Connecting to cultivate caring communities
Flickr: amber dawn pullin
I have always been most inspired by people who strive to create spaces of belonging. If people feel seen and heard, then they feel able to contribute. This admiration started with my parents, but continues to extend into multiple areas of my life.
I think of the simple invitation of Jane’s Walks, to recognize the lived experience a person brings to their community and host walks to discuss that experience and encourage others to share theirs. I think of the deep engagement philosophy of the Tamarack Institute, which supports collaborative strategies that engage citizens and institutions to solve major community issues across Canada.
And this month, I think of the work of Al Etmanski and Vickie Cammack; I’m reconnecting with their gentle reminders and generous lessons around fostering communities of belonging. Their thoughtful activism and inspiring entrepreneurship in the field of disability and more recently, natural care, make me more determined to activate their learning. Al wrote in 2015:
“Nurturing a culture of caring will breathe life into our efforts to make the world a better and more just place.”
How could this not be a desirable endeavour? Yet today, cultivating that caring culture feels more fraught than ever.
The obstacles to social connection often feel too high. The taller our cities become, the more isolated we feel. There are increasing rates of loneliness in the younger generations and economically-vulnerable communities. Local neighbourhood infrastructure in the form of independent storefronts, services, affordable housing, is under pressure. In an emergency, either personal or city-wide, more than 100,000 Torontonians have no one in the city they can turn to for support.
It was with all this in mind that UpSocial Canada and the Balsam Foundation began a conversation last summer that would result in our first challenge project: finding ways we can connect with each other and make intentional our efforts to care for one another. UpSocial Canada is a program of Tides Canada Foundation.
For the next 18 months we will be working together on this objective. But naturally, we will not be working alone! The first step will be to find local community partners to join us. While this first project will focus on Toronto neighbourhoods, we hope the outcomes will be useful for any city.
If you work for a community or neighbourhood organization in Toronto and you want to participate in a project that will examine the strengths and assets in your community and search for synergistic ways to bolster the connection and caring there, please read on.
The Balsam Foundation is committed to ensuring communities contain the physical elements that support healthy lives and enable systems of care that support the well-being of children and families. To this end, Balsam will support up to 3 community organizations to participate in our UpSocial Canada research and development process. UpSocial Canada uses a social lab approach emphasizing multi-stakeholder partnerships to match-make proven programs or strategies with the resources designed to drive lasting change. Working with us will look like group workshopping every 3-4 months and experimenting with the identification and introduction of compelling programs or strategies that will support our desired outcomes.
Read our full Request for Participation
Caring cities. Connected cities. The work of UpSocial Canada begins here, but it follows and draws strength from a long history of committed activism, organizing, passionate volunteerism and community development. Join us in this challenge to cultivate communities where we look after each other better in the places we live, work and play.
PS. Recommended Reading! The Power of Disability: 10 Lessons for Surviving, Thriving, and Changing the World, by Al Etmanski