After a year and a half on the Coast, I still feel that thrill rounding Mission Point into Davis Bay on my morning drive to work. Sometimes, the vista is merely pretty - a gentle bay and a soft, understated sky. But other days, that stretch of land and sky floods with colour-drenched, wave-crashing, heart-stopping beauty. And at those moments, it seems impossible that anything could be less than perfect in a community nestled up against such a coastline, such a sky.
But, as we all know, that isn't quite the case. Like anywhere else, our clustered communities face a range of struggles. And just recently we've received confirmation of what many of us suspected: those struggles have gotten worse over the past year.
This year's update to Vital Signs 2009 (available at http://sccfoundation.com), which presents a community snapshot of how the Sunshine Coast is faring across everything from housing to safety to the gap between the rich and poor, has shown that the Coast improved in only two areas: safety and the environment.
The update, which was put together by the Sunshine Coast Community Foundation (SCCF) in consultation with 50 community experts, notes that on the safety front, all reported crime categories are down since 2009 - though it cautions that there's been a decrease in funding for restorative justice.
On the environmental front, it notes that local governments are making significant commitments to address climate change through an extensive Community Energy and Emissions Plan, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
In opposition to those two areas of improvement, however, the update hones in on five categories where the Coast has slipped: arts and culture, housing, getting started, health and wellness, and the gap between rich and poor.
Don Basham, SCCF board secretary, particularly emphasized the drop in arts and culture, where gaming grants have decreased by an astounding 99 per cent from a decade-high $77,000 in 2008/9 to just $630 in 2010/11.
The housing section stresses the lack of affordable housing, noting that the average household income required to buy a median-priced home on the Coast is $90,000, while only 18 per cent of Coast households have an annual income of $90,000 or more. It also states that while housing prices dropped in late 2009, they've crept back up and are close to pre-2008 prices.
The getting started section highlights a lack of vital youth employment, notes that federal government summer student employment was significantly cut in the summer of 2010, and points out a continuing shortage of childcare for children under three.
The health section highlights a concern over the health impacts of poverty, particularly for children and young teens.
Lastly, the update calls the gap between rich and poor a "huge concern," highlighting youth poverty and an increased number of senior women with lower income. It points to governments cutting back services to the poor and notes that the Sunshine Coast Food Bank has seen a significant increase in users to date in 2010.
The update attributes many of these changes to an unstable economy - a detail we've hardly missed and which is clearly behind government cuts and escalating poverty issues.
But that explanation takes nothing away from the picture the update paints: a stark portrait of a community struggling, for all its paradisal vistas.
