The 2018-2019 students in the Community-based-Applied Interdisciplinary Research course, who help Nanaimo organizations. (submitted/VIU)

By Spencer Sterritt

helping hand

VIU students help Nanaimo community organizations do their best

Sep 3, 2019 | 2:31 PM

NANAIMO — It can be difficult for community organizations and non-profits to find the time to take stock of their efforts in the community.

Thankfully a VIU program does it for them.

The Community-Based Applied Interdisciplinary Research helps organizations analyze what works and doesn’t work about the services offered and makes recommendations in an end-of-school year report.

Sociology professor and program co-founder Dr. Sylvie Lafreniere told NanaimoNewsNOW the students identified significant areas which needed to be addressed at a local, provincial and federal level.

“What students found was the needs were under-addressed, which is important. It’s not that people aren’t doing anything, it’s that more needs to be done.”

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Last year, students looked at organizations like the Zonta Club of Nanaimo and Nanaimo Food Share.

“If you break it down, everything comes down to poverty and homelessness,” Lafreniere said.

Some recommendations made to Nanaimo Food Share was to vary the amounts given to people through their Good Food Box program based on need and demographics.

“Sometimes someone gets the Good Food Box and they’ve got too much food, while some families have not enough.”

Lafreniere said their feedback and recommendations to local community organizations is often warmly received and will hopefully help guide the organizations to continued success.

Each year the course accepts 12 students who are split into teams.

This year, Lafreniere said too many students applied and many had to be turned away as the popularity of the program grows.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit