2020 Prototypes

Year Three prototypes are continuing. They include:

The Gallery is a joint project with the City of Edmonton (Recover), the Neighbourhood Empowerment Team, the Downtown Business Association, Edmonton City Centre, and Boyle Street Community Services.
We are installing lighting and art on the sidewalk along 102A Avenue, near the north side City Centre Mall entrance. We will also have some programming in this space in Spring 2021.
The intent for this project is to learn how we can foster positive interactions between street-involved Edmontonians and the broader community through visual art and programming, and to create a vibrant public space that is conducive to positive connections.
The Gallery is all about creating more inclusive spaces, and includes the perspectives of street-involved people in ways designed to spur dignity and growth, and support connections to the broader community.

Low self esteem and lack of dignity can be an issue for folks who are experiencing homelessness, and those who are housed often have apprehensions about their unhoused neighbours. This creates a divided community.
The Old Strathcona Neighbours Project, led by a community prototype team in partnership with The Neighbour Centre and City of Edmonton (Recover), bridges this gap by connecting people who are looking for casual work with neighbouring businesses that have need of occasional labour, building relationships and a unified community along the way.

After several months of prototyping in 2019-2020, the team — a mix of entrepreneurs, students, and community members — learned that there are folks on the southside/Strathcona area who are looking for work on a regular basis, and there are businesses in the area willing to support them.
This project helps people connect to jobs, and also makes space for relationships to develop by connecting the right person to the right opportunity.
We also help make sure everyone feels safe and supported, and that workers’ rights are protected.

The Expectant prototype team is community-led. They are exploring how to support people in their transition to parenthood.
The group understands that relationships are key to supporting people as they become parents. They wanted to find a way to connect with, and provide support for, those who may not have a supportive network of people around them as they become parents.
The team tested the idea of a box filled with items for parents-to-be to be used to start forming relationships with people who might be able to provide support expectant parents need, like doulas, social workers or nurses, other parents, etc.
The team has learned that while the items in the box are important, what’s more important is the potential for a deeper connection that the items in the box could tap into.
The next phase of the team’s work will involve testing how we can enter conversations into “the heart space” with parents-to-be.

A new Connector role, led by REACH and InWithForward in partnership with the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) and City of Edmonton (Recover), is an in-progress, early-stage prototype that aims to learn about how we can support more authentic connections between street-involved Edmontonians and the rest of the community, as one part of the city’s journey to greater urban wellbeing for all of its citizens.
Three versions emerged, and co-design took place with community members:
- Grief and loss is a root cause of homelessness, mental illness, and criminality — and yet, most of our interventions (from hospital stays to jail time to housing work) treat the acute symptoms. The Mourning Midwife plugs a gap: addressing a chronic experience that too often goes unacknowledged.
- The Alchemist is a decolonizing approach to placemaking that recognizes the value that comes from honouring the memories of people and place, reflecting the beauty and strength in a neighbourhood that is also the site of collective trauma and loss.
- The Garden Connector offers people who are contemplating change targeted support to access different community green spaces. Timely supports that increase self-efficacy and motivation can help people commit to move forward in directions they value, decreasing use of supports over time.
Find out more about the 2020 work here.
Find out more about how this prototype has evolved in 2021 and the SoLoss collective here.

The Socially Active Business Network is led by The Nook and REACH, with support from the City of Edmonton (Recover).
The team recognizes that wellbeing is a whole community responsibility, and this network would support businesses in developing healthy, reciprocal relationships with marginalized members of our communities.
The aim of this prototype is to develop a business/service model that acts and responds to the social and environmental needs of the community in which the business is a part.
It is based on the concept of a triple bottom line for businesses: considering their responsibilities to the community, the environment, and sustainable business practices.
This project recognizes that adopting sustainable socially active business practices require connectedness to the community. Businesses may need support in order to become more connected, and that’s the role this network can serve.