Resources

Vancouver Coastal Regional Profile

The Vancouver Coastal Region includes the Central Coast, Powell River Sunshine Coast, Sea to Sky, North Shore, as well as the Vancouver and Richmond areas. The region is comprised of a diverse range of communities; geographically, economically and culturally. The population of the Vancouver Coastal Region in 2004 is estimated to be 1,054,509.

The majority of the population (91%) lives in the Lower Mainland part of the region in Vancouver, Richmond, North Vancouver, and West Vancouver/Bowen Island. The under 19 population is projected to continue growing only in Vancouver.

Child and family services in this part of the region are delivered in the context of:

  • an increasingly multicultural and multilingual population;
  • urban poverty as well as the most healthy and wealthy;
  • a large urban aboriginal population;
  • high cost of living; and,
  • urban realities such as transience/mobility, homelessness, and street entrenched youth.

The minority of the population (9%) is dispersed over a wide area defined by its geography, and includes the communities of Squamish, Whistler, Mount Currie, Pemberton Gibsons, Sechelt, Pender Harbour, Powell River, Bella Bella, Klemtu, and Bella Coola. The under-19 population is projected to continue growing only in Sea to Sky communities. Child and family services in this part of the region are delivered in the context of:

  • overall lower levels of population health & education;
  • dependency on primary industries;
  • transportation challenges;
  • "economies of scale";
  • rural poverty; and,
  • many land-based First Nations.

The region has approximately 436 FTEs in 30 local offices. The region spent $136.6 million in 2003/2004 providing services such as, child protection, youth justice, early childhood development, adoption, family supports, child and youth mental health.