800 Conversations and Counting: Meet the Community Organizers
They’ve conducted dozens of focus groups and phone interviews in at least five languages, handed out flyers inside more than a dozen social service organizations and shelters, surveyed sex workers at night, and even teamed up with the community to clean up garbage in the park. Meet the Community Organizers who are working to ensure that the More Moss Park consultation activities include everyone in the neighbourhood, not just those who attend public round tables and workshops.
A five-member team from The 519 — Curran, Barb, Shava, Jaymie and Ryan — has been working hard since May to talk to Moss Park residents where they gather, live and work. These folks include street-involved or under-housed people, drug users, people engaged in sex work, people living with mental health difficulties and low-income residents. So far, the team has had conversations with more than 800 people about how they use — or would like to use — Moss Park’s recreation facilities and park space.
Eleven of the focus groups the team has organized have been with residents of Toronto Community Housing (TCH) buildings, while others have been with service users and members of organizations such as Woodgreen Community Services, Good Neighbours’ Club, The 519’s Sunday Drop-In Program and others (see the full list below).
They’ve also reached out to residents and service users on issues that range from opening community gardens to safe injection sites, and consulted with co-op boards, equity organizations, recreational sports leagues, school boards and other community organizations. Throughout the public consultation process, they’ve built relationships with staff and service users at John Innes Community Centre, performed outreach to park users, and regularly fielded questions and input through phone calls and email.
This is only the start of a whole summer of outreach to the Moss Park community. Throughout the summer, we’ll continue targeted outreach efforts to groups including aboriginal associations, schools, food access organizations, sports and recreational leagues and others. We’ll have many more focus groups, public meetings and other opportunities for community input planned throughout the summer. And if you see Shava, Curran, Jaymie, Barb or Ryan around the neighbourhood, say hi!
Focus Groups to Date:
May 16 – TD Learning Centre
May 17 – Good Neighbours’ Club
May 17 – Maxwell Meighen Shelter
May 18 – Fife House & Woodgreen Community Services
May 19 – TCH Building 275 Shuter St.
May 20 – TCH Building 251 Sherbourne St.
May 24 – John Innes Community Centre
May 24 – TCH Building 285 Shuter St.
May 25 – Houselink
May 25 – Fred Victor
May 26 – 416 Community Resources for Women
May 29 – 519 Sunday Drop-In
May 30 – TCH Building 200 Sherbourne St.
June 2 – Jarvis Collegiate Institute
June 4 – Filipino Community Centre
June 4 – TCH Building 295 Shuter St.
June 10 – Regent Park Community Health Centre, Neighbourhood Information Post & Neighbourhood Legal Services Staff
June 13 – Covenant House
June 15 – Street Health / All Saint’s
June 16 – Gateway Shelter
June 20 – St. Paul Catholic School