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Recently, Finding Home facilitated a series of dialogues with Mandarin-speaking grandparents who are also caregivers during the day for their grandchildren. The dialogues were hosted by Kitsilano Neighbourhood House and funded by New Horizaons for Seniors Programs. During the dialogues the grandparents agreed that Mah-jong creates a sense of home for them. In China, they explained, everyone plays games together. If they could only have a place to play Mah-jong here in Canada, then they would finally feel at home.
The dialogue series consisted of three ...... read more
Kitsilano Neighbourhood House(KNH) contracted Finding Home to build capacity within their staff through proving our Community Engagement and Asset Mapping training with the goal to deliver seniors and elders asset mapping workshops throughout the West Side of Vancouver and produce a resource guide. By engaging over 100 seniors and elders from diverse backgrounds, including Musqueam Elders and Newcomer seniors, this project produced the West Side Seniors & Elders Resource Guide. The launch of the guide brought together seniors and elders, seniors service providers ...... read more
The ways in which we respond to personal, community and global challenges are rapidly changing. Whether it is loss of language; a lack of affordable housing; displacement through war or flood; or fundamental institutional changes, many people from across cultures and sectors are yearning for belonging, connection and safety or a sense of home.
We are certainly in a time of transition and change. Some conceptualize our current situation as being within humanity’s cyclical patterns. For example, Arnold Toynbee argued that, prior to the rise of a new era, violence increases and people tended to respond to stress, conflict, and change with less creativity and more rigidity. In addition, peo ...... read more
I was invited to give key the keynote address at Alberta’s provincial restorative justice conference “Fostering A Restorative Worldview.” As part of my preparation, I researched the origins of each “restorative” and “worldview.” I first drew from my research in Worldview Skills and started with the root of the word ‘worldview’ which comes from the German word “weltanschauung” and means “a comprehensive conception or image of the universe and humanity’s relationship to it.” This understanding of ...... read more
Today, seniors from Seniors Services Society shared stories about what creates a sense of home for them. One senior said, “home is where you live with the love of your life.” Another senior responded, “that may be so for you…I sure did not have a husband like that!” While experiences of home differed, all agreed “the smell of mom’s cooking creates a sense of home for all of us.”
Frieda Hogg explained, “the worst thing about getting older isn’t that you lose your eyesight, it is that because of this loss of sight, you can’t read mom’s recipes.” As the dialogue series progressed, these seniors identifie ...... read more
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Alexandra Neighbourhood House hosted a Finding Home Newcomers Dialogue in South Surrey, White Rock. 40 Newcomers from Chinese and Korean origins attended. Dialogue participants shared stories about moving to Canada, finding work, learning English, trying to access services and workplace problems. Despite the myriad of hurdles they all overcame to find home in Canada, all agreed the most important priority is to make friends, they rest they say will take care of itself.
40 Newcomers gather for Finding Home Dialogue in Crescent Beach
Posted on November 21st, 2009 in Uncategorized. Tags: Community Engagement, Cross-Cultural, Dialogue, Finding Home, Newcomers
John Braithwaite Community Centre (JBCC) and the North Shore Neighbourhood House (NSNH) hosted Finding Home seniors dialogues. During the dialogues, seniors shared their experiences and generated practical tips about: moving from your home into a smaller place; the art of forgiveness; and how to find home within yourself. Throughout each dialogue, the seniors shared about the importance of gratitude in living through and responding to these everyday challenges. Highlights from each dialogue were turned into educational posters and are being distributed throughout North Vancouver as part of a larger strategy to create an age-friendly community.
To celebrate the seniors’ achievement, the dialogue participants hosted a community-wide Finding Home dialogue on Seniors Day at John Braithwaite Community Centre. The theme of the dialogue was about the importance of gratitude in creating home. In particular, all the seniors present shared their gratitude towards JBCC and NSNH staff and volunteers for all their work in providing quality programs for seniors and how crucial both community centres and neighbourhood houses are in creating a sense of home for older adults. One senior explained, “Neighbourhood Houses are my family.”
Recently, the seniors who participated in the Finding Home dialogue series have been invited to present their posters and findings to the City of North Vancouver’s interagency meeting. In addition, an invitation from a local school to talk with youth about the art of forgiveness and values for a bully-free world are in the works. Keep an eye out for these North Shore seniors as they make waves in their own lives and communities.
