Program forming community ties

A group of passionate community members are connecting Okotoks residents one neighbourhood at a time.

The neighbourhood connectors program has returned for a second year after running as a pilot project over the summer in 2015. Six connector co-ordinators took to their communities in an effort to increase socialization and networking in Okotoks.

Connectors found most people were receptive to their messages and many came out to planned events like afternoon get-togethers or block parties. They appealed to town council in the fall to continue endorsing the program.

The Town of Okotoks, the Calgary Rural Primary Care Network (PCN) and the Okotoks Network have continued their partnership in 2016 and hired four connector co-ordinators in the neighbourhoods of Westmount, Drake Landing, Cimarron and Sheep River Cove. The co-ordinators began in May and will work in their communities until October.

“We felt we had a successful year last year and we wanted to carry on connecting the community,” said Mark Rowed, of the Okotoks Network.

He said each neighbourhood exhibited different successes in 2016, from continuing their block party traditions and maintaining their Facebook group pages to establishing lasting friendships and relationships.

The goal is to see residents in each area of town build ties with one another, he said.

“We always want to expand into new neighbourhoods as we do this,” said Rowed. “Eventually, we’d like to see the program in all communities town-wide.”

It takes a lot of organization and a financial contribution from each of the partners to make the program happen, he said. In 2015, the Town and the Calgary Rural PCN each contributed $10,000 and the Okotoks Network put up $5,000.

“We look at it as a nominal amount that serves a very important role to build social wellness in the community,” said Rowed. “It’s making people feel like they belong to their community and they’re connected with each other.”

The Calgary Rural PCN believes those connections make a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of people in the community.

Debbie-Layne MacLeod, community development co-ordinator for the Calgary Rural PCN said connected communities provide healthier environments for people to live.

“Social networks and having a social environment do contribute to our overall health,” said MacLeod. “We are social beings and the social support networks and connections are determinants of health.”

She said having the support of family and friends can make a difference in a person’s quality of life.

Starting small and working the program into the community is allowing the neighbourhood connector program to grow slowly with a strong foundation, she said.

“If you start at that small, grassroots level it does tend to spread,” said MacLeod.

As the connector co-ordinators work their way through communities, she said the message takes off and people become more involved in the program.

“It’s about being connected and providing that social network for people,” said MacLeod. “It begins with a conversation. Residents can expect a knock at the door from their friendly neighbourhood connector co-ordinators.”

Kristel Boon is one of the program’s new connector co-ordinators, working in her home community, which she referred to as “the original Cimarron.”

She has spent the last three weeks going door-to-door in her neighbourhood, which covers the area between Woodhaven Drive and Cimarron Way.

The chance to get out in the community and create ties between neighbours was a major draw for Boon.

“My kids are a little older now and I’m less involved in their activities,” said Boon. “I still wanted to be connected to Okotoks and the community, so this seemed like a great way to do that.”

The initial stage of the program involves a lot of knocking on doors and many conversations, she said. Though some turn her down immediately, Boon said most people have been receptive of her message and the program.

She is continuing the conversation online with a closed Facebook group that allows neighbours to share ideas and interact in a different way.

“I was expecting more buy-in and feedback with that, but it hasn’t happened yet,” said Boon. “Hopefully that will come.”

Boon said she has two goals during her four-month contract as the connector co-ordinator for Cimarron – to run a fundraiser for charity and to participate in some community activities like taking in Oilers games as a group.

She said her neighbours may have other ideas to add to the list of ways to connect, which she hopes will come out in conversations or on the Facebook page.

“It’s just a matter of getting people talking,” said Boon. “I hope to have people look out for each other and have people who don’t know each other get to talk and know each other better and make some new friends and connections in their own community.”