FON is changing course from its 30 year long legacy of supporting whole neighbourhoods across Kitchener towards supports to individuals who we call neighbourhood connectors.
This is not the only change – with the funding available for May to September season activities, we will not host the Annual Celebration, and the Capital Grants have been integrated into the #LoveMyHood neighbourhood improvement grants. Yes, a lot has changed for our team at the Social Development Centre WR in support of the initiative as we continue to focus on relationships among neighbours and neighbourhoods.
Across spaces and activities, we learned from residents, communities and City of Kitchener #LoveMyHood staff that the resources and skills we have honed at the Social Development Centre would best be used if we supported individual community connectors, and focused on equitable initiatives in vertical neighbourhoods. We engaged in nine neighbourhoods and explored their needs and capacity to respond to the needs they all feel strongly about. Our hope is that this informs both Festival of Neighbourhoods as well as City of Kitchener Neighbourhood Strategy in our roles in the neighbourhood work while building of stronger social infrastructure as the city changes and grows.
As the sense of belonging among residents is in decline, the pandemic of loneliness and the crisis of connection became the terms entering our social lives and vocabulary. If a definition of neighbourhood focuses on relationships between residents layered over a particular geography, we are seeking to understand how communities can be built in multi-unit residential buildings. The environments identified in the 2024 research that would need attention and support were high-rises, condo buildings, residential complexes, and cooperatives. We set out with our tasks to unlock vertical neighbourhoods, vertical fortresses and vertical villages and always being mindful about the inclusion and equity.