Meet The New CDLI Staff!

Meet Vic!

My name is Vic (they/she) and I’m the new Community Development Worker with CDLI! I’m so excited to work with such a passionate group of folks and contribute to the valuable work they do to help our communities flourish. My passions include ecofeminism, anti-capitalism, social change, and my cats.

What does community mean to you?

To me, community is about connecting with like-minded people to further conversations and actions that question and challenge the oppressive systems we live under. It’s where we make space to imagine true liberation and work together to create tangible change. Community is where folks who are made marginalized by a society that is built on white supremacy and capitalism can feel liberated, powerful, valued, and supported. Community is where I have felt liberated, powerful, valued, and supported. Community is where information, ideas and experiences are shared, and a place where I continue to learn and grow and better understand the interconnectedness of everything. My sense of community guides all aspects of my work which is why I’m so happy to be involved with CDLI!

Meet Jessica!

A. What does community mean to you? 

Community is saying hello to your neighbours, picking up after your dog, shovelling someone else’s sidewalk, checking in if you haven’t seen your neighbour in a while, thank you notes in mailboxes, Little Free Libraries, accessing public spaces, picking up litter. It’s those seemingly small acts of generosity and respect done out of care. 

 Community to me means empathy and making space for others to be their most authentic selves. I also believe that community, the best sense of community, is built when you can bring your skills and wisdom to those around you and in turn you can learn from their skills and wisdom. That’s the kind of organic community building that is the most sustainable and successful. 

 During the pandemic, community grew out globally through online networks, or shrunk down to microcosms on our own streets, or disappeared altogether. I was fortunate enough to find a new community in my microcosm with neighbours out walking their dogs. We couldn’t gather, or pass too closely on the street, but a wave and a smile helped me feel grounded during lockdowns and was very validating. The walk itself helped with mental health when I struggled, but that small gesture of connection with neighbours was really the best healing. 

B. How does your sense of community get captured in your work?

I’ve been fortunate to work in places where resident-led initiatives and reciprocity are shared values in the organization. 

 It’s important, when building community, to not be prescriptive. You come into a place and say ‘you need this’ when the participants actually have been asking for and working on ‘that’ and it’s all going to unravel. I’m currently supporting an Artist in Residence program at my community association. There is already such an active group of residents and volunteers engaged in the work and the process and so I know it will be successful with minimal input from me. If I dropped in on that same group and said ‘actually, I think we should work on a fitness program’ it would be like hammering a screw. 

 Like I mentioned above, community needs to be authentic and organic and built by the participants, for the participants, with their skills in mind.