Welcoming the Stranger
In the next 25 years, if things go as planned, Canada will accept some 7.5 million immigrants and will receive nearly 1.5 million refugees. But, how many of us think things will go as planned in the next 25 years?
In the next 25 years, if things go as planned, Canada will accept some 7.5 million immigrants and will receive nearly 1.5 million refugees. But, how many of us think things will go as planned in the next 25 years?
Taking time to share food with the people close to us — whether it’s friends, neighbours, or a bit of both — is good for the belly, and the soul and the people around you.
It was a long time ago and a ridiculous day.
I went for a sleepover. "Chris has invited you," I was told by the grownups around me. So with my pyjamas and such, I walked some distance to my friend's house. Chris wasn't home, so I sat and waited. His sister looked at me like I was from Mars. I waited. And waited.
Finally, Chris came home with his mother. Neither knew a thing about any sleepover. Then that mother gave Chris supreme %$^&*. "Christopher! Have you been fooling around with that phone again?" she yelled. Nobody, least of all me, knew what was going on.
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The Regional Municipality (RM) of Wood Buffalo, Alberta, is committed to inclusion, diversity and equality. The RM aims to create a welcoming community where residents work together to implement initiatives that meet the needs of its increasingly diverse population. Its work includes responding to community challenges such as a lack of affordable housing, racism, high costs of living, lack of mental health supports, and isolation.
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A decade has passed since Community Living Ontario first reached out to young people across Ontario to inform its understanding of how youth were experiencing their community. In doing so, we learned that a large number of youths, and especially youths who have an intellectual disability, often feel isolated within their schools and greater communities. They do not feel a sense of belonging and therefore, lack an abundance of meaningful relationships with their peers and community members. We acknowledged that this void puts youth at risk and limits the opportunities available to them. As the numbers rise, the constant restrictions placed on young people contribute to the overall poor health and sustainability of Ontario’s communities. So in 2008, we put out a call to action and invited people to join us! An idea had sparked and a movement was born.
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There is a growing understanding about the richness of life that has been lost with our fragmented and isolated lives, and attention is now being given to restore the historic nature of neighbourhoods. The close proximity and frequency to run into neighbours is what builds social capital - that relational fabric in a community. Sociologists have been sounding the alarm regarding our plummeting social capital; the absence of it is impoverishing our lives and communities. It is what builds civil society. This social connectedness is a primary contributor to a person’s sense of wellness and it is shaped by our local, daily life.
How do we combat the trends of ‘living above place’ versus being rooted, the trend of valuing the private over the common, and of the increasing isolation, fragmentation and speed of life? How do we live out our values – not as professionals – but as neighbours?
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For some, the idea of engaging teenagers can be intimidating and riddled with questions like, what should I do? Where do I start? How do I do this? Thankfully, we don’t have to stay in a place of uncertainty too long. With an ABCD approach, we know to do things together, not alone; we know assets are there, even if they seem hidden.
We have a story to tell about how communities in Halton, Ontario (Acton, Burlington, Oakville, Georgetown, and Milton) are creating ways of working together with youth to shape the places we all call home.
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