Overview of SEII: A Provincial Perspective

The Social Planning Network of Ontario (SPNO) is partnering with the Population and Public Health Branch of Health Canada (Ontario and Nunavut Region) on the development of a Social and Economic Inclusion Initiative (SEII). Underpinning the SEII is a belief that people can mobilise and develop healthy public policies and practices that foster social and economic inclusion, and thereby, improve the conditions needed for good health. This belief is grounded in the notion that many factors contribute to the health of people, including income and social status, social support networks, employment and working conditions, education, gender, culture, physical and social environments and several other “determinants of health.” Refer to Appendix A for a review of these determinants of health. The following material draws from “Closing the Distance for Youth and Seniors in Central West Ontario” (Social Planning Council of Kitchener-Waterloo and Community Partners 2003).

Key principles of the SEII approach are:

Social and economic inclusion is based on an understanding that a variety of conditions exist and interact to exclude, “leave out,” or “distance” people in many groups and sub-populations in our society. (The literature on social inclusion is reviewed in the next section.) Economic inequality is frequently associated with conditions such as racism and vulnerability based on age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and other life circumstances, as well as spatial inequalities associated with rural-urban differences. Social and economic inclusion focuses on these inequities as an issue of “closing the distance” between sub-groups and the larger society.

Overview of the SEII: A Regional Perspective (Central West)

The Central West project involves the Social Planning Councils in each of Kitchener-Waterloo, Brantford, and Cambridge, as well as the WECHC. The issue of isolation in relation to social and economic exclusion in urban and rural areas was an important theme in roundtable discussions attended by organisation representatives from across Central West Ontario between February and December 2002. When considering the lived experience of isolation, youth and seniors were identified as population groups most affected by an apparent breakdown of connections and social supports.

The SEII-CW project provides a region-wide perspective to explore exclusion issues and create strategies and resources to increase capacity for action to reduce barriers to participation. The project process engages youth and seniors, local leaders and partners in informal discussions at a series of Table Talks. The knowledge gained about barriers will be used to develop audit tools, indicators, and action planning strategies based on a combination of personal perspectives and secondary data. See Appendix B for a detailed account of goals and objectives.

All of what is learned during the project will be available to areas across the Central West region for healthy public policy development on reducing isolation among youth and seniors. Materials and resources will be available to provide a wider sharing of knowledge with community partners through print and on-line publications and through hands-on action workshops in the final stages of the project. The shared knowledge, communication and collaborative involvement will also be the basis for a regional network expected to continue after the funded period of the regional project ends.

Stories of Inclusion/exclusion

The focus upon the social and economic exclusion of seniors and youth in Central West Ontario emerged from a series of discussions led by the Social Planning Council of Kitchener-Waterloo (SPC-KW). During group discussions held in February 2002, isolation was identified as a common concern in urban and rural areas and populations groups across Central West Ontario. This isolation was attributed to broader system conditions and factors.

The theme of isolation was explored further in a strategy session on December 4, 2002. The stories that emerged from this session came from the experiences and perspectives of various service providers. While there were many issues that arose during the session, participants identified seniors and youth as the two main population groups. Both seniors and youth were identified as vulnerable population groups because of their experiences of isolation and disconnectedness. Seniors and youth are also groups most readily identified as being vulnerable to greater isolation because of rapid changes to processes, policies and priorities of organisations and institutions, primarily municipal government.

There are significant parallels between the experiences of seniors and youth that were identified as common ground issues: how we plan settlements and provide services is affecting seniors and youth. There is an erosion of formal support systems. Informal networks are also eroding and not being given opportunities to form. Overall, there is nothing strong in place to allow people who are vulnerable to be supported. There are no foundations for people to resort to. These groups are at greater risk of being distant and not connected to or within the local area.

The SEII-CW project is exploring what emerged from these discussions by facilitating a process to determine how youth and seniors experience exclusion. An important question examined is if this is due to elements in local structures that can be influenced. Once the stories of youth and seniors are further developed and initial assumptions are assessed, the SEII project will focus on developing tools for assessing isolation and barriers and will encourage action for influencing change in local structures.