Community Building and Engagement is about reweaving the fabric of relationship in the neighborhoods we serve and across the city to build communities that are just and equitable and to ensure that people have the resources they need to build a better life.
In the last year, the COVID-19 pandemic created tremendous isolation between us as individuals, neighbors, families. We are working to reach out now to neighbors and other organizations to reconnect and to rebuild relationship.
Westside Housing helps strengthen community by:
1) Establishing Trust – Through community organizing we reach out and listen to the needs of our community so we can resonate with one another around common concerns and build each other up when identifying how to address them. We are also here to acknowledge the success of our neighbors and local nonprofit organizations that serve our community.
2) Building Communal Spaces – We organize neighborhood residents, local students, and local church groups to work on community projects, like the Community Gardens we sponsor at Nottingham and Jefferson Place Apartments. We do this to ensure our community members have a seat at the table with discussing and planning projects that will affect them and to cultivate environments where we can strengthen our relationships.
3) Developing Leaders – We work to develop leaders among community residents, student and church groups and among our staff that will have the knowledge, resources and support to move forward in improving the community.
4) Sharing Resources – We partner with neighborhood nonprofit organizations such as Guadalupe, Inc., Mattie Rhodes and the Westside CAN Center to provide better access to the resources our community needs. We actively engage with community feedback as well to ensure we are closing in gaps in resources that we cannot provide.
5) Amplifying Voices – Through civic engagement, we participate with other organizations city-wide to advocate the US Census and voter participation and we encourage our community to be governing voices when developing programs and policies that indirectly or directly affect them. We believe that education is the power to making informed decisions.
Join us! Help us rebuild Kansas City’s communities by getting involved! For more information to find out how you can participate, please contact Sarahi Zeron, [email protected].
