It always feels great when people respond directly to stories we’ve run in the paper. That was no exception when I received a letter Monday in reference to the column I wrote last Friday about connecting with neighbours.
Dear Editor,
Re: “Connect, it’s good for you – really,” column, Dec. 4.
Living in a Richmond cul-de-sac has given us the gift of community spirit at its best. It does take effort to step outside and connect with your neighbours, but we have taken that even further by adopting, creating a garden and caring for it in a traffic roundabout. While working in our flower bed, people driving around it, stop and thank us. Neighbours out walking stop and talk to us. We have met people of different ethnicities who, even though they may not speak English, thank us, enthusiastically. Be brave! Step out of your house and say “Hi.”
— The Myron Court Gang
Soon after receiving that short, but inspirational, letter, reporter Alan Campbell made his way down to visit “the gang” to see just how it was storming the ’hood with its friendly spirit (see page 16).
In part, what I love about this letter has to do with what I didn’t love about the ending of last week’s column. It’s easy to say, as I did, “let’s do it.” Let’s “create healthy, integrated communities.” But what exactly does that mean? What does that look like?
Well, it means planting petunias in a roundabout; it looks like ornaments hanging on a city-owned tree.
About 10 months ago, we tried to launch a regular feature called “Neighbourhood Watch.” The idea was to zoom in on small areas, maybe just a two-block radius, and describe life in that zone. The feature didn’t really take off. Actually, it devolved into a series of municipality stories — city officials talking about plans for one street or another.
The problem was, unlike today’s feature, the ideas weren’t generated by the neighbours themselves. It didn’t have that grassroots quality.
So, lesson learned, we want to try again. But this time you need to tell us what community connection looks like in your neighbourhood. And we’re not looking for funding drives. Those are well and good, but our focus here is on the small, but profound, steps people take to connect to those with whom they share a street or two.
It may be through celebration or it may be through protest. If you don’t want fame in the Richmond News, that’s fine. Sharing stories is good, but so is sharing a smile. This isn’t just about generating stories for the paper. It’s about, as one gang member said, challenging ourselves to be brave and say “hi.”
Email us at [email protected] with “Community Spirit” in the subject line.
