Regent Park TV News (audio): THE SDP COMMUNITY BUILDING WORKING GROUP

On today’s episode Radio Regent’s host David Wall presents interviews with Community Building Working Group members Ibrahim Afra,  and Joel Klassen.

The goal of the Community Building Working Group (SDP) is to create an inclusive and cohesive Regent Park. The Regent Park Social Development Plan revolves around four major priority areas (Communication, Safety, Employment and Economic Development and Community Building) each led by a working group comprised of residents, agencies and grass roots groups. In this Regent Park TV episode, we learn more about the activities of the Community Building Working Group.

Ibrahim and Joel discuss the critical role that the Community Building Working Group plays in the Regent Park. The Regent Park Social Development Plan. RPTV reporter Ana Higuera, asks Ibrahim and Joel a range of questions, such as: what are the community building working group’s goals, who can join the group, what projects is Community Building working on, and how can residents, organizations, and other stakeholders get involved?

Ibrahim says, that the goal of the Community Building Working Group is to create accessible informal and formal spaces: a formal space might be devoted to youth, or an informal space might be just people meeting  outside or inside, such as a drop-in. Events and groups also fall into this category, as a means of bring people together, namely TCHC and market residents and organizations. The key to making the Social Development Plan work is cohesion and inclusion.

Later in the interview Joel explains that the make-up of the Community Building Working Group is essentially open to anyone in the Regent Park area, including residents, but also organizations such as the Young Street Mission, the Central N Community Building Working Group Group, Fred Victor, the Christian Resource Centre, Kiwanis Boys and Girls Club, the Neighbourhood Information Post, the Regent Park Neighbourhood Association, the Regent Park Islamic Resource Centre, the Downtown Somali Union, and Mother of Peace.

Currently the Community Building Working Group’s projects are as follows 1) Access to Recreation, 2) Access to Space, 3) Access to Sport – for Children and Youth,  4) Events, such as Sunday in the Park.