Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutSHCAC - 2014-02-06 - Inclusion Subcommittee - Final ReportSafe and Healthy Community Advisory Committee Subcommittee on Inclusion Summary Report- January 25th, 2014. Subcommittee members: Pat Doherty, Abdul Rahimi, Santiago Grande and Debra Chapman Purpose: The purpose of the Subcommittee on Inclusion was to gather information about inclusion and exclusion from community members and to come up with suggestions on how the City of Kitchener could modify its practices to ensure greater inclusion of marginalized people. Methodology: We conducted focus groups with people we recruited through a purposive sampling process. We contacted people that we either knew or knew of, and that were well connected within their communities. By communities we mean groups of people that have something in common such as ethnic roots, socio- economic status or physical capabilities. The participants either worked with people of a particular community or were themselves part of that community. We conducted interviews using open -ended questions. The main questions we asked were: What do you do? What is your community? How do your daily activities connect to the services provided by the City of Kitchener? What services are unavailable to your community that you would benefit from, if made available? Further questions arose from their answers. Interviewees: We interviewed people from the following communities: • Alliance Against Poverty • Afghan community • Aboriginal community • Somali community • Iraqi community • Disability community • Sudanese community • LGBTQ community Findings: Our findings are based on a compilation of the responses we received from the interviewees. We have summarized them here in point form, with a particular focus on responses that were repeated at least twice by different interviewees. While not a formal quantitative study in content analysis, it does comprise an analysis of the content of the interviews. The findings of this project, while not 1 -1 generalizable, serve as a preliminary ethnographic account of things the City could consider in its search for greater inclusion of all communities. The findings are divided into two sections. The first section details the hardships people encounter and the second section details suggestions on how to better integrate people into the larger community. Hardships: • Don't have space to meet or hold activities • Field booking fees too expensive and availability limited • Difficulty reaching out to other soccer leagues • Many New Canadians come with fears and mental and physical illnesses - coming from war torn areas • Many women find it hard to find work outside of the home - would prefer to start home -based business, but are unfamiliar with local policies and laws • Isolation - people revert to `survival mode' • People afraid to put their names forward as representatives of their community • Distrust • Poverty • Youth getting in trouble - lack a sense of belonging • Language barriers • Invisibility - "KW is a very closeted community "; no verbal or visible support for LGBTQ community • Grassroots support systems run by volunteers with very little money • "People don't feel invited" - not necessarily excluded, but not invited • Resistance to partner with community centres out of fear of not being welcome - many people from LGBTQ community have had negative experiences in community centres • Public washrooms and change rooms are not LGBTQ friendly • Lack of city engagement with LGBTQ community - not represented on boards Suggestions: • Hire a student(s) over the summer to knock on doors and invite people into the community centres - considered more effective than delivering news letters or posting information online - direct contact • Hold free "meet and greet your neighbours" at the local community centres on a regular basis - afternoon tea • Provide free or subsidized space for smaller communities to meet and run organized activities • Give community leaders agency 1 -2 • Find ways to make better use of public fields, including time slots for community teams (independent of city run sports) • Ensure that each active neighbourhood association has a place - this place would be available to the smaller communities within the neighbourhood - shared space would also be welcome - a place that houses all the different communities • Provide more community gathering places • Provide more affordable public transportation - give free bus passes for off peak hours for all those on workfare, ODSP and EI • Provide equipment sharing for sports activities • Keep subsidized housing close to social services in the core • Run more summer programs for youth - sports and academic activities • Train city staff on how to embrace LGBTQ community • Include LGBTQ information in city brochures - LGBTQ should be mandated • The city does a good job at focusing on and supporting events, but would benefit from employee resource groups - maybe consider flying a LGBTQ flag (other cities do it) • Hire a PR person or liaison person responsible to build relationships • Invite all `marginal' groups to city events - direct invitations • City needs to be `trauma informed' Conclusions: As one of the interviewees stated, "people can be very involved in the community yet not be part of the community ". This for us was a sad reminder of how we can grow big infrastructure, but neglect to find ways to reach out to people so they too can belong and flourish. "A place creates an identity ", and this, one of our interviewees stated, is what is lacking. "The public park in our neighbourhood is not `our' park, it is the city's park, booked full of city minor sports events ". There seems to be a definite need to find ways to build relationships. One interviewee stated that the city skirts the issues because they are `too expensive'; they will cost too much money, rather than embrace the opportunity to be a leader by reaching out to marginalized communities. We hope that our efforts and the information we have collected will be useful as the City develops its agenda for a `safe and healthy community'. 1 -3