Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

Have you ever wondered what some of the big issues in southwestern Alberta are? With its annual Vital Signs report, the Community Foundation of Lethbridge and Southwestern Alberta presents important issues, topics, and themes in six key impact areas. The Community Foundation uses Vital Signs to build local knowledge, set strategic priorities, inform granting, and connect donors with causes close to their hearts. One of the issues identified in this year’s report is the high rate of interpersonal violence in Alberta, the highest in the country, and the resulting demand on local women’s emergency shelters, which are increasingly forced to turn away women and children in distress due to a lack of space. Other issues include the impact of Alberta’s economic downturn on local food banks across our region, the cost of sport in Alberta, and the low percentage of high school completion rates. The speaker will address these and other issues identified in the 2016 Vital Signs report. Vital Signs is an initiative of t