Meet the Community Organizers: Curran

Curran, one of five Community Organizers on the More Moss Park team, talked to us about his passions, personal experiences and—most of all—his connection to Moss Park.

I wanted to become involved with the More Moss Park consultation because…

Community centres are really important spaces for people, neighbourhoods and cities. They are where we come together with our neighbours to learn how to swim, how to draw, how to speak another language and how to speak to one another. In my personal life and working at The 519, I’ve seen how community centres can be a refuge for folks who have been pushed out of their home, their faith, or their country. I’m excited about being involved in a project that has real potential to build on the strengths of the many communities that call Moss Park home by listening to the stories of the individuals who live here.

The first time I visited Moss Park was…

Before I came on board at The 519, I worked in subsidized housing on George Street. I used to go to Moss Park on my lunch break. There’s not a lot of accessible green space downtown, particularly in an area where so many people live nearby in TCH buildings, co-op buildings and shelters. When you spend time in the park, it quickly becomes obvious what an important role this space plays in the lives of so many people.

My favourite spots in the park are….

The pedestrian paths that cut through the green space. They are formed by thousands of walks to school, quick dashes to the store, and futile runs towards closing streetcar doors. These paths are not intentional—they are built by the community and show the shape of the neighbourhood, where people are coming from and where they are going. It’s a reminder that, at the end of the day, people will do their most to make a space to work for them, and that our job as community organizers is to facilitate that.

The one thing that stands out most in my mind from the Moss Park consultations is…

The types of people who came together who otherwise wouldn’t have conversations with one another. One focus group I hosted at John Innes included some folks who play sports there, some from the shelter across the street, and some who were at the community centre for the first time, dropping their kids off for a basketball lesson. Hearing from people who say that they often feel like they’re opinions aren’t considered has been incredibly insightful. When you’re in a room with bunch of different folks with different life stories and experiences who are listening to each other, the ideas that come from that are incredible.

The issue that I keep hearing about in my conversations is…

Something that comes up time and time again is the need for more space in the community for people to come together. There’s a desire for picnic areas, for large family get-togethers, programs that allow people from different walks of life to meet and break bread or non-profits in the area who would like to provide recreation options to their clients but do not have the facilities to do so. Spaces where neighbours can meet, meals can be eaten and events can be celebrated are important for every community, including Moss Park.

The question I get asked the most is…

What’s the point of this public consultation? That‘s a fair question. All too often consultations happen and the results don’t reflect the truths of the community. We’re trying our hardest to avoid that. We’re taking a really strategic approach and making sure the voices that are often left out of public consultations are prioritized throughout this process and into the future. People have ideas about everything from where the trash cans should go to what types of governing models should be used. So when I get asked, “what are you doing and why are you talking to me?” my answer is that I want to hear your thoughts because they matter. This is your community and you know what it needs. Your insights make a difference in the long term future of this project. Can we do everything that everyone suggests? No. But we can make sure that choices that are made are based on the priorities of those who will be affected the most by any new development.

One thing a lot of people don’t understand about More Moss Park is…

That this is the beginning of a conversation that will hopefully keep going on well after this fall. If this project goes forward, the relationships that we’ve built now will build and see us through years of conversations, disagreements, and important decisions that will need to be made by the community, for the community.

The best thing about being a community organizer is…

You don’t become a member of a community overnight. It can take days, months, even years. This consultation process is the beginning of a much longer discussion. But in the short time that I’ve been lucky enough to spend in Moss Park, it’s been inspiring to see the hard work and dedication that community members put into caring for their neighbours and tending to their neighbourhood. Seeing the enthusiasm that many have for this project has been heartening-whether it’s the TCH tenant reps who have given up many of their evenings to help us, or the men I’ve met at shelters who I’ve seen at every public meeting and who remember going to dances at John Innes forty years ago. Moss Park is a community that cares for one another and for its future.