Our Initiative
Phase of Development: Implementation
Starting date: March of 2009:
Our team:
- Canyon Corridor Weed & Seed
- Granada Neighborhood Association
- **Rehoboth CDC www.rehobothphx-cdc.org
- City of Phoenix Faith Based Initiatives
- City of Phoenix Neighborhood Services
- Cordova Neighborhood Association
- IRC
- Vida Nueva Church
- Lynnhaven Church
- about 45 residents of community
- Vecinos Unidos
- Serrano Village
- Alhambra Elementary School District
- Maryvale on the Move
- Willow Springs apartment complex
- Grand Canyon University
- Blueprint Education
Our funders: Arizona Community Foundation, St. Luke’s Health Initiative, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Amerifirst, Bank of America
Our work: Here is how we have been using the key Communities for All Ages strategies in our work:
Building alliances across organizations and systems:
Canyon Corridor Communities for All Ages was developed by building on the existing structure of the Canyon Corridor Neighborhood Alliance which is a coalition that included a range of local organizations and community residents. After joining the Communities for All Ages network, we began reaching out intentionally to include residents from all generations, including residents of different generations from the refugee community, as well as organizations and institutions that work closely with a broader range of generations and ethnic groups in the neighborhood. hese stakeholders have formed smaller cross sector workgroups that include residents of different ages to support the on-going stewardship of our work.
We have also been increasing university community partnerships through collaborations with graduate students at ASU who are working with younger children on documenting challenges accessing healthy foods through photo documentary activities.
Engaging community residents of all ages in leadership roles:
We completed the 1st intergenerational Leadership Academy, with 28 of the 35 participants successfully completing the training. The youth graduates from the leadership academy went on to teach a summer leadership academy for youth. Two of the adult graduates are assisting with ESL classes on a weekly basis. We are currently offering youth leadership academy for middle school age youth refugees. The academy is being held in an apartment complex that houses the majority of the refugee community in Canyon Corridor. Engaging and training youth refugees as community leaders both helps build the capacity of youth leaders as well as building levels of trust and engagement among the older refugee community.
The Canyon Corridor neighborhood alliance has helped build leadership and organizing skills of residents of all ages, from a range of ethnic groups (especially the graduates of the leadership academies) through organizing several important community wide events including a block party and a community play day which included play activities for youth and the sharing of regional foods by the community elders. The intergenerational resident driven committees worked hard to pull these events together. In the end we had very successful events, there were over 200 people of all ages and ethnic groups at the events, with free food, games, prizes, contests, and entertainment. The neighbors were pleased with the turn out and a lot of the neighbors who were unaware of what the Canyon Corridor Neighborhood Alliance was gained more knowledge and are interested in becoming more involved in future activities.
As we move forward, we are planning to host more leadership academies (both intergenerational and age-specific) and encourage the graduates to exercise the skills learned and start being more actively involved in community organizing through the grassroots approach they were taught. As a team we are supporting residents of different ages to take charge of the meeting agendas and present more during the meetings so that it becomes a community effort.
The neighborhood alliance has also begun using twitter and facebook to post events, pictures, and meetings for the technology savvy residents. One of the subcommittees of the group has begun translating materials into some of the more popular languages spoken in the community (Burundi, Bhutanese, Russian, etc.)
Creating places, practices and policies that promote intergenerational interaction across the lifespan
We have developed our first community life centers. The community life centers are designed to utilize existing physical spaces in the community to create opportunities for intergenerational activities, meetings and classes. The center is was first held in the fellowship hall of a local church and we have now sucessfully moved to a 2500 sq foot building that is owned by the church but was unused for 8-10 years. This larger space allows us to integrate a wider range of opportunities for all generations and provide additional opportunities for connection across ages and ethnicities. We offer ESL and exercise classes for all ages and parenting classes that include a range of generations. We are using an intergenerational approach to parenting classes and looking at opportunities to provide resources to caregivers of different generations including grandparents raising grandchildren. In this way the parenting classes provide opportunities for parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and children to connect and interact. We also have a community garden with 25 plots that was planted and is maintained by an intergenerational group of residents and linked to cooking and nutrition class in our community kitchen.
The other shared space we have developed is a housing complex that is intentional about integrating all ages. For example, instead of landscaping including trees and shrubs, we planted community garden with the residents that regualrly maintained by an intergenerational team of residents. There also is a multi-purpose sport court with exercise opportunities for people of all ages, and an intergenerational "club house" for planning activities in the housing complex.
Expanding opportunities and supports to meet needs across the lifespan
The Canyon Corridor Neighborhood Alliance is working in collaboration with a city wide initiative called "healthy kids, healthy communities" to promote physical activity and healthy eating. We have been able to bring an intergenerational lens to this work, and link it to other intergenerational efforts of the alliance. For example, we encouraged residents of all ages to participate in charettes, and walking audits of the neighborhood to create safer routes to school that will benefit all ages groups and to help change the curb appeal of the neighborhood.
A subcommittee of the alliance is currently seeking funding to acquire land on 27th Ave and Camelback to open an International Urban Market Place. This market place will have a fresh farmers market, restaurants that offer authentic cuisine from countries abroad, and culture specific markets (for spices, meats, etc.). We feel that when we launch the International Urban Marketplace, that community leadership will really take off because the core of the planning committee are residents and this is their “baby” that they are birthing, and they will be excited and encouraged as they see how their hard work has begun to pay off.
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