“By the time they get to age six right now, 30 per cent of them [children] are disadvantaged.”

The mental and physical well-being of our youngest children is increasingly in peril, according to an annual snapshot of the community.

For the past eight years, the Community Foundation for Kingston and Area has taken a yearly pulse of the region in what it calls Vital Signs. Part of a national program, the Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox and Addington area is one of 32 communities launching their Vital Signs reports this week.

It’s a look at key components of daily life and charts increases or decreases in the quality of that life. “It’s an annual community checkup that identified areas that we are doing well in and maybe some areas where we could do a little bit better,” said Tina Bailey, the executive director of the community foundation, which connects charitable giving to local needs.

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