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Lawrence Heights Quality of Life Project Write-Ups Findings from Community Members

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Lawrence Heights Quality of Life Project Write-Ups Findings from Community Members Write-Ups From The Lawrence Heights Community Quality Of Life Project Table of Contents Introduction ............................................................................ 1 Findings from Community Members ......................................................... 2 Youth .......................................................................... 2 Community Centre Youth Group ............................................... 3 Grade Six Students Group .................................................... 7 Grade Eight Students Group #1 ................................................ 10 Grade Eight Students Group #2 ................................................ 13 Grade 12 Students Group #1 .................................................. 16 Grade 12 Students Group #2 .................................................. 20 Secondary School Students Group .............................................. 24 Seniors ........................................................................ 31 Seniors Tenants Group ...................................................... 32 Seniors Recreation Group ................................................... 36 Hispanic Seniors Group ............................................... 39 Adults ......................................................................... 42 Parent-Child Drop-in Group .................................................. 43 Spanish-Speaking Women’s Group ............................................. 48 Tamil Women’s Group #1 .................................................... 53 Tamil Group #2 ........................................................... 58 Somali Women’s Group #1 ................................................... 62 Somali Women’s Group #2 ................................................... 66 Somali Men's Group ........................................................ 69 Eastern European Group ..................................................... 73 Findings from Service Providers ............................................................ 77 Programme Director, Community Health Centre ................................... 78 Community Health Worker, Community Health Centre .............................. 84 Youth Community Worker, Community Health Centre .............................. 90 Executive Director, Settlement and Service Agency ................................. 94 Community Worker, Settlement and Service Agency ............................... 101 Language Instruction Coordinator, Settlement and Service Agency .................... 106 Coordinator, Person-to-Person Support, Settlement and Service Agency ................ 111 Executive Director, Somali Women’s Organization ................................ 117 Vice-Principal, Elementary School ............................................ 122 Teacher, Middle School .................................................... 126 Teacher, Secondary School .................................................. 131 Recreation Worker, Community Recreation Centre ........................... 138 Findings from Elected Representatives ...................................................... 143 North York City Councillor, Ward 4 ........................................... 144 North York Metro Councillor, Wards 4 and 7 .................................... 149 Member of Provincial Parliament, Riding of Lawrence ............................. 155 Mayor, City of North York .................................................. 161 Public School Trustee, North York Ward 4 ...................................... 163 Separate School Trustee, North York Wards 2 and 4 ............................... 168 Introduction This report contains the information provided by community members, service providers, and elected representatives as part of the Lawrence Heights Community Quality of Life Project. Eighteen group discussions were held which involved 146 community members. Most of these community members resided within Lawrence Heights, but we also spoke with persons who live in the surrounding areas. Seven groups involved youth, three were with seniors, and eight involved adults. These adult groups included seven groups with New Canadians. Twelve service providers were individually interviewed. Six elected representatives also were interviewed. All these discussions and interviews were taped. Project staff used these tapes and notes from the discussions and interviews to provide the content for the write-ups. Before finalizing these write-ups, they were provided to the participants and interviewees in order to verify their accuracy. This process allows us to be confident that we have captured the views of those we interviewed. The first series of write-ups are from the group discussions with community members. First we provide the write-ups from youth, followed by those from seniors, and adults. We then provide the results from the interviews with service providers. We conclude with the interviews carried out with the elected representatives of Lawrence Heights. These include both the political representatives as well as the public and separate school trustees. The content of the community members’ narratives contain their responses to questions about the aspects of Lawrence Heights that support quality of life and those that do not. We also found out how people cope and manage, and the services and programs they would like to see. The information from the service providers and representatives is similar in that we asked about the positive and negative aspects of life in Lawrence Heights. We also inquired into the mandate and activities of these individuals and their organizations and how they attempt to improve the quality of life of community members. For an analysis and interpretation of these findings, please see the reports: The People, Places, and Priorities of Lawrence Heights: Findings from the Community Quality of Life Project and The People, Places, and Priorities of Lawrence Heights: Conclusions from the Community Quality of Life Project. 1 Lawrence Heights Quality of Life Project Write-Ups Findings from Community Members Youth Lawrence Heights Quality of Life Project Write-Ups 2 Community Centre Youth Group January, 1997 4 participants A. Strengths and Positive Factors Community Belonging Participants agreed that most people know each other in the Lawrence Heights community. “This community has a lot of benefits to the people who live around here, not money-wise . there’s love for people in your community, it’s like a family . everybody has to come together, not only on certain topics like if something goes bad in the community, at all times the community should come together as one people and speak our voice and hear other people’s opinions.” Community Health Centre (CHC) The Lawrence Heights Community Health Centre. “has been here for a lot of people, of different cultures.” The participants liked their youth group, where they discuss issues such as violence, sex and relationships. The CHC’s comfortable atmosphere, the Spanish-speaking group and seniors group were also mentioned. One participant indicated that “this is a bit more than a health centre, because you get access to things, like a computer.” The CHC was identified as a place where people could go if they had a problem (e.g., teen pregnancy) or needed someone to talk to. Community Recreation Centre: Activities The community recreation centre is a place where people can get together. It is “open to all people, not just a certain stamp of people -- so that’s what people would see it as, the community centre’s only for black people, they only go there and play basketball, or it’s only for Caucasian people, they only go there and play hockey.” “It’s fun there.” There are after-school programs for kids. Youth do sports and “recreational stuff,” such as basketball and ping-pong. Parks Participants liked having a nearby park where they could go and be with their friends, play basketball, etc. School as a Place for Extracurricular Activities When speaking of school, participants appeared to most enjoy the extracurricular activities. The participants were involved in a number of activities including sports such as basketball, volleyball and track. One participant was involved in a school leadership committee: “I try to involve myself a lot, that makes me happy . I do the leadership committee because I can help people, hear what they want.” Another volunteered helping teachers as a secretary and taking score at volleyball games. School was also the place where the participants socialized and saw their friends. 3 Lawrence Heights Quality of Life Project Write-Ups B. Neutral or Contested Issues Community Health Centre: Staff Participants had both good and bad things to say about “the people who work here.” Some of the staff “really try and get involved with you. I believe they’re genuine, not here today, gone tomorrow, they’ll call and check up.” It was felt that only certain staff did outreach and mingled with the community. Others were seen to be “chatting on the phone, working in fancy offices.” Community Involvement One participant felt that sometimes community members do not focus on the good things in the community, and cited the example of parents not attending parents night at school. Additionally, it was felt that some community members do not use the opportunities presented to them to get involved; they may not have time, may feel it’s not important, or that they don’t see eye to eye with others who are addressing the problems. It was felt that people used to
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