June 08, 2005
Neighbourhoods Alive!, a community-driven, urban-revitalization initiative will be expanded to serve more of Winnipeg, Premier Gary Doer announced today while also pledging to dedicate profits from future suburban housing developments to improve inner-city housing.
Doer made the announcement during a visit to the Turtle Island Neighbourhood Centre to help celebrate the five-year anniversary of Neighbourhoods Alive! (NA!).
“I am honoured to be here today to celebrate the power of community co-operation guided by the grassroots leadership of local residents, businesses and community organizations,” said Doer. “Neighborhoods Alive! is about rebuilding neighbourhoods from the ground up and we want more communities to be part of this successful program.”
The province has already committed to direct the first $1 million it receives from the development of the Royalwood subdivision towards inner-city housing and Doer promised the same for additional profits. Since 2000, the province and its federal and municipal partners have committed to the repair, renovation and construction of about 2,400 units of housing in Winnipeg.
“We believe that by developing our provincial land bank, we can meet Winnipeg’s growing housing demand and continue to rebuild our inner-city neighbourhoods,” Doer said. “This announcement today is a down payment on our promise to direct the profits from future developments, such as Waverley West, to efforts that increase housing options for inner-city families.”
To further build on the achievements of NA! the premier also announced:
Funding under NA! will be extended to seven new areas of Winnipeg. The communities of St. Matthews, Daniel McIntyre, Centennial, West Alexander, North Portage, Dufferin and St. John’s join Spence, West Broadway, William Whyte, Point Douglas and Lord Selkirk Park as key improvement zones.
The Urban Arts Program, administered by Manitoba Culture, Heritage and Tourism, will be added to the foundation of NA! services to help continue the valuable creative programming provided through organizations such as Art City and the Graffiti Art Program.
The number of Lighthouses locations will be increased to 40 from 32 to enhance youth-targeted, after-school activities in schools and community clubs throughout the province.
In celebrating the five-year anniversary, Doer noted that through NA! the province has committed over $26.5 million to date including $16.6 million to support almost 400 community projects and $9.9 million for the repair, rehabilitation or construction of over 1,700 units of housing.
Doer also announced that core funding support for the five Neighbourhood Renewal Corporations throughout Winnipeg, Brandon and Thompson will be renewed for a further five years. Under the Neighbourhood Development Assistance program, five Neighbourhood Renewal Corporations are provided a total of $500,000 for core operations and activities annually.
“While we celebrate this milestone, I congratulate all the organizations and neighbourhood renewal corporations throughout the province for their passion in identifying and addressing local needs, and ultimately building the success of this program,” said Doer.
“The strength of a community resides within its residents. Neighbourhoods Alive! supports Manitobans as they work to strengthen our neighbourhoods.”
Inonge Aliaga, executive director of Spence Neighbourhood Association, one of NA!’s community partners, said, “Neighbourhoods Alive! has allowed our community members to work together on making our neighbourhoods better places to live. There have been some big successes in the last few years, but there is still a lot of work to do. The renewed funding agreement and the expansion is exciting because it will give us the opportunity to keep working on these issues, this time within a broader context.”
First launched in June 2000, Neighbourhoods Alive! is a multi-department initiative aimed at renewing urban communities. Residents, community groups, schools, businesses and various local organizations can access support from a range of new and existing programs including the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund, Neighbourhood Housing Assistance, Neighbourhood Development Assistance, Lighthouses, Community Initiatives, Training Initiatives and Urban Arts.
Areas of focus for NA! projects include:
rehabilitating housing,
building community leadership,
enhancing neighbourhood parks and facilities,
establishing safety and wellness initiatives,
supporting employment training, and
sponsoring after-school recreation programs for children and youth.
More information on the NA! program is available on the Internet at http://www.neighbourhoodsalive.mb.ca.
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION
NEIGHBOURHOOD HIGHLIGHTS
North-End Neighbourhoods (Lord Selkirk Park, Point Douglas, William Whyte)93 NA! projects totalling $3,169,754 have been approved.
$2,213,932 has been committed to repair, rehabilitate or construct 565 housing units.
