ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — If you're short on baking supplies and need a cup of sugar, would your first instinct be to knock on a neighbour's door, or would it make more sense to dart out to the nearest grocery store?
As the chair of Happy City St. John's sees it, people in general are a lot more disconnected from their neighbours compared to previous generations.
"We're not necessarily as connected to the people that we live next to because we don't necessarily have that as a necessity, whereas of course historically in Newfoundland and Labrador, we've had incredibly tightly knit neighbourhoods and communities," Jen Crowe told The Telegram.
However, Crowe believes there are folks out there interested in helping neighbourhoods feel more like a true community.
"I think people are really interested in how do we create that sense of community and create that sense of connection at a neighbourhood level and, more specifically, how do we ensure that we're including folks who are new to the neighbourhood or who are not traditionally included."
Join us on Saturday, February 22, 9:30am - 2:30pm for the 2020 Neighbourhood Summit! Registration: $25.00 suggested...
Posted by Happy City St. John's on Tuesday, February 18, 2020
With all this in mind, the non-profit advocacy group is holding a Neighbourhood Summit this weekend. Over the course of two days, the event will explore ways to make neighbourhoods more welcoming to newcomers, how to plan neighbourhood events and how to apply diverse perspectives to neighbourhood challenges.
This is the second time Happy City St. John's has hosted a summit dedicated to the topic — the last one took place in 2018. It comes hot on the heels of last month’s massive blizzard and lengthy state of emergency in the capital city. Crowe highlights the way many people responded to this weather event as a great example of neighbourhoods coming together.
"We saw a real resurgence in neighbours coming together and we heard from so many people that it was the first time that they really got to know their neighbours or realized who lived on their street," she said. "People were shovelling each other out. They were helping each other, ensuring that they had meals and food. We saw something really positive come out of the state of emergency in terms of how we can create stronger neighbourhoods.
“I see this Neighbourhood Summit as an opportunity for people to continue that momentum and continue to build neighbourhoods. It doesn't necessarily need to be in those times of crisis that we come together. But imagine if we felt connected to our neighbours and to our neighbourhoods all year round."
The event begins Friday evening with a free talk from Halifax city councillor Lindell Smith about how government and community can come together to help welcome newcomers. Smith will draw upon his experience working on a project in the North End of Nova Scotia's capital city that addressed neighbourhood challenges, economic opportunities for locals and the need for community engagement. That talk begins at 7 p.m. at Alt Hotel on Water Street.
The summit continues Saturday at the offices of the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing and Homelessness Network on Charter Avenue, featuring a number of panel discussions and talks. There is a $25 suggested donation to attend, with lunch included, though Happy City St. John's is treating the summit as a pay-what-you-can event.
"We're talking about inclusion, we're talking about diversity and we want to reflect that in the way we set up our events," Crowe said. "If someone can pay $5, that's great. We want them to be in that space with us."
Full summit details can be found online at happycity.ca.
Twitter: @CBNAndrew
