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Strathcona County Promotes No-Cost and Low-Cost Access to Recreation
Taking part in physical activity and recreation opportunities can be expensive, especially if an individual or a family is on a tight budget due to limited income.
In Strathcona County, they have started to address the reality that thousands of low-income County residents are not as physically active as they could be, at least partly because of financial barriers.
Whether it’s a family visit to the swimming pool or the cost of joining a hockey team, it’s a simple fact that many people can’t always afford to participate.
In response to these factors, the County’s department of Recreation, Parks and Culture has launched a recreation access program called Everybody gets to play ™.
Encouraging Participation by Removing Barriers
“The goal of the program is to reduce barriers to recreation so that everyone has an equal opportunity to participate,” says Program Coordinator Vivian Smith.
Smith explains that the County’s customized program is partly modeled on the template program created by the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association and promoted to Alberta communities via the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association (ARPA). The initiative aims to enhance the quality of life for low-income children, youth and their families by increasing access to and participation in recreation opportunities.
The main features of the program include:
- no-cost, spontaneous recreational opportunities at the County’s main recreation centres, and
- reduced fees for a multitude of registered recreation programs directly operated by the County, such as swimming and culture programs.
Getting the Word Out
Smith notes that the County’s department of Family and Community Services determines which individuals or families qualify for the program, based on financial need. She says that even though the nearly 88,000 County residents have a median income higher than average, there are at least 3,000 residents who fall below the poverty line.
Beyond any financial barriers, it’s also a challenge to get the word out to those individuals and families who could benefit from more physical activity, explains Smith.
“Sometimes, our residents have not heard about our facilities or they are not sure how to access the facilities or other recreational opportunities in our area. We want people to know that there are many choices available to them.”
Passport to Participation
One of the core elements of the program is the annual Millenium Card. Normally, a resident who purchases a Millenium Card will pay a monthly amount for each adult or child who accesses recreation facilities. For program participants, the waiving of this monthly “access” fee is a significant savings.
In essence, the card serves as “passport to participation” for lower-income County residents, explains Smith. Here’s how it works:
- There is no charge for the card.
- The card is good for one year from the date of issue and is renewable, depending on the financial status of the individual or family at the time of renewal.
- The card includes access to drop-in recreation services and activities at three major recreation facilities: Millennium Place, Glen Allan Recreation Complex and Kinsmen Leisure Centre.
- Among a wide variety of excellent recreation choices at these facilities, users get access to a running track, a swimming pool, an ice rink and wellness centres.
- Card-holders get 75 per cent off registered recreation programs. This includes up to four registered programs each year for children and youth, and up to three registered programs each year for adults and seniors.
Having a Millenium Card is definitely working in many ways for individuals and families, says Smith. For example, she notes that some parents are not only benefitting from increasing their physical activity, they are also taking the opportunity to connect with their kids as they enjoy activities together.
Reducing Stigma Helps Boosts Participation
One of the program’s key goals is increase participation by reducing the stigma of receiving assistance.
“Many people don’t want others to know about their economic situation,” suggests Smith. For this reason, the Millenium Cards don’t distinguish between “regular” users and assisted users. This goes a long way towards reducing potential discomfort that may be felt by some card-holders, reports Smith.
Another important feature of the program is no limitation on the number of drop-in visits each card-holder can make to the recreation centres. When the program first started a few years ago, the card-holder was only permitted 10 visits per card, but Smith reports this rule made it difficult for the card-holder to maintain any fitness momentum.
Fitness by the Numbers
Smith states that, as of July 2009, some 730 County residents were registered in the program. Registered card-holders participated in a wide range of fitness classes and programs, such as swimming (the most popular choice), basic fitness, “cardio salsa” and child and youth camps.
With her eye on increasing participation to all 3,000 eligible participants, Smith’s next initiative is recruiting people to be volunteer “fitness ambassadors.” Volunteers who are familiar with the recreation centres and knowledgeable about the proper use of the facilities will be teamed up with card-holders to help them get the most out of the facilities.
As of July 2009, card-holders in the program were visiting the recreation facilities at an average of 1.4 times per month. Smith hopes to boost that number significantly.
“Our mission is to keep people active all of the time. Whether that is by increased visits to a facility, participation in registered programs, or even increasing the amount of walking or biking that people do on their own, we want to remove as many barriers as we can.”