Project Comeback Creating vibrant rural communities by retaining and attracting a young adult population December 2012 – November 2014 Contents Executive Summary................................................................................................................. 3 Introduction............................................................................................................................. 5 Participating Communities ....................................................................................................... 5 Research: Literature Review on Youth Out-Migration .............................................................. 6 Trends in Youth Out-Migration ............................................................................................ 6 Push and Pull Factors ........................................................................................................... 7 Survey Development ............................................................................................................... 8 Survey Results and Community Workshops ............................................................................. 8 Survey Discussion ............................................................................................................... 8 “Youth” ........................................................................................................................... 9 Common Themes ............................................................................................................. 9 Community Working Groups and Action Plans .......................................................................10 Community Projects (Case Studies) ........................................................................................12 Smithers Smithers and District Chamber of Commerce ...............................................12 Community Description ..................................................................................................12 Survey Development .......................................................................................................12 Survey Results and Community Workshop ......................................................................13 Project Plan and Implementation .....................................................................................15 Contribution to Youth-Retention .....................................................................................17 Smithers Project Sustainability ........................................................................................18 Williams Lake City of Williams Lake..........................................................................19 Community Description ..................................................................................................19 Survey Development .......................................................................................................19 Survey Results and Community Workshop ......................................................................20 Project Plan and Implementation .....................................................................................22 Contribution to Youth-Retention .....................................................................................23 Williams Lake Project Sustainability ...............................................................................24 Chase Village of Chase ........................................................................................25 Community Description ..................................................................................................25 Survey Development .......................................................................................................25 Survey Results and Community Workshop ......................................................................26 Project Plan and Implementation .....................................................................................27 Contribution to Youth-Retention .....................................................................................28 1 Chase Project Sustainability ............................................................................................29 Kaslo North Kootenay Community Services Society.......................................................30 Community Description ..................................................................................................30 Survey Development .......................................................................................................31 Survey Results and Community Workshop ......................................................................31 Project Plan and Implementation .....................................................................................32 Contribution to Youth-Retention .....................................................................................33 Kaslo Project Sustainability .............................................................................................33 North Vancouver Island Regional District of Mt. Waddington .........................................35 Community Description ..................................................................................................35 Survey Development .......................................................................................................35 Survey Results and Community Workshop ......................................................................35 Project Plan and Implementation .....................................................................................36 Contribution to Youth-Retention .....................................................................................37 RDMW Project Sustainability .........................................................................................37 Implications for Rural Communities........................................................................................38 Sustaining Project Comeback ..................................................................................................39 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................39 Appendix A – Annotated Bibliography....................................................................................41 Appendix B – Assessment for Participating Communities ........................................................54 Appendix C – Example Survey Questions ...............................................................................58 Appendix D – Community Surveys .........................................................................................61 Smithers .............................................................................................................................61 Williams Lake ....................................................................................................................67 Chase .................................................................................................................................68 Kaslo..................................................................................................................................70 Regional District of Mt. Waddington ...................................................................................73 2 Executive Summary In rural British Columbia, many communities face demographic trends that see the youth in their communities leaving to seek opportunities and experiences elsewhere. In December 2012, the BC Rural Network and the Fraser Basin Council, with support from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada and the BC Ministry of Jobs, Tourism, and Skills Training, started Project Comeback. The project has helped communities in rural British Columbia understand youth-retention in their specific communities and has helped to create community-specific projects that address the issues identified. Five communities participated in Project Comeback: Smithers, Williams Lake, Chase, Kaslo, and the Regional District of Mt. Waddington. Initial research on youth-retention helped each community create a survey specific to their own community. The surveys were used to create a baseline of data for each community so they could assess the push and pull factors that local young people face when deciding to stay, return, or leave. While each community created a different survey dependent on their target population, all surveys asked participants to identify the aspects of their community that made them stay/return/relocate, and those that pushed them towards leaving. Questions from the surveys also asked participants to reflect on what they might look for in an ideal community, to see where any gaps or overlaps existed. The surveys created rich data sets for each community; those results were then presented back to community members via a Project Comeback workshop. The workshops, held in each community, allowed for community members to engage with the project and consider the survey results from their own community’s perspective. During the workshops, participants discussed potential projects that might affect the survey result implications, and many worked to prioritize the ideas suggested. The workshop outcomes became the focus of Project Comeback working groups, many formed from workshop participants or other key community members. The working groups worked closely with Project Comeback