LSPC - 2004 Spring Newsletter

The Lakehead Social Planning Council was one of six Ontario organizations chosen by the Social and Economic Inclusion Initiative of Health Canada’s Population and Public Health Branch to undertake projects aimed at narrowing the gap between excluded groups and the larger society. Under the common theme, “Closing the Distance”, the organizations chose a variety of projects from housing for marginalized populations to services for visible minorities and immigrants within their communities.
In Thunder Bay, research and consultation identified marginalized youth aged 16-19 as a group that often has difficulty accessing and benefiting from the programs, commodities and services of the society in which they live. Further consultation with youth identified a number of issues—exclusion from services, feeling outside the structure, a lack of jobs—but a predominant theme was racism. A subsequent youth conference confirmed that racism is a serious issue for 16-19 year olds in Thunder Bay.

From December, 2003 to March, 2004, focus group sessions were held with more than 300 young people regarding racism in schools. Interviews took place in agencies, shelters, school clubs and classrooms and at community youth events. Four questions were posed to each group:

Describe racism in your own words.

How has racism affected you?

Have you seen racism at school and what did it look like?

How do we stop racism in schools

Question 2 provoked the most emotional response while Question 4 offered reason to hope for the future. Those speaking of how they had been personally affected by racism spoke movingly of hurt feelings, anger, resentment and fear.

“ Racism has affected me because it makes me very angry and sad when I have been called a dirty Indian and that I should go back to the bush where I belong. It makes me feel bad about myself and angry at the community. I stopped going to school because I was afraid every day”.

Many youth had suggestions regarding how to stop racism in the schools. Hope was expressed that the April conference (organized by LSPC) would allow an opportunity for dialogue in a safe setting and potential for changes. The predominant notion was that more education is needed to break stereotypes and teach understanding. Some of the young people had specific suggestions about changing the curriculum. Only a few expressed hopelessness.

“ There should be teachings of lots of different cultures in our classes”.

“ The students should make a movie that shows how racism affects people. I think people would be less racist if they saw how badly racism hurts people”.

The April conference did, indeed, bring key individuals and organizations—including the School Boards—together to start talking about what is needed to combat racism in schools. While officials ponder the next steps, it is clear that racism continues to pose a profound effect on the mental, emotional, spiritual and physical health of youth in our community.

Graphic facilitator David Hasbury created many exciting graphical representations of
topics discussed at April's conference.

Social Planning is an essential part of the life of every community. In fact, all planning is really social planning because it involves the changing of circumstances that touch all of the lives of a community. Whether we are building new shopping malls and roads, connecting to each other through increasingly sophisticated technological means, or recognizing the diversity of our cultural experiences, we are experiencing changing circumstances.

Reacting to changing circumstances is one very large part of social planning. Changes in welfare rates to those people who find themselves unable to afford their cost of living require due diligence in ensuring that they get what they need to live well. Changes in tax structure to accommodate new business ventures require an adequate assessment of short and long term benefits to our community. Changes in education policy that recognize the needs of new generations of learners require a commitment to openness and fairness in the representation of historical and political circumstances — all of these changes are initiated by change agents. Effective social planning requires an understanding that any change is a change in perspective, a change in points of view.

Listening to the community is also a crucial part of social planning. Understanding community needs, often individually expressed but representative of larger interests, is a daunting task. Measuring the effects of changing circumstances requires cooperation, frequent and fair exchange of information and the protection of real public spaces — spaces where trust and effective dialogue take place. It is often the task of social planners to act as “brokers” of community dialogue by gathering information from different perspectives and producing profiles that reflect the diversity of our community.

There are many facets of social planning that that are carried out by agencies, businesses, governments, educators and others who attempt to calculate the effects of their proposed actions on their community. Social planning always begins with the question of how any action will enrich and not detract from the lives of every citizen in a community. While there is no “one best way” or “best practice” for effective social planning, there are various perspectives that reflect the diversity of every community. Knowing your community is the first step in effective social planning. Understanding the history and changing circumstances of your community while listening to the circumstances of change in the voices of your neighbours, friends, co-workers and civic leaders can provide a first step around the bend of the learning curve that is social planning.

In the end, social planning is about leadership. Productive dialogue requires respect for reciprocity in all social actions. What I do affects other people and what they do affects me. Social planning insists on open, honest and creative dialogue with regard to every changing circumstance that affects a community. It takes care, commitment, consistency and clarity of voice and, above all, courage. Effective community dialogue ensures that in the long term, all planning is social planning.

AGM to Focus on "Our History, Our Future"

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This year’s LSPC Annual General Meeting will feature a futuristic venue as well as a dynamic keynote speaker who has her eyes firmly on the future.

Slated for Wednesday Evening at 7:00pm , May 26th at the brand new ATAC Centre on the Lakehead University Campus, the AGM will welcome an old friend of the LSPC--Alison Denton, who recently returned to Thunder Bay after a stay in Ottawa as National Director of Advocacy for the Canadian Paraplegic Association. Now Executive Director of Volunteer Thunder Bay Alison will highlight the many achievements of the LSPC over the past 40 years.

