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.
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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