Castlegar agency lauds city investment in community wellness
By Contributor
Castlegar & District Community Services Society (CDCSS) is a non-profit social agency whose clients cross all demographic boundaries. The City of Castlegar is a community in which the residents cross all demographic boundaries.
The difference is that the city’s “clients” are all the people who live in the community, while CDCSS’s clients are those who come to it out of necessity.
“Our clients,” said CDCSS board chair Roberta Hamilton, “have the same needs and rights as everyone else, but for various reasons, achieving goals in their lives may mean navigating greater obstacles than everyone else.”
As stewards of the Columbia Basin Trust’s Community Initiative funds, the city recently allocated $1,000 for each of three new CDCSS projects.
“We are very grateful for our municipal council’s support of our work,” said Hamilton.
Hamilton pointed out that the city also assists CDCSS by providing funding for police-based victim cervices, and by foregoing a portion of its property taxes.
But that is only the tip of the iceberg with respect to the city’s involvement in the wellness of its citizens. Council as a whole, and certain city council committees, such as Public Safety and Community Wellness, have stewardship roles over wellness issues.
“Our tax dollars do amazing things to contribute towards wellness,” said CDCSS executive director Andrew Earnshaw, who mentioned police, victim services, parks, recreation, and the highly-valued Station Youth Centre as just a few examples.
CDCSS commends the city for all its work in the area of community wellness and looks forward to working in partnership with council in the months and years to come.
CDCSS is a non-profit organization, supported in part by community donations. You can make a donation at any time by delivering it to the CDCSS office at 1007-2nd Street. Tax receipts are provided. For more information, call the agency at 250-365-2104.
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