A team of Acadia Park residents have used a community grant to build an innovative program to encourage neighbours to support each other during hard times.
This past year Katie Coons found herself in a crisis situation. Her husband fell sick suddenly and she needed to get him to the hospital right away. But the couple had two small children that needed help, and none of their friends were answering the phone.
“I panicked, I didn't know what to do,” recalls Coons. “I ended up going to a neighbour’s house and asking if they could take my kids. Over the next two weeks, other neighbours and friends chipped in to care for us, bringing us meals, coming over to see if we were OK. Instead of being overwhelmed by a crisis, I was overwhelmed with love and care from my friends and neighbours.”
Out of this crisis came the idea for Neighbour Care, a program now running in Acadia Park. “I got to thinking, all of Acadia Park are people like us,” says Coons — “people away from home, with young families and little family support. Many are from other countries and may find it hard to ask for help and trust our neighbours. What if everyone felt they had support when they really need help?”
Coons, who is a Community Assistant at Acadia Park, developed the Neighbourhood Crisis Care program with five another Acadia residents. This spring they received a $475 UTown@UBC Community Grant that helped them create promotional material and get a team and a care network in place.
“Now anyone in Acadia who needs help can get it,” says Coons. “We have a phone, a website, and magnets and posters with relevant information, so people know how to ask for help should the need arise.”
The team had more than 70 volunteers come forward in the first few months, a good number in a community of less than 700 households. A lot of people are excited about being able to help, says another key player, Bridget Corriveau (whose spouse, like Coons’, is a students in the Masters of Divinity program at Regent College): “They want to give their volunteer hours now — they realize they might need help one day too!”
Though there’s no obligation to pay back, Corriveau stresses: “People do it because they want to help.”
Acadia Park is home to many young families, so the most common crisis so far has been a birth. Volunteers provide support in a myriad of ways, such as looking after elder children or dropping off meals.
“We had nine women due to have babies in a six-week period this fall,” explains Corriveau, “one of whom was me! We ended up doing meal rotas, using an online program.”
Some people just need a ride or help moving a couch. “‘Does anyone have a truck?’ is a common question!” says Corriveau. “That’s not much of a crisis, but it still helps build community. Then there are ill people who need help cooking, or those who need someone to look after their kids during a last-minute crisis.”
“A lot of people have nowhere to turn to when a problem arises, they feel overwhelmed and stressed out and don’t know what to do. We want to help them out, but also to build community.”
The team has now prepared an implementation guide that will be available on the UTown@UBC Community Grants website soon. “We already have two volunteers who live in other neighbourhoods on campus who bring meals to Acadia Park, just because they want to,” explains Corriveau. “It would be exciting if other neighbourhoods wanted to start their own initiatives.”
“A wise person once said to love your neighbour as yourself,” adds Coons. “I guess that's what we are all trying to do here. We certainly need each other!”