The new story continues….
As a Friend of Crime Prevention, I believe that the heart of crime prevention is through social and community development…..
As an educator, I was used to being at the front of a group of students or a group of fellow educators. Now being retired, my role as changed, I am continuing on my learning journey, but now as a student or fellow participant in the learning. My learning now is focused on developing a new understanding of community and what needs to be done to build a community of belonging for all residents of the Region of Waterloo.
As a Friend of Crime Prevention, I attended on the morning of February 8th, “What Community Means, a Waterloo Region Community Gathering” at K-W YWCA Mary’s Place Community Room, in downtown Kitchener. This event was led by the New Story Group, the Kitchener-Waterloo Social Planning Council, the Festival of Neighbourhood’s, the Multicultural Cinema Club and the Abrahamic Peace Builders.
The keynote speaker was Derek Alton, of the 1000 Conversations project. 1000 Conversations is a project of Tamarack, a charity that develops and supports learning communities that help people to collaborate, co-generate knowledge and achieve collective impact on complex community issues. The deep hope of Tamarack is to end poverty in Canada.
The pilot phase of the 1000 Conversation campaign started in Guelph, Kitchener-Waterloo, Halton and Hamilton, and the second phase Tamarack is looking to partner with 10 new local hosts across Canada who are interested in bringing this campaign to their communities.
Some of my key learnings from this Community Gathering dealt with:
- How technology is changing how we approach community
- The shifting expectations of Community – how the experience of seniors and youth compare
- The Dark Sides of Community
The discussion on “The Dark Sides of Community” for me was especially enlightening, as I have been focusing much of my efforts with the inclusion work of the City of Kitchener Safe and Healthy Community Advisory Committee on building bridges to inclusion in our community. The “Dark Sides of Community” refers to the feeling of individuals being left out of their community because “they did not fit the mold” or that they could not be their “true selves”, so because of this, community can be experienced as a very judgemental and exclusive place for some. But, clear boundaries can preserve the integrity of a group, so no community can be all things for all people. The key learning here is that community is complicated and messy, and that it is important to not ignore this but rather to seek to understand it.
My view of community is evolving, in my previous blog post, I talked about the New Story Group and their efforts to write a new story about belonging and community. Community for me is many things. For thirty years as an educator my community was very focused on my work and family. Now that I am retired I have been expanding my horizons. My work community is still part of my world, but not the main part. Community is many things, my family, my poker group, my circle of friends, the people at the various places and organizations that I am now volunteering at. Community can be anywhere, and can involve anyone, the only thing is some connection. Connections, the web that builds is what links community together for me. I am amazed at the connections that I see when I do something in my community. It is by leveraging these connections that we can work together to improve our community and make it a place where everyone feels that they belong.
I do believe that many small actions will add up to a large action on the road to building a community of belonging. It can be as simple as acknowledging the presence of a homeless person in downtown Kitchener, they are part of our community, a friendly smile goes a long way in making a person feel like they belong. In less than two months since my last blog post, I have become a member at large on the Forest Heights Community Association Board of Directors, with the desire to continue writing a new story of belonging in my community.
I challenge you to do something to make our community a community of belonging, smile at a stranger, volunteer somewhere in your community, it will make a difference, it will connect you!
Author: Doug McKlusky was born in Ottawa but is a long time resident of Waterloo Region including his university days. Doug recently retired from 30 years with the Waterloo Region District School Board. Doug was co-chair of the inREACH Street Gang Prevention Project until it closed in December 2013. But in his newly retired days, time has very quickly filled with important work such as Out of the Cold, Nutrition for Learning, Forest Heights Community Association and the Safe & Healthy Community Advisory Committee for the City of Kitchener. And, wisely, Doug connects all his work to being an all-around ambassador for Friends of Crime Prevention – it really is about connection.
Doug McKlusky‘s writing reflects his own opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views or official positions of the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council.