pay____ (for a class) or _____ a month (for the fitness centre) until my financial situation improves. I currently have a Leisure Access Card (include this line if they do, it shows they have already qualified under the process from the Vancouver Parks Board).

Have the client list the benefits they would get from participating in the program or at the fitness centre. Encourage them to include physical, social, spiritual (sense of belonging and worth) and emotional benefits.

VCH Staff Letter:See Appendix 2 for ideas.

You will find extra information on poverty and recreation at:

• BC Recreation and Parks Association: Everybody Active Initiative – specifically the booklet “Increasing Access: Poverty Matters”

http://www.physicalactivitystrategy.ca/index.php/everybody-active/about-access/

• BCRPA also has a toolkit for recreation service providers to use to assess their low-income access policy. Contact Donna Lee at BCRPA.

• City of Vancouver Community Pages: Look up household income stats for any area in Vancouver.

http://vancouver.ca/community_profiles/CommunityList.htm