Neighbourhood Houses in Metro Vancouver Community Forum 2013

Neighbourhood Houses in Metro Vancouver

Community Forum 2013

Introduction• 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?”

What have we Completed so far?• Community Resource Mapping Workshop

– Participating NH, N=15, >75 people• Network source Mapping Interviews

– Participating NH, N=13, >55 people• Clearing House Survey

– Participating NH, N=15• Skills Learning Workshop

– Two workshops on mapping

Preliminary Findings

Community Resource Mapping• Emerging Clusters of Ideas

– Defining boundary:• Users vs. resources• Fixed vs. flexible and permeable

– Accessibility (barriers; NHs’ role) • Physical: cluster and uneven; outreach/extension• Economic: cost; cheap and free• Cultural: language and knowledge; multilingual, outreach• Institutional: fragmented and knowledge;

connecting/referring, use of external resources – Challenges & lack of connection

• Competing interest• Funding program policies – can and cannot do• Meeting emerging needs

Community Resource Mapping 2• Emerging Clusters of Ideas 2

– Defining mandates:• Having specific mandates for vulnerable population in the

community particularly seniors• Strategies: reactionary, proactive and consistent

– Multi-roles of NH as resource in the community• Connector (including referring)• Meeting place• Service providers (particularly the first and the last resort)• Collaborators• Advocator for community change• Enabler (expertise sharing and training)

– Partnerships define and are defined by the NH’s role• A response to Structural/Systemic Accessibility• Strengthening relationships• Resource and information exchange (volunteers, expertise)

Clearing House Survey 11. Average opening hours per week: 51.2

hour• Evening hours” 12.5 (also in need)

2. Top five ethnic groups among service users• Chinese (N=14), Southeast Asian & Latin American

(N=9), Caucasian (N=7), South Asian (N=6), 3. Funding sources: (Total funding in 2012-2013:

$37,346,245)• Top: Provincial funding, >$15,000,000, 182 programs• Second: Fee, >10,000,000, 135 programs• Municipal funding: <3,000,000, 133 programs• Over half of the funding are in renewable <3 yr term

Clearing House Survey 24. Programs: 83% use of volunteers

– Children (158), Family (152), Seniors (137)– Served 209,864 people in 2012-2013

Direct Service Information and Referral

Recreational Socioocultural Community Development

Advocacy Collaborative Services

Food Related Others0

50

100

150

200

250

236

119

184165 166

76

113 105

49

Nature of Program Activities

Num

ber o

f Pro

gram

s

Clearing House Survey 35. Volunteers:

– >3,672 registered, >15,000 hrs/nh/yr (8.2 FTE), – 70% Female, 55% adults– Language: Chinese (N=12), Spanish (N=11), Korean

(N=7), Vietnamese & Tagalog (N=6) 6. Board Members: Return rate = 81%, N=128

– Female 65%, 25-50 years old = 58%– 24 languages (English N=15; French N=9; Spanish N=8;

Chinese N=5; Hindi N=4) – 27% immigrant background– 35% former or existing service users, most live or work

within the neighbourhood– 54% <3 years

Clearing House Survey 47. Staff (Total Return N=745, 75.7%)

– 65% Female; Age: 25-60, 82%– Language: N=53, (English & Chinese N=15, French

N=14, Hindi & Spanish N=11)– 50% Immigrant background– Service users: 60%, Current/former Residents: 54%– 85% college diploma or above

• Early childhood education (22.8%), Social service related (21.5%), Children and youth service (16.5%), Social work (5.2%)

– Employment status: 48% ≥35 hrs/wk, 15.8% managerial level

What are in progress?• Archival Study (Dr. Eleanor Stebner)• Government-NHs Relationship (Dr. Oliver

Schmidtke)• Conceptualizing BWIN

– Focus groups, N=3, individual interviews, N=10 • NH as Community Resources

– Focus groups, N=18, (Community Partners and Service Users)

• Service User Survey• Oral History

Six-Month TimelineDec Jan Feb Mar Apr May

Archival StudyDr. Stebner

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Mainly reviewing archives

G-NH RelationDr. Schmidtke

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Ind interviews

BWINGojjam Limenihe

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>FGs, interviews

NH as Com ResJenny Francis

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>18 FGs (CP and SU)

Service User SurveyDr. Lauer & Maya Reisz

>>>>>>>>>N=600

This will the MOST BUSIEST period of data collection. WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!!!

For More Information of the Findings and the Project,

Please Visit Our Website: www.nhvproject.caOr

Contact Dr. Miu Chung Yan at [email protected].