NA! has invested $520,562 in north-end, youth-recreation programming and facilities, and an additional $872,476 in other inner-city recreation projects that include the north end.
NA! has helped fund the school resource officer project in 15 north-end schools, improving student-police relations and reducing violation and bullying.
Spence Neighbourhood
58 NA! projects totalling $1,278,441 have been approved.
$1,830,527 has been committed to repair, rehabilitate or construct 341 housing units.
NA! has invested $138,548 in projects to enhance neighbourhood safety including safety co-ordination, 'target hardening' and complementary Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) projects.
NA! has supported several neighbourhood arts and cultural events/programs such as Art from the Heart, the Ellice Street Festival and the Community Kids Arts program that provide opportunities for recreation and leisure.
West Broadway Neighbourhood
54 NA! projects totalling $1,310,615 have been approved.
$1,323,843 has been committed to repair, rehabilitate or construct 233 housing units.
NA! has invested $196,355 in neighbourhood greening initiatives such as community gardens, parks and neighbourhood cleanups.
The NA!-supported development of Spirit Park marks the first new inner-city park in many years.
Brandon Centre
52 NA! projects totalling $1,323,360 have been approved.
$2,735,342 has been committed to rehabilitate or construct 295 housing units.
NA! has invested $432,940 in parks, playgrounds and green-space projects that have greatly enhanced the quality of life in Brandon’s core area.
The NA!-funded Front and Paint program has provided grants to over 100 property owners for exterior improvements to their homes, resulting in significant homeowner investment and increased community pride.
Thompson (city-wide)
34 projects totalling $841,849 have been approved.
$1,274,990 has been committed to rehabilitate or construct 153 housing units.
NA! has invested $105,274 in park, playground and green-space enhancements to neighbourhoods in need.
The Youth Builders project, which trains up to 20 at-risk youth annually in construction, has received $266,840 over three years from the NA! Training Initiatives program.
NA! ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Neighbourhoods Alive! has committed over $26.5 million for revitalization activities in urban neighbourhoods in need:
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$16.6 million has been allocated to support almost 400 community projects, and-
$9.9 million has been committed for the repair, rehabilitation or construction of over 1,700 housing units.NA! has funded over 75 recreation programming and enhancement projects totalling over $2 million including playground rehabilitation/construction, community centre enhancements, athletic programs (e.g. Winnipeg Aboriginal Sport Achievement Centre) and arts and cultural programs (e.g. Art City).
NA! has supported 21 crime and safety projects totalling over $925,000 (e.g. the North End School Resource Officers program).
NA! has funded 15 health and wellness projects totalling over $450,000 (e.g. the Good Food Box food security project in West Broadway).
With NA! support totalling almost $3 million, more than 300 people in the designated neighbourhoods have receiving training for career-oriented jobs (e.g. family-support workers).
32 NA! Lighthouses sites have been established throughout the province with an investment of over $1.5 million. These community-based partnership keep the doors of community facilities and schools open to provide recreational and social programming to at-risk youth.
Preliminary findings indicate that NA! investment in neighbourhoods in need is having the intended results:
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the collapse of inner-city housing values by 1999, particularly in Winnipeg’s north end, was a major impetus for NA!. The most recent available data indicates house prices have risen by-
NA! was also part of a multi-faceted, intergovernmental response to an alarming increase in inner-city arsons. Between 1999 and 2003 (most recent data available), the arson rate in the north end dropped by 40 per cent, by 48 per cent in the Spence neighbourhood and byA recent survey of community stakeholders has found that:
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86 per cent of respondents observe positive neighbourhood change in all NA! neighbourhoods, with housing as the most commonly cited example of improvement.-
83 per cent intend to remain in their neighbourhood for the foreseeable future.-
there is an increase in community pride in all communities, as well as a noted increase in the capacity of community residents.-
residents in all NA! neighbourhoods recognize and value the work of their local neighbourhood renewal corporation (NRC).-
the community-led model supported by NA! is viewed as enabling the NRCs to undertake work that no one else has been doing in their neighbourhoods, and as a positive vehicle for change.