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A large number of Fredericton citizens share a sad similarity - they struggle for the basics of life.

The Fredericton Community Foundation's Vital Signs report is released this morning, with information on such issues as poverty, health, education, housing, work, the arts and the environment. It is a snapshot of the community, and in it are statistics that will impress, alarm and hopefully, prompt action.

This white collar, professional city needs this report to understand the state of the community - to grasp what is right and what is wrong.

And there is plenty that's right. We have more police officers per person than most places in New Brunswick. Vehicle thefts and property crime don't figure as critical. Obesity rates aren't climbing and the number of people without a family doctor is far lower than the national average.

The effects of being a university community show: we have impressive high school graduation and post-secondary education numbers. Our libraries are well used and our arts and culture scene is thriving.

Perhaps the most troubling issues within the report, though, have to do with food and shelter.

There has been a sharp spike - 12.8 per cent - in the number of families who, since 2000, are spending more than 30 per cent of their income on housing. That translates to a shocking 45 per cent of Fredericton families who devote more than 30 per cent of their cash flow to shelter. That's almost half of us.

And while food bank usage has been dropping since its peak in 2004, the bad news is the Fredericton Food Bank is predicting a sudden increase in usage this year - from about 700 families a month to 757. That's the spin-off of increased gas, electricity and food prices, and with world economic events continuing to make the news, few would doubt the food bank's predictions.

The unspoken conclusion one can draw from the report is that there exists this hidden, often forgotten sector of the population identified as 'the poor.' The housing, hunger, crime and illiteracy concerns are all quite likely companions of this poverty. Solve the poverty issue - 22.5 per cent of our children and 10.2 percent of our seniors live in poverty - and you solve a host of other problems.

That's easier said than done, of course, but the groundwork is already complete with the Vital Signs report.

Its purpose is to foster discussion and action. It's really up to the community to choose their causes and work at making improvements.

We invite everyone who is able to choose an issue from the report and adopt it.

Now that we know where the needs lie, we are in a better position to address them. But that can't happen without a key component - the desire for positive change in our community.