
I have been thinking about the word "belonging" for several years now. How people do or do not experience it, what facilitates or hinders it. What magic happens when a sense of belonging is ours.
Some of my favourite writing on this topic comes from Peter Block, from his book, Community, the Structure of Belonging, where he says,
"First and foremost, to belong is to be related to and part of something. It is membership, the experience of being at home in the broadest sense of the phrase. Belonging is best created when we join with other people producing something that makes a place better."
Peter Block suggests that belonging is rooted in collective ownership, accountability and relationship to one another.
Community Development Halton is committed to sparking and co-creating community building, supporting citizens find their way into relationship in community, sharing their gifts with others. A deeper understanding of the belonging that may results, stands at the intersection of our work in civic engagement and social research.
In 2025, Community Development Halton, Our Kids Network, Grandmother's Voice, and Halton Equity Diversity Roundtable (HEDR) are collaborating to better understand belonging in Halton. We will be doing this in three ways, through collecting community information through a survey, listening to and sharing stories about belonging and convening with others on June 5th to digest and make meaning together about belonging in Halton at HEDRS annual conference.
We are inviting you to be part of this exploration of belonging, through participation in a short survey that has been developed to learn more about the sense of belonging in our community. Your honest answers will help us have an important conversation about belonging in our communities. All answers are anonymous and will be held in confidence. Thank you for taking the time for the survey, your contribution is valued. You can access the survey here https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Q5WVXYW
The survey will be open from January 27 to February 14, 2025.
Stay tuned to this space to learn how to share your experience with belonging through story.
All finding will be shared with community, including at HEDR's June 5th Conference.
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