CSRD Director Paul Demenok joined us at the WLRA directors meeting on Wednesday to ask us to help him in his search for volunteers. It seems like a great opportunity to positively influence Area C. See the two listings below.
"South Shuswap Affordable Housing Society
This is a call for volunteers; for people who would be interested in helping to make their community more livable. The South Shuswap Affordable Housing Society is a new non-profit organization that is in its infancy. It was formed in response to the identified housing needs in the South Shuswap. These needs include: Housing for Seasonal Workers- as identified in the Shuswap Economic Development Plan and the Shuswap Labour MarketPlan, there is a need for low cost affordable housing for seasonal workers in the tourism and agricultural industries. The lack of seasonal housing has hurt the local economy, and has hindered local businesses from fully implementing their business plans.
Affordable Housing for Low Income Individuals and Families - the rental housing market in our area has a vacancy rate of close to0%. There simply is no affordable housing for rent in Area C orSalmon Arm. This discourages people from moving here and hurts our local economy. Transitional Housing for Seniors-many people are forced to leave the South Shuswap as they age as there is a lack of independent and assisted living facilities in our area.While these needs are not necessarily new, there is a renewed interest in housing stimulated by major advances in Federal and Provincial housing support programs.
There are opportunities to obtain funding to support new housing developments. Taking advantage of these opportunities requires local partnerships and collaborations as driven by a local non-profit housing society. If you would like to contribute to this collaboration, please join the South Shuswap Affordable HousingSociety.
To do so, please email a note expressing your interest topdemenok@csrd.bc.ca."
AND
"South Shuswap Transportation Society
This is a call for volunteers; for people who would be interested in donating their time to help others with their transportation needs. Currently, public transportation services in the South Shuswap consist of a once weekly BC Transit bus that runs into Salmon Arm at fixed times and along a fixed route. It is relatively expensive and not very convenient. It is also very rarely used.A new non-profit society is being formed to implement a better approach to public transportation for South Shuswap residents. The concept is to utilize grants to purchase an electric vehicle charging station, and an electric vehicle like aChevy Bolt.
Volunteers would act as drivers for a door-to-door service that would run during weekdays, in daylight hours only, for residents needing transportation assistance to get to various destinations. All rides would need to be booked at least 24 hours in advance, and all riders and drivers would be members of the non-profit society. There would be a minimal charge to join the society, and a suggested donation schedule would be posted in the car for rides to various destinations.The vehicle would be fully insured for multiple drivers, and all drivers would also be covered by director’s insurance. As this is a non-profit service, there is no requirement for drivers to have any sort of special drivers permit. Riders and drivers would be required to agree to a code of conduct, and riders would agree to share the vehicle with others, as needed.
Operational costs would be fairly low as there are minimal maintenance and operational costs with an electric car. It’s projected that donations would cover all out-of-pocket costs. With a group of 10or more volunteer drivers, the time commitment would be 1 day or less every 2weeks. A cell phone would be dedicated as the reservation number and a volunteer would answer calls and set up scheduling of rides. The new society would be incorporated and would establish its policies and operations.
If you would like to volunteer to be a driver, and a member of this new non-profit society to help those in your community who need transportation, please send a brief email to pdemenok@csrd.bc.ca to indicate your interest."
