The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Oakville average income is $160K, median is $100K continued from p.1 Rinella says everyone needs to be mindful Oakville is a community of contrast. "There's not one Oakville, where we're all wealthy, successful, and have bright careers, luxury cars, exotic vacations.... This is a tale of two Oakvilles.... there's a wealthy and a low-income," Rinella told a crowd gathered at Film.ca Tuesday for the report's launch. Vital Signs 2015 is the fourth such report OCF has run, the most recent released in 2011. It acts more like a community check-up than a report card, said Nick Jelinek, OCF chair. "It provides a very honest lens into Oakville as a community: who we are, where we're going, some of the concerns and some of the very special attributes of this town," he said. The report, whose title sponsor was O'Connor MacLeod Hanna LLP , engaged more than 50 participants from various organizations across Oakville and Halton Region. "Any of us who are engaged in this community will find it invaluable in helping determine how we can help and where we can help and, more importantly, why we need to help," added Jelinek. Vital Signs 2015 identifies four key issues in Oakville, specifically: the equity gap, housing, inclusion and mental health. Rinella noted the report states the causes of the equity gap in the community are unemployment, underemployment, cost of living and lack median for the province. "On the other side of the spectrum, we have one in 10 families (11.4 per cent of households) that earn less than $30,000, which is slightly higher than the provincial average," she said. The report's second pillar identified affordable housing as being hard to find in Oakville. Housing is considered affordable if it costs no more than 30 per cent of a gross household income with enough remaining to meet other daily living needs. Rinella noted in January, the median sale price of a home in town was $694,000, while the living wage in Oakville is just slightly under $20 an hour, or less than $40,000 a year. "Can you imagine how it must feel to be making $40,000 a year and seeing home prices 17 times your annual income? And 96 per cent of all homes sold were unaffordable," she said. Rinella continued to present the findings of the Vital Signs report detailing the "changing face of Oakville" and the need for inclusion. By 2031, she said, it is estimated immigration will account for 80 per cent of Canada's population growth. It currently counts for 67 per cent. According to the Halton Newcomers Report, since 2011, the overall population in Oakville is 31 per cent immigrant... 24 per cent (one in four) belong to a visible minority, Rinella said. "(But) inclusion and diversity is much more than visible minorities; it's about language, religion, sexual orientation, gender, age and disability... a sense of belonging, which is actually the national theme of all the Vital Signs reports across Canada, today." Mental health, the last pillar of Vital Signs 2015, is the only carryover issue from the 2011 report, noted Rinella. She said one in four older adults are living with an illness or mental health issue, such as depression, anxiety or dementia. Wait times for psychological assessments for anyone with a mental health issue averages around two years. Rinella closed by saying people often have multiple challenges facing them and highlighted the interconnection between the four pillars of the report. "A lack of affordable housing affects the equity gap; 85 per cent of people experiencing mental illness are unemployed and that immigrant families face increased challenges related to mental illness," she said. "So, what have we learned since 2011? We need to collaborate, come together as a community to support the people in need." The complete Oakville Vital Signs 2015 report is available online at vitalsigns.theocf.org. Residents looking to get involved are asked to contact Volunteer Halton, a program of Community Development Halton, at volunteerhalton.ca. To join the social conversation on Twitter and Instagram, follow the hashtag #OakvilleVitalSigns. 5 | Thursday, October 8, 2015 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Wendy Rinella of affordable housing. "The equity gap is one of the most prominent issues in our community, but it's also one of the most invisible," she said. "It's the working poor, the underemployed, those who can't achieve full-time employment. It leads to a precarious class... one that is most likely to fall into poverty. "Oakville is home to the highest and the lowest incomes in Halton Region." Rinella referred to a Statistics Canada 2011 household survey that stated the average household income in Oakville was $160,000. The median was $100,000 -- 41 per cent above the INJURED? I Can Help! DISCOVER OAKVILLE 146 Lakeshore Rd.W. 905.338.6333 YOU DON'T HAVE TO PAY UNLESS I GET YOU MONEY My team of experienced lawyers can help you with: · Car accidents · Slip and Falls · Disability Claims (Short-Term Disability, Long-Term Disability, CPP) · Wrongful Dismissal OFFICES IN OAKVILLE AND TORONTO For a free consultation call: Oakville: 905.842.2022 or Toronto: 416.351.9222 email: sspadafora@slspc.ca PLATINUM OUR BENEDICTS MONDAY TO SUNDAY 7AM TO 3PM Dr. Vanessa Milich & Associates Family Dental Care Encouraging Healthy and Happy Smiles Caring for Oakville Families for 10 years Welcoming New Patients Evening and Saturday Appointments Queensbury Dental 905.849.8449 Dundas St. Oakmead n Trafalgar Rd. River Oaks Blvd. Upper Middle Rd. Sixth Line 1534 Queensbury Cres., Oakville (on Upper Middle Rd., just west of Trafalgar Rd.) www.queensburydentalclinic.com Sam Spadafora Injury and Employment Law QEW Martindale