There are many facets that make a community a great place to live, raise a family and to age.
Employment, affordable housing, health services, citizenship opportunities and a network of support all contribute to creating a sustainable community.
Those elements are the difference between a town like Cochrane – situated on the edge of a major city – being simply a bedroom community or a home.
To help better facilitate the latter, Cochrane Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) is conducting a needs assessment titled Cochrane Cares to gauge the needs of Cochranites and those living in western Rocky View County.
Hailed as a regional well-being review, the survey will determine what services Cochrane offers well, what it needs to improve on and what it lacks.
A perusal of the survey demonstrates FCSS’s commitment to community building. Taking away the standard questions of demographics required to properly assess need levels, the questions are well constructed to develop a clear picture of wants and needs.
Starting off with a few quick value-based questions, the survey demonstrates FCSS’s desire to foster an inclusive community that values diversity, families, individuals and people of all ages.
The survey is also designed to listen to the community. Instead of a collection of multiple-choice questions asking to rank a select few services, they are open-ended allowing respondents to formulate their own answers.
Not only will that paint a clear picture of what people in the community believe the needs are, it will also provide for the opportunity to generate creative ideas that government and service providers might not have previously considered.
From housing, volunteer opportunities, health programs, activities for families, youth, adults and seniors, to arts, culture, and sport, the survey touches on nearly every factor that people consider when moving to a new home or remaining where they grew up.
During Rogers Hometown Hockey and at Spray Lake Sawmills Sports Centre on Family Day, FCSS had comment cards available for people to submit suggestions for the review.
The ideas included the need for a 24-hour urgent care centre, transit and green energy options.
The survey is available at cochrane.ca/cares and will be taking responses through the month of March.
Cochranites and those in Rocky View County should take the chance to provide ideas and help the town and FCSS build on all the services and opportunities Cochrane has that make it a great place to live.
