Building Community Begins with Positive Social Connections
Written by Tim Buckley, February 2023
Humans are social by nature. But the past few years have put a dent in our social outlook, especially in neighborhoods experiencing economic hardship. Covid illness, job losses and school closures compounded our sense of loss and isolation.
That’s why the newly formed Kennedy Neighborhood Family Council members decided among its first priorities was to establish a closer social connection amongst neighbors. “Getting together, having a meal and having fun are really important,” said Leslye Garcia, whose complicated job has an equally complicated title: Bilingual Family Advocate & Outreach Coordinator. Basically, she’s in the hub of a wheel that connects families to the Council and to community resources.
More than 500 people from 146 families in the neighborhood around Kennedy Elementary gathered for Winter Wonderland last month. Garcia attributes the success to a partnership she established with Kennedy Elementary School staff. “They were very supportive to help us because the event would attract parents and their children into the school together,” she said. “School Principal Miranda Pickner and Outreach Coordinator Susana Morales were especially important because they have contact with each of the neighborhood families whose kids attend Kennedy. We would not have had this amazing turnout without their enthusiasm and support.”
Kennedy neighborhood residents pour into the elementary school for the 2023 Winter Wonderland Festival hosted by the Kennedy NFC.
The quickly decorated school cafeteria had tables for eating dinner together, a photo studio where families posed next to an illuminated snowman sculpture, and a station where children decorated their picture frames to hold their family portrait. With funds supplied through CBEL, the family council also provided each family with a gift card.
In order to understand how this Winter Wonderland event fits into a bigger picture, Garcia said that she asked each family if they’d be willing to answer questions on a survey. 128 people responded. The survey had three questions:
“How did this event make you and your family feel?”
“What languages are spoken in your home?”
“What areas of needs do you and your family have?” (Multiple choice)
Because the survey was anonymous, the data received back was perhaps more accurate, reflecting what was going on in the neighborhood, not just in each home.
“In the survey results collected at Kennedy, as well as the month before at a similar event at Hallman Elementary, the data indicates that affordable housing and childcare are the most important needs they face,” Garcia continued. “It is a cycle; parents can’t go to work unless they have stable childcare in place, and they need help with housing expenses if they’re home taking care of their children and thus unable to work.”
Being homebound and with few neighborhood interactions in the past few years due to Covid and related economic contractions, Garcia said the effect can create emotional stress and insecurity for families, which can heighten the isolation. “The Winter Wonderland event was a way to relieve some of that pressure and to develop connections where trust can build and support can flow,” she said.
Eliza Moreno, a member of the Kennedy Family Council and a library media specialist at the school said,
“The school is a hub for community-building for our students, and these neighborhood councils are a good hub for community-building among adults. Sometimes, we get busy with work and tending to our families, but events like this help bring our children together, and the adults too.”
