Through the interviews we have identified five main characteristics of Hinton’s economic structure which indirectly make people vulnerable to substance abuse: 1) multiple, divergent sectors, 2) high income, 3) union environment, 4) shift work, and 5) transience. These characteristics do not directly cause a person to abuse alcohol or drugs; rather it depends on the interaction between members of the community and these five characteristics. 5.7.3 Contributing factors: Features of a resource-based community This section explains how five key features of Hinton’s economic structure indirectly contribute to substance abuse. Multiple, divergent sectors Being situated in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Hinton boast an attractive location and an abundant supply of natural resources, leading one interviewee to characterize Hinton as “maybe a little bit of Whitecourt and a little bit of Jasper mixed together.” These natural amenities and resources have enabled Hinton to build a strong and diverse economy due to forestry, mining, tourism, and now oil and gas activities. However, Hinton’s multiple, divergent sectors have also contributed to a gap between high income earners (those who work at the mill and mine) and low income earners (those who work primarily in the service sector). And this gap has created a rigid social structure in Hinton. In fact, a person who’s lived in Hinton for 39 years said that people in Hinton are more likely to be discriminated against based on their income than on their nationality. Below illustrates how differently a high income person and a low income person perceive the community: I would say that people in this community expect to always do well, they always have. You know, you don’t see a lot of poverty in Hinton. I don’t know how to describe it in words. But I’ve never experienced a place that makes a pool for [low income] people to sit in so they can stay repressed. Like I think it’s hard to raise yourself up in Hinton for a number of reasons: [lack of] child care, lack of transportation, lack of recreation for people who have affordable housing... Based on these divergent views it was not surprising to learn from the interviewees that within Hinton there exists social exclusion. Interviewees said social exclusion was particularly visible in the schools. Low income children who could not afford to play hockey, attend dance lessons, etc., had few recreational opportunities available to them and were isolated from these social groups. This social exclusion may be partly based on the fact that higher income residents, who are not necessarily exposed poverty in Hinton, feel that poverty does not exist within the community. A long time resident offers another example of social exclusion in Hinton: The big one is the grade 12 graduation. That’s the big one for students – at the Jasper Park Lodge. We don’t seem to have a large enough building to
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