North Shore - Relance des Rendez-vous annuels

Table des matières

• Sept-Îles
• Forestville
• Blanc-Sablon
• Havre-St-Pierre

Sept-îles - April 20, 2023

Details

• 11 participants
• Organizations present: L'Âtre de Sept-Îles / Association septilienne des loisirs, des sports et de la culture pour personnes vivant avec un handicap / CAB Le Virage  / CAB Port-Cartier / Centre de Dépannage du Parc Ferland / CISSS de la Côte-Nord / Club d'âge d'or de Sept-Îles / Table locale de concertation des aînés de Sept-Rivières
• In collaboration with le Centre d'action bénévole Le Virage & le Centre d'action bénévole de Port-Cartier & La table régionales de concertation des aînés de la Côte-Nord (TRACN)

For your engagement to get better, you need : 

more of ...

a sense of belonging / acceptance of our strengths and limitations / collective caring / community / creativity / fun / good communication / joint solution / learning / openness / participation in events / patience / sharing responsibilities / support / time for yourself / tolerance 

less of ...

* It's not so easy to identify what we want less of. We're used to always wanting more, but not to saying what we don't want.

On the subject of community resilience, you said :

• it's like resigning, it's hard to tell the difference sometimes
• it's about being able to use the negative as a propellant
• it's a word that's been used so often, we can't remember what it really means
• it's the culmination of a relaunch sometimes
• it corresponds to disengagement
• it passes through a tightly woven social net

Projects that excite you

The new era, the new era of volunteering
A festive event to recruit old and new volunteers, but above all to recreate ties and create new ones. Activities include a conference, entertainment and stations showcasing local culture. Transportation will be provided. 

Day excursion 
A day-long bus excursion for both past and present volunteers to reconnect. In order to gather as many people as possible, we'd like to go door-to-door with a personalized invitation. At the same time, we'd like to recruit volunteers in companies.

Documentary on volunteering
Production of a documentary on the CAB and its volunteers for one year, to be presented at a large community meal where volunteers will be encouraged to invite a companion. A recognition activity and a gift will be offered to volunteers to thank them.

Sparks 

• We have to make sure that it doesn't cost anything to volunteer... if it's the volunteers who pay, that's problematic.
• We need to reach out to companies to recruit volunteers.
• Small details can make a huge difference, so don't overlook anything.
• Grandparents should try to pass on their passion for volunteering to their grandchildren, sometimes bringing them along with them.

Forestville - April 20, 2023

Details

• 39 participants
• Organizations present : CAB Le Nordest / Centre des femmes de Forestville / MRC Haute-Côte-Nord / Table locale de concertation des aînés de la Haute-Côte-Nord
• In collaboration with le Centre d'action bénévole Le Nordest & La table régionale de concertation des aînés de la Côte-Nord 

For your commitment to get better, you need : 

more of ...

committed people / consultation / democracy / fun / money / personal time / security / succession / welcoming and sponsoring new volunteers / youth recruitment 

less of ...

accountability / dependence on funding / feeling used / paperwork / performance obligation / responsibility 

On the subject of community resilience, you said :

• It's known in the health field as the idea of radical acceptance
• It's about going for it with a clear head
• It starts with a recognition of our capacity to act
• It's an obligation to stop and think differently

Projects that excite you

Community gardens - just pots away
Collective gardens with elementary school children doing the planting, high school students helping to build the containers, seniors looking after the plants and local businesses contributing. Afterwards, a large group preserves surplus and less attractive vegetables. 

Collective gardens 
Collective gardens for children, seniors and families. The project will be widely promoted, with recruitment in schools and day-care centers and a festive lunch/dinner to attract people. A café-rencontre will also be set up, offering a place to relax, chat and do crafts, as well as to cook collectively with the harvest. Surpluses will be available in the community fridge.

Circular farm
Construction of a greenhouse to grow vegetables and teach children to be resourceful. Afterwards, they are also taught how to preserve and cook, and the meals are made available to the school. It's a farm that operates according to the principles of the circular economy.

Local artists
Painting lessons offered to the community by a painter every week at different times to ensure availability to several people. At the end of the course, a large mural will be painted on the outside wall of a local business.

The missing street
Construction of the street that's missing in several municipalities in response to the housing crisis. This street aims to provide opportunities for sharing and ways of reconnecting together. 

Intergenerational park
Intergenerational park designed for all generations, with an outdoor theater, a pond and spaces adapted to provide a place conducive to intergenerational encounters.