Alison Denton
Executive Director,
Volunteer Thunder Bay!

As for the future, as Alison says, “There is nothing to stop us”.

“ Let’s go! Our roots are strong, our history is rich, we have the social capital and the committed social change agents in our community to build upon our strengths and to take the lessons that we have learned from our mistakes”, she says.

Alison’s inspiring and enlightening presentation will serve as the kick-off to what promises to be an excellent AGM. See page 3 for more information on the AGM.

With a long and impressive track record of volunteerism in the community, Susan Landversitch has what it takes to be a great volunteer coordinator for Christmas Fest 2004. A lifelong resident of Thunder Bay, Susan has held such diverse and challenging volunteer positions as the Police Chief’s Advisory Committee, the Red Cross Breakfast for Kids program, the Community Volunteer Income Tax program and the West Thunder Community Centre executive, to name just a few.
Personable, empathetic and approachable, Susan is a longtime supporter of LSPC. We welcome her to her latest role and we salute her dedication.

“ Our research showed that people love the ambiance of the event but that the variety of products for sale needed to be looked at”, she said.

“ It was also clear to us that we need to get more aggressive with our sponsorship solicitation campaign and with our advertising”, she added.

With this in mind, the Christmas Fest organizing committee has plans well underway to attract new artisans and sponsors, while adding other features designed to increase revenues while increasing the fun and festivity of the event. One such feature will be the celebrity wreath auction.

“ Almost everyone loves to make wreaths and we have been overwhelmed by the number of local celebrities who have agreed to contribute a beautiful wreath of their creation for auction at Christmas Fest”, said Honey.

The new and improved version of Christmas Fest will be held November 27th and 28th, 2004 at the Auditorium. Mark the dates on your calendar now!

On April 16th and 17th, 2004, the Thunder Bay Volunteer Evaluation Research Project partnership: Lakehead University, Volunteer Thunder Bay! And LSPC/CIRC, hosted a stimulating workshop “Developing Community Based Research in Northwestern Ontario: Evaluating Voluntary Sector Capacities”. This event was held at the new ATAC Centre, Lakehead University and offered us “state of the art” technology in capturing the proceedings for many to participate. The workshop was not only available to everyone who was present but also accessible to anyone with a computer and the connecting URL. Paula Speevak-Sladowski, Managing Director of the Centre for Voluntary Sector Research and Development at Carleton & Ottawa Universities, our keynote speaker, identified story telling as one of the principal elements in effective volunteer appreciation and management. Her compelling presentation set the tone for the workshop on voluntary sector evaluation and community based research by reminding us that volunteerism is always related to building community capacity and making a difference. The workshop facilitated by Doug West & Brenda Reimer focused on discussion of the findings from the TBVSERP survey that was circulated in the community. We also discussed the importance of establishing a community based research network in Northwestern Ontario, to look at the challenges and opportunities that are unique and to determine the potential of capacity development in rural and remote locations.

Due to popular demand, the next workshop will take place on:
WEDNESDAY, MAY 26TH, 2004
ATAC, LAKEHEAD UNIVERSITY Campus, Room 5036
1:30 – 4:00 pm
Refreshments will be served

For those of you who have not completed the survey please click here to download or complete on-line.

By completing the survey by May 28th, 2004, you will be entitled to a free copy of the video “It’s Our Way” - a celebration of volunteer activity in the Aboriginal community throughout Canada. The video touches on the unique perspective that Aboriginal people have toward volunteering and takes the viewer on a journey of hope and realization that volunteering – from an Aboriginal context – is about responsibility, to ourselves, to our families and to our communities. This video was produced under the auspices of the National Aboriginal Voluntary Organization (NAVO) and as part of the Voluntary Sector Initiative. Please notify Marie Klassen, CIRC, 626-9626 or at circ@tbaytel.net to receive your copy.

Recently the provincial government released a set of consultation documents, and announced the process it will use to get public and stakeholder input into the reform process. The consultation will be used to gather input and views prior to drafting and introducing new legislation to govern rent increases and the relationship between landlords and tenants. In doing so, the government has signalled that it intends to rebalance the legal framework for these relationships, which it sees as favouring landlords and not providing tenants with adequate consumer protection.
The documents, including the main consultation paper, the executive summary and the on-line questionnaire, are available at here.

In addition the site provides information about the town hall meeting that will take place in various communities. Town hall meetings are open to everyone. No pre-registration required.

In Thunder Bay – the town hall meeting will take place
On: Wednesday, June 9th, 2004,
At: Oliver Road Community Centre,
563 Oliver Road, Thunder Bay
Time: 7:00 – 9:00 pm

By the time that you, the members, read this, I will have left LSPC since my last day was April 16. Unfortunately, the financial situation of the Agency has necessitated changes. There are still some reliable, recurring sources of funds, which will permit staff to keep operating, but there is no “core funding“ to allow for stable operations.
I know you can all be counted upon to continue to offer your encouragement and support to the staff and volunteers of this valuable agency. It's been a great 2 years. I thank all of you who have supported me, and worked together for the success of the agency and this community. I wish you all the best.