Keeping people safe & well

 

The Importance of Tenants' Associations

A Note

 

This summer, community after community has demonstrated the fact that the best way to mobilize community members and do effective outreach is through Tenants’ Associations. Here is a link to how Heatherington community utilized the financial support it recently received from Mayor Bob Chiarellie.

Tenants’ Association played a pivotal role not only in making this event successful but also reminding us that just as community participation is the key to social development and crime prevention, strong Tenants’ Associations are the key to community participation. 

Community events at Banff, Confederation Court and now Heatherington clearly show that the financial and capacity building support provided to the TAs have led to great results, including more opportunities for social interaction and building trust.  

There is no denying the fact that successful program delivery is not possible without effective community participation. However, for that we need to re-focus our energies on stabilising, consolidating and empowering TAs as sustainable micro-level community institutions.  

Institutionalizing TAs is a must in ever changing, dynamic communities, such as the Ottawa Housing projects, where tenants constantly move in and go out. Presence of viable TAs would ensure continuity of a development process and set norms in the concerned communities. Like, coops, regardless of the change in leadership and other members in the community, TAs would reflect the values to be adhered to in the community.  

Ottawa Community Housing has rightly identified importance of the TAs in its Safer Communities initiative. It is time for partners to think about more ways to institutionalize and make them a permanent feature of the community development process.  

The more residents get the opportunity to work for the community, the more they will have the sense of ownership and volunteerism. This would lead to stronger and sustainable micro-level association, effectively engaged in social development and crime prevention.

All partners need to realize the important role the TAs can play in the community development and contribute their consolidation. The Community Houses and the TAs cannot perform in isolation. Ottawa Community Housing has done enough on the policy and practical level to boost the moral of residents in our communities. It is time for the rest of the partners to focus on this important aspect of the equation.

 

© 2005-15 South - East Ottawa Community Health Centre
Centre de Sante Communautaire du Sud Est D'Ottawa

Contact: Abid Jan Tel./ Tél: (613) 737-5115 Ext. 2403  Fax/Télé: (613) 739-8199

NCLB matters because neighbourhoods matter