Revitalization of the Women's Centre
Revitalization of the Women's Centre to accommodate more people, both in terms of numbers and accessibility. We want to add a drop-in daycare center and community gardens, more rooms and large open spaces.

Sparks 

All too often, we forget the importance of democracy and volunteer consultation.

Blanc-Sablon - October 17, 2023

Details

• 11 participants
• Organizations present : CISSS de la Basse-Côte-Nord / Chevery Senior Citizens Club / Club 50+ St-Augustin / Coaster Association / Coop de solidarité d’aide à domicile de la Basse-Côte-Nord / CSS du Littoral / La Tabatiere Seniors Group / MRC de Golfe du Saint-Laurent / Table Locale de Concertation des Aînés du Golfe St-Laurent
• In collaboration with :  La table régionales de concertation des aînés de la Côte-Nord et la table locale de concertation des aînés du Golfe-du-St-Laurent

For your commitment to get better, you need :

more of ...

active listening / better understanding of needs / collaboration / community involvement/ concrete actions / conversations / empowerment / enthusiasm / face-to-face meetings / human and financial resources / leadership / new energies / openness to others / opportunities to connect / program flexibility / putting aside territorial and political differences / recognition / respect / self-confidence / sharing experience, ideas, resources social activities / time / visibility / welcome / youth involvement 

less of ...

complex territorial realities / complexity of extending services to several villages / disengagement / dynamics between villages / expectations too high or unrealistic / inferiority complex / judgment / pressure to do more / rigid routines / working in silos / Zoom

On the subject of community resilience, you said :

• It's hard to tell the difference between resilience, acceptance or resignation...
• It may be easier to be resilient in the face of a specific crisis, but it's a different matter when it's a situation that goes deeper.

How to contribute to resilience 

• With perseverance, respect for others, attention to different areas of expertise. On an individual level, this means self-care, introspection, questioning one's strengths and weaknesses, challenging oneself.
• With more connections, more opportunities to meet face-to-face, more acceptance that small steps are sometimes more important than giant ones. We have to accept that we can't find one-size-fits-all solutions; they have to be multi-faceted and contextual. It's by working together on small things that trust can be built.

Sparks

• It's hard to understand the realities of remote regions until you've lived them.
• There's a worrying neglect of remote regions and a deterioration in services.
• In the Basse-Côte-Nord MRC, there are 13 communities with very distinct realities. There's a lot of isolation between villages and a feeling of competition. There's a desire to be able to collaborate more, to stand together to help each other in common struggles.
• The pandemic has eroded relationships and widened the gaps between people. We need to find ways of coming together and cultivating community resilience.

Havre-St-Pierre - October 19, 2023

Details

• 10 participants
• Organizations presents : CAB de la Minganie / Centre le Volet des Femmes / Coopérative d'aide à domicile de la Minganie / Corporation des Aînés de la Minganie / L'Espoir de Shelna / Municipalité d'Aguanish / Table locale des aînés de la Minganie  
• In collaboration with le CAB de la Minganie et La table régionale de concertation des aînés de la Côte-Nord 

For your commitment to get better, you need :

more of ...

ability to let go / accepting help and asking for it / financial resources / fulfillment in our roles / government support / involvement / listening / new trajectories guided by people who live on the territory / recognition of the North Shore's territorial difference / recognition of work / renewal of knowledge about commitment / sense of belonging / setting limits / stimulating commitment / succession / support for volunteer management / time / volunteers

less of ...

amalgamation of the needs of all communities  / demands too high / fear of change / food insecurity / frustration at the slow pace of change /  hierarchical decision-making / negative / obstacle to citizen mobilization / pressure / resignation / superwoman or savior syndrome / volunteer opportunities too formatted / workload

On the subject of community resilience, you said :

• Accepting the discomfort of change to avoid stagnation
• Waiting for the right moment to act
• Don't get carried away by pain and obstacles
• Strong mobilized core that pushes for change

Projects that excite you

RéaLiaison
A joint project to share concrete resources (room, equipment, transportation, food, volunteers). Start with a meeting between motivated organizations to establish possibilities and costs. Do this with organizations with diverse missions and clienteles.

Volunteer search fair
Publicity on community radio to explain what volunteering is and talk about opportunities.

The sparks 

• Organizations need to come and see for themselves what's happening on the ground, otherwise the responses they offer can never really meet the needs.
• Solidarity is at least highly developed in small communities.
• It takes outside, benevolent support to better understand the dynamics.
• Needs are always growing, and we can't meet them in the same way as before... we need to innovate, but we're tired out in the field.

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