North Shore Seniors Say Gratitude Creates Home - Graphic Facilitation by Cheyenne Dyer
Recently, Finding Home facilitated a series of dialogues with Mandarin-speaking grandparents who are also caregivers during the day for their grandchildren. The dialogues were hosted by Kitsilano Neighbourhood House and funded by New Horizaons for Seniors Programs. During the dialogues the grandparents agreed that Mah-jong creates a sense of home for them. In China, they explained, everyone plays games together. If they could only have a place to play Mah-jong here in Canada, then they would finally feel at home.
The dialogue series consisted of three sessions. During the first session, we explored what home means, why it matters, what elements foster or erode a sense of belonging and what are their priority needs. The themes of the next two dialogues were customized around their top two priorities: Understanding Each Other and Creating Home in Canada. They shared stories and came up with innovative strategies. Read more…
Alexandra Neighbourhood House Newcomers and long time residents alike are working together to welcome recent newcomers. In preparation for a multicultural dialogue to be held on November 21st, 2009, Alexandra Neighbourhood House hosted Finding Home’s Community Engagement workshops. Seniors, ESL youth and long time residents of all ages gathered to share experiences and learn new tools to engage newcomer communities in a dialogue. It was decided that the dialogue would be called a “Tea and Chat” and the motto they created is “Today you come here by yourself. Tommorrow you come here with friends.”
During Fining Home seniors’ dialogues at John Braithwaite community centre and the North Shore Neighbourhood House today, seniors shared experiences of moving into a smaller place. One dialogue participant shared his story of having to move from a house to one bedroom after a recent health and financial crisis. He had no time to adjust to the change or decide what to keep and what to let go of. For him, it was a traumatic experience to discover his most cherished momentos had been given or thrown away. Together the group brainstormed how to find a sense of home in a smaller place. Drawing on past experiences as a student, living on a boat or as a traveler they generated new solutions for this present day challenge. Read more…
Tonight Alexandra Neighbourhood House launched their Building Welcoming and Inclusive Communities (BWIC) strategy by hosting a community dinner and a Finding Home presentation and dialogue. Over 30 people participated, including youth, seniors, newcomers, long time residents, service providers, artists and community organizers. Many ideas were generated and a new BWIN advisory group was formed. I look forward to continuing to work with this dynamic community. In October, I will be giving a community engagement workshop to their BWIN advisory group and youth group. In November I will facilitate a Finding Home Multicultural Dialogue for Newcomers in Crescent Beach South Surrey. Read more…
This spring and summer, I have been teaching Diversity Training for new police recruits at the Justice Institute of British Columbia’s Police Academy. For the course, I integrated Finding Home’s values-based approach to problem solving. The training enables the students to apply the practical skills and theoretical knowledge required for the cross-cultural problem solving, communication, and partnership building that is important in all aspects of police work. The goal is for new police recruits to understand different interpretations of the same event, learn tools to manage their own interpretations and reactions, and ultimately to increase their effectiveness in responding to challenging situations. My goal in providing this workshop is that new police recruits will first explore their triggers (interpretations and emotional reactions), before pulling a trigger.
Posted on July 14th, 2009 in Uncategorized. Tags: Conflict Resolution, Cross-Cultural, Diversity Training
Finding Home shared a booth with Seniors Services Society at the Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport Active Aging Symposium in Vancouver. We asked visitors what creates home for you? Visitors to our booth then put together a collage of what creates home for them. They then posed for a photo in front of their masterpiece and we turned the photographs into a slideshow. To view the powerpoint of this interactive booth, Click here
Today the International Society for Performance Improvement hosted an event called “Conflict Resolution Cracker Barrel” where participants were given an opportunity to experience diverse Conflict Resolution approaches. I gave a taste of Finding Home’s cross-cultural and values-based approach. In my session, participants learned about how our interpretations influence our reactions and ultimately the decisions we make. We explored different interpretations of the same event and tools to clean up our own interpretations so that we can make more effective decisions.
Other practitioners included Gary Harper, who presented ”What’s your conflict style – It’s in the Cards;” Roy Johnson, facilitated his “Zingers – How to respond when you can’t believe how they responded;” Kim White, facilitated a session called “Coaching Through Conflict” and Raj Dhasi who led ”How Did This Conversation Go So Wrong?”
Posted on June 9th, 2009 in Uncategorized. Tags: Conflict Resolution, Cross-Cultural Problem Solving, Diversity Training
