In honour of Neighbourhood House Week, CKNW’s Lynda Steele speaks with Deb Bryant, CEO of the Association of Neigbhourhood Houses of BC (ANHBC), about how neighbourhood houses fight social isolation.

Two weeks after her move from Dubai to Canada, Rana connected with Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House-WorkBC Specialized Services by attending our ‘BC Industry Speakers and Job Fair’ in February 2018. Here, Rana expressed that she lacked the support of her family in seeking a better life and future for herself. During the event, she signed up to attend an orientation session with the employment program in our House.

Wing Sun is an older adult who was becoming very isolated at home. He was told by his doctor that it wouldn’t be long before he was wheelchair-bound. Hearing this, his case manager referred him to the Beulah Adult Day program at the South Vancouver Neighbourhood House (SVNH).

Neighbourhood houses have been around in Metro Vancouver since 1894—that’s more than 120 years—helping create spaces for community-building and to encourage a sense of belonging in our cities.

Julia Zhu, our program facilitator, met Shirley at a local park while participating in outreach recruiting participants to the Bond to Literacy program. Shirley was right away very interested in the Bond to Literacy program and proceeded to register herself and her young son on that same day. Attending the Bond to Literacy Program was the first time that Shirley and her son had come to Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House.

Uprooting oneself from one’s comfort zone is not an easy feat for anyone, but Benilda found it particularly difficult. When her family immigrated to Canada from the Philippines in 2008, it was her visits to Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House (FHNH) that made her feel connected and at home.

Alberto* came to see José at Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House because he wanted to become an ESL teacher. He needed assistance with elaborating his resume and with job interviews. His resume needed to be better organized, and he needed to find the right wording to convey his skills and experience. He also required confidence in approaching potential employees and facing job interviews.

An avid cook, Masi also often shares her food with staff and residents. She participates in potluck lunches at Kits House, where she shares the Persian food that she has prepared alongside other participants. She and her husband also share their love of music with the local community by performing the violin and drums at various Kits House events. Despite the language barrier, Masi has been on several trips organized by Kits House over the past year, including visits to the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary, Grouse Mountain, the H.R. MacMillan Space Center and UBC Botanical Garden.

Newcomer families and their volunteer tutors gathered together at Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House on July 18. With Scrabble games, jelly beans and vegetarian biryani, they celebrated all the hard work the families had completed over winter and spring, as they learned English.