A Vision of a Community Transformed
In the eight years since we moved to Winnipeg’s West End, a great deal has changed. While the challenges of poverty and crime are still very much present, as is the wonderful cultural, racial and linguistic diversity, the all too common effects of gentrification are also beginning to the neighbourhood. Aspects of its influence are positive- the reduction of violence, organized crime and the sex trade, for example- but all too often it is not as a result of the problems being treated as it is that they are simply forced out into other parts of the city. In other words, the so-called improvements to our community are often the result of lower income residents being forced out.
The West End is our home and the place that Little Flowers Community calls home. Sustaining relationships with our neighbours is very difficult, as many find themselves pushed out after only a few months. While some will argue that this transience is typical of the urban poor (and there is an element of truth there), more often than not it is a dynamic created and perpetuated by the trend of the privileged and the wealthy. This reality has made us consider if we should consider relocating to the more “stable” locus of the poor, but we have felt that we are meant to stay where we are.
In response to the dynamics that make it more difficult for lower income residents (including members of our church community) to stay in the West End, we have tried to find ways to make life more affordable. Through various methods, such as community gardens & bulk shopping, intentional simplicity, debt/credit counselling, intentional community, etc., we have slowly been able to find ways to resist the impact of the gentrification. We are working on other approaches too, such as micro-loans, small business plan development and other ideas. However, the scale is small and the pace is slow. Most of all, the impact is limited to the small group of people in our immediate community.
One of the bigger dreams that we are pursuing in respect to helping the wider community is the plan to make quality low income housing available in the neighbourhood. Our immediate plan is to purchase an apartment building in our community where the suites would be made available for low income housing. This could include those on government subsidies or housing programs for the mentally ill. We would also hope to have members of our Little Flowers Community living in the building too, nurturing a supportive community atmosphere. One of the buildings we are considering would even leave space for the intentional community we have been expanding and developing. We are very excited by this.
The challenge we face, of course, is resources. In order to make such a dream a reality we will need a great deal of money and skilled labour to purchase, renovate and sustain the building. We are blessed that a group of Christian business people from the Mennonite community in Manitoba have committed to get behind us in this project, carrying the bulk of the responsibility. Their goals is to do this without any expectation of return, but rather as a Kingdom investment. However, we will need a great deal more above and beyond this group. Our hope and dream would be that we could eventually offer several such facilities that would help protect the unique diversity that is represented in the West End.
We are a small church of 20 to 30 people. We know that for God’s vision to coming into being in this neighbourhood it will take something amazing and miraculous. If you are interested in being a part of this, let me know. While we do need money, we also need people willing to relocate their lives into our neighbourhood and invest themselves in these emerging expressions of the Kingdom. We also need prayer. Feel free to fire any questions my way.
