Articulating Accessibility In Place- Based Community Organizations Joint World Conference on Social Work, Education and Social Development June 28-30, 2016, Seoul Miu Chung Yan, Ph.D. Pilar Riano-Alcala The University of British Columbia School of Social Work

NHiMV Project First systematic study of NHs in Canada Four years, collaborative, funded by SSHRC Research questions: –“How do neighbourhood houses, as place-based, multi-service, community-governed, non-profit organizations, affect social equity, collective efficacy, and inclusion, based on the cases of Metro Vancouver?” Project Website:

Neighbourhood Houses Modern settlement house –Toynbee Hall, “Machinery of connection” Place-based multiservice community organizations –Locally governed –Serving a neighbourhood within 30 minutes walk distance. –Multiple services for different needs –Mixed service provision and community building

Literature Review Accessibility: An involving concept –Geographical, architectural, financial, eligibility, stigmatization, cultural appropriateness … Fragmentation of services: Navigating a maze –Wicked problems “cross departmental boundaries and resist the solutions that are readily available through the action of one agency” (Perri 6 et al. in Bradford, 2005: 4). Inter- and intra-organizational silos, red-tape, policy loophole etc. –Institutional disconnection between different layers of actors: distortion of policy intention Complex division of labour: programs funding, organizational mandates, territorial Lack of publicity of services

Method Community resource mapping workshops: 14 workshop and N>100 staff, volunteers, service users Community network mapping: N>50 Service users focus groups: 9 gps, N=54 Community partners focus groups: 9 gps, N=52

Conceptualizing Accessibility at Neighbourhood houses Physical: neighbourhood hub, walking distance, architectural friendly Economic: –i.e. affordability –Membership fee (symbolic), free to low fees for programs Programmatic: i.e., Inclusive and culturally appropriate Multilingual staff and volunteers, multicultural, multi- generational, multi-dimensional, multiple needs, long hour of services

Conceptualizing Accessibility at Neighbourhood houses Societal: –i.e., taboo, stigma, public attitude –Members not client, volunteer participation, developmental and preventing programing, leadership training, intercultural learning… Psychological: –i.e., fear, safety, rejection, acceptance –Feeling ownership, feeling at home –As a former user said: “Because I remember like my mom would be comfortable leaving us at the neighbourhood house and she would just go home and then come back to pick us up later, feeling comfortable to just let us be alone there, send out a really big message of, you know, a neighbourhood house of being a safe place to be.”

Institutional Accessibility: Service Hub 1.Proactive response to differentiated local needs by means of consultation on needs (seeking input), nurturing leadership, community dialogue, community organizing, outreach and for some advocating for the community. 2.A link for local people to connect to each other and to the community resources, particularly for isolated community members (seniors and newcomers). Meeting place Referrals Information Resource Direct Service Advocacy Experts & Educators Partnership Enabler Identifying and mobilizing resources Volunteer/ leadership

Institutional Accessibility: Embedded in Service Network Rooted in collaboration and partnership building with other local, city wide or regional organizations through the strategy of forming networks. Actively reach out and foster fostering web-like relationships with other non-profit organizations, government organizations, local business and community organizations. Blue = NHs Red = Com partners

Testimonials Accessing service like home –that if it wasn’t for Frog Hollow, I am not sure that I’d be alive right now. As a single mom, three kids and she said, we spend more time at Frog Hollow than we do at our house...that’s not programming or courses like that...that’s the extended family. Accessing service at one stop: –“number of teenage moms... they participate in the moms’ programs or they have their children in the day care. So, they are able to access all of the services directly here that, you know, it makes such a huge difference in their lives.” Accessing service without being judged –a woman who’d recently immigrated to Vancouver. She’s got a toddler and baby and no idea about the massive waiting list for any kind of daycare sources and what not, and she’d missed the deadline with the CCs. Comes to the NH and they will accommodate – they really served her well. These people don’t get the heads up and the warning when they’re heading over, so she felt really blessed by that.

Testimonials Accessing resource for self and collective empowerment –NHs allow for co-creation, so someone can walk in and say, ‘I'm really interested in starting a group about x’ and NH staff will work with that particular community member to see if that can be realised, whether it’s volunteer run, or whether it’s an NSG potential project that we could seek some funding for...” Accessing to a wider service network –the NHs connect with other centers like CCs and businesses like Vancity. And through these connections we get a huge network of support and pretty much being able to access any program you can imagine because they are all networked together through the NHs. And every section of the net gives you access to other parts of the net, so it’s a network Accessing through referrals –so we can refer our participants to a summer program that takes things around, a mother goose that Templeton pool or whatever. … I think it’s also about being aware of the resources, knowing how this program is going and also having the relationship so that we know the right people to go to or to connect with if we have ideas.

Thanks! For more information of this presentation and the Neighbourhood Houses in Metro Vancouver Project, please check this out: