Lloydminster is launching a new social needs assessment. (City of Lloydminster)

By battlefordsNOW Staff

Community assessment

Lloydminster launches new social needs campaign

Apr 12, 2022 | 11:33 AM

Lloydminster’s large-scale community needs assessment is back.

Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) Lloydminster is partnering with the Lloydminster Youth Council throughout the 2022 Lloyd Needs: Social Needs Assessment campaign. The six-week campaign, which launched on Monday, is intended to provide city administration, the youth council and local authority organizations with a snapshot into the community’s social well-being. The results will also outline residents’ priorities and will help council and administration develop policies and programming.

This time around, the youth council have the survey geared toward Lloydminster’s youth (ages 13-17) and will help inform the future development of programming and initiatives. In a release, youth council chair Rylee Wood said this assessment allows local youth to have their voices heard and speak their truth.

“The collected data, which remains completely anonymous, will be used to better the city for all of us, making Lloydminster a place for youth to be proud to call home,” Wood said.

In helping shape policy, the campaign is designed to helping make Lloydminster a better place to live for families. Bonita Brick, Population Health Promotion with the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA), spoke to the potential insight in community needs through an easy to use format.

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“Having the Lloydminster social needs assessment available as a resource specific to Lloydminster to inform our work has been invaluable,” she said.

Lloydminster’s previous assessment in 2018 found 60 per cent of respondents identified substance abuse/addictions and 57.31 per cent identified mental health as high priorities, which influenced much of the work done by the Lloydminster Region Health Foundation’s (LRHF) Project Sunrise. The survey also found nearly a quarter of participants had financial barriers to accessing recreation options and 28 per cent didn’t feel a sense of belonging in the community, which lead to investment into the Neighbourhood Block Party Program.

Mayor Gerald Aalbers at the campaign launch. (City of Lloydminster)

Mayor Gerald Aalbers said the city learned a lot from that assessment and are eager to learn if they need to make any course corrections moving forward. He added that Lloydminster’s bi-provincial status provides residents with opportunities and challenges and it’s important to identify social needs.

“Our goal is to [evaluate] existing programs and resources and make qualified recommendations to address any identified service gaps.”

This Social Needs survey takes approximately 10 minutes. More information about the Lloyd Needs: Social Needs Assessment campaign is available at LloydNeeds.ca.

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