Get involved in your community this season

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/12/2019 (2150 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The holiday season is upon on us. Students are hard at work finishing exams, and families are looking forward to spending time with their loved ones. 

It is important that during the season of giving, we keep in mind that the holidays can be a tough time for many folks in our community. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have family around, an abundance of holiday treats, or even a warm place to sleep.

If you are able to this holiday season, I would like to take the opportunity to encourage you all to get involved in our community. Whether that be through volunteering, donations, or even participating in an event, this is the perfect time of year to get to know your neighbours in Fort Garry. 

Last month, I was excited to be able to spend some time in the community, participating in a meeting at the Wildwood Park Community Centre. At the meeting, a group of citizen scientists presented their research on the age-friendliness of the neighbourhood. 

We know that many public spaces in our city were not engineered with accessibility in mind. Now that we as a community are becoming more conscious of accessibility needs of our friends, family, and neighbours, it is fantastic to see researchers like Dr. Porter, Dr. Chesser and their team from the Centre on Aging at the University of Manitoba taking the initiative. 

By using an app from Stanford University, the team walked around the Wildwood Park neighbourhood to identify and catalogue the level of accessibility of parks, streets, program centres, and sidewalks. From their findings, an age-friendly group will be formed to work on making adjustments in the community, engaging with residents, the larger neighbourhood, the City of Winnipeg, and provincial partners along the way.

How are you getting involved in the community this holiday season? Have a community event coming up? Contact me at 204-421-4241 or mark.wasyliw@yourmanitoba.ca and I would be happy to be a part of your holiday celebrations! I look forward to talking to all again in the New Year! 

Mark Wasyliw
Fort Garry MLA constituency report

Mark Wasyliw is the independent MLA for Fort Garry.

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