“Ask any Canadian what “care” means and you will get rapid-fire answers that include words like kindness, love, concern, compassion and attentiveness. We know with inner certainty what it feels like to be cared for. But ask if these qualities come to mind when thinking about experiences in the health care system and you might get a blank stare or even a smirk”. - Vickie Cammack and Donna Thomson.
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The world of youth engagement is entangled with false assumptions, presumptuous understandings, and little follow through. However, if it is done right professionals are given the rare opportunity to work meaningfully with youth to achieve a beautifully co-created outcome that can radically change a community.
Recently I had the privilege of hearing an individual who has experienced great success in their engagement work. But they were quick to point out the negative perceptions that can often surround engagement work due to good intentions gone bad, and lack of follow through.
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What better time to thank the volunteers that give their time and skills to neighbourhood projects than National Volunteer Week April 15-21, 2018? This year’s theme, “Celebrating the Value of Volunteering – building confidence, competence, connections and community”, is fitting as volunteers are integral to the work of Cities Deepening Community members as they utilize the the power of citizens to strengthen communities and neighbourhoods and develop strategies.
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My colleague Sylvia Cheuy recently gave a great overview of the Community Innovation landscape in her paper The Community Innovation Imperative. Sylvia highlighted the incredible momentum driving us towards innovation and the adoption of tools and methods to help us get there. In this context ‑ a context where innovation is increasingly the norm demanded by and of funders, government, and communities, it is particularly important to keep the following in mind:
I was speaking with Howard Lawrence from Abundant Community Edmonton about their work around neighbourhood development and we got talking about making a difference in our community and how do we know if anyone is better off because of the changes/activities that have been implemented. How do we measure change in our neighbourhood work? Howard told me about a tool called the Sense of Community Index that is used in the social science area to determine sense of community.
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Financial vulnerability affects many people in Calgary. Wages are not keeping up with the rapidly increasing cost of living, and most people living below the poverty line belong to households in which at least one person is working. Many people are living above the poverty line, yet still experience financial vulnerability due to low levels of savings and high levels of debt.
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