December 2022 CD Practitioner Gathering Harvest

By Amanda Palmer

On Wednesday, December 14th we hosted our final gathering for community development practitioners of 2022.

We had a lovely conversation in the main room, welcoming in people as they arrived into our sharing circle! Our guiding question, and some highlights from our conversation are below.

What emerging needs are CD Practitioners Noticing?

• Going back to the basics of listening to community to hear and understand what their needs are

• Need to explore making connections differently, and focusing on natural supports

• A lot of needs around transportation, especially in rural communities

• Volunteers are leaving and people aren’t replacing them, creating major gaps in the voluntary sector and exacerbating an already difficult capacity issue in many workplaces

• The continued strain on the health system is contributing to the shortage of physicians, and conversations around health and women’s health are changing

• Social isolation and seniors’ mental health continue to become bigger challenges

• Need to shift engagement efforts with newcomers to focus on building real relationships rooted in trust. A lot of cultural diversity in the newcomer sector right now means a top down one-size fits all approach isn’t working

• A lot of challenges around burn out, health and mental health deterioration is affecting people across the board, including caregivers, which may be contributing to some of the emerging patterns we’re seeing around participation