Lethbridge living | Page 26

livingcover Building a Brighter Future, One Neighbourhood at a Time PA U L K R A J E W S K I I L L U S T R AT I O N S : E R I C DY C K The newly formed Council of Lethbridge Neighbourhoods’ primary focus is to assist all Lethbridge neighbourhoods to create their own community associations, which can, in turn, provide local residents with opportunities to meet and engage with neighbours, advocate for neighbourhood needs, and find and work towards community solutions, all in an effort to transform our blocks of city homes into vibrant communities. T O C R E AT E A S E N S E O F C O M M U N I T Y, you need people–the single most important resource in community development, says Jerry Firth, Neighbourhood Support Coordinator with the City of Lethbridge–and to ensure each one of Lethbridge’s neighbourhoods is utilizing its most important asset, the Council of Lethbridge Neighbourhoods was formed last year to provide community-minded residents with the tools, resources, and support they need to establish neighbourhood associations throughout our city. Through communication, connection, and communitycentred initiatives and events, a neighbourhood association can provide residents with opportunities to meet and engage with their neighbours, to advocate for their needs, and find common solutions to community issues–all in an effort to transform a neighbourhood of strangers into a community of neighbours, and to create and nurture a sense of community that is inclusive, welcoming, and safe. 26 LETHBRIDGELIVING.COM The council’s primary focus at the moment is on establishing associations for neighbourhoods throughout our city–all 43 of them, regardless of size and location–but its overall goals are far broader and much more impressive. Its larger vision “is all about creating a sense of community, which then nourishes the well-being of the individuals and the community,” says Jerry. “It’s to have that ‘we and me aspect,’ so it impacts both the individuals and the community at the same time simultaneously for the benefit, health, and safety of everyone and the community itself.” To ensure residents have the tools they need to effectively establish and run a neighbourhood association, the council walks neighbourhood leaders through the incorporation process, step by step, helping them work through the bylaws and legalities, and providing them with the administrative assistance, support, and education they need. “A lot of these groups come with no experience, so we found we JAN-FEB 2016