Places & Spaces
Our neighbourhood houses and camp are collectively place-based, we celebrate the unique identity of each place, and we focus on strengthening our communities alongside our neighbours.
1
Collective Responsibility
We are collectively responsible for our spaces and places of belonging. Together, we cultivate neighbourhoods that are inclusive, equitable and diverse. As stewards of placemaking, we use our experiences to learn together and build our collective capacities and
voice for change.
2
Reimagining Placemaking
Places of belonging exist beyond physical buildings and the neighbourhoods. We understand that connection is boundless and experienced in different ways by different communities,and we challenge ourselves to expand what belonging looks likes.
01 Communities of Practice
In support of our placemaking work, we will continue and expand placemaking and program Communities of Practice and Working Groups (ie: Food Justice, Volunteer, Outreach, etc.) across ANHBC, and with external neighbourhood houses and partners.
02 Future of Placemaking
Explore the future of placemaking in our ever-evolving
and changing communities.
Define
This work has already started, because neighbourhood houses are always responding to the needs of the community. Together define a collective understanding of the future of placemaking in our post-pandemic, increasingly digital, diverse and ever-transient urban neighbourhoods.
03 Challenge Colonial
Ideas of Ownership
Continue to engage, address, and challenge our relationship to land ownership and colonialism. We are committed to respecting the unceded territory our sites are on, and continuing the exploration of what land back means for our neighbourhood houses, teams, partners and neighbours.
Explore
Explore what is currently happening across ANHBC, purposefully learn, and share the stories across the collective and into our communities.
Ripple
Ripple out the Land Back Roundtable Toolkit into the neighbourhood houses and communities
04 Space of Belonging
Ongoing exploration of how neighbourhood houses use space to build inviting, accessible, decolonizing spaces of belonging. This is particularly important during times of development and renewal, but also a conversation when the needs of the community are not met by our spaces, and where we can see an opportunity to facilitate more belonging.
05 Social Purpose Real Estate Strategy
Guided by our commitment to learning and aligning with Indigenous worldviews, we will continue to deliver, review and update the Social Purpose Real Estate Strategy annually under the stewardship of the Capital Assets Committee. This strategy, informed by our goal to decolonize our policies and practices and to promote an inclusive and anti-racist organization, encompasses:
Redevelopments
and New
Buildings
As we learn from examples like the principled approach to redevelopment at Cedar Cottage, and the developing partnership between the Semiahmoo Nation and Alex House, we aim to use our assets in service of change and to share what’s possible with those around us.
Facility Maintenance and Renewal
Our transformation journey is a living, dynamic process that will continually evolve with time, experience, learning and circumstance.
Our Strategic Framework embodies this, acknowledging the continuous path of growth, adaptation and renewal.
To ensure that strategic transformation is a living reality, we will:
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Taking these steps, we will create an organizational environment where the Living Process of Transformation becomes ingrained in our culture and operations, driving relevant and sustained change.
The journey of collective Strategic Transformation across ANHBC began in the spring and summer months of 2021, and there are many people to thank and recognize who stewarded this unconventional path.
Beginning with Ta7talíya Nahanee and Chris Corrigan who called on us to do things differently, and approach the work through the lens of transformation. With them we found a path forward that fed our values and intentions in ways that exceeded our imaginations.
The Core Transformation Team who bravely came together at the beginning for this work, approached and upheld the process with the highest regard and rippled the work of transformation and decolonizing out into their neighbourhood houses, teams and communities.
The Strategic Planning Committee who led, guided and stewarded the process developing a new strategic plan. Together they supported each other to do things differently and approach transformation in a non-linear way. They listened deeply to the voices that emerged since 2021, and ensured that what was heard guided the work.
To those who brought the Strategic Framework to life through art, design and writing.
To the entire ANHBC Collective – the teams, volunteers, participants, board members, neighbours and many Indigenous teachers who courageously and openly participated in our many engagement sessions and conversations. Your words, drawings and sticky-notes have and will continue to guide our collective transformation.