Belonging Brant is bringing people together one group at a time.
“We’re engaging with citizens to find out what they’re passionate about, what they’d like to see more of, what gifts they have to share,” said Tara Buchanan, one of the group’s members. “We then work with them to start initiatives that bring people with similar interests together.
“We’ve got 20 different groups on the go so far and we’re always looking for more opportunities to help out.”
Funded through a three-year $568,400 Grow grant from Ontario Trillium Foundation, Belonging Brant was formed in October 2020. The effort is supported by Community Living Brant.
Belonging Brant groups can focus on just about anything, said Buchanan.
She said the group was approached by a woman who enjoyed a craft called Diamond Dotz, which involves placing colorful sticky dots on fabric to create art.
“But she got tired of doing it by herself,” she said. “We helped her start her own group and it has become quite popular.”
Belonging Brant also supported establishment of an elders’ legacy project.
“A woman had a mentor who had dementia and she didn’t want her mentor’s memories to be lost,” said Buchanan. “So, she started collecting them.
“She started capturing those memories through the written word, stories and song. Now there are others collecting elders’ stories, as well. And the plan is bring them together in one final project.”
There are also walking, cooking and photography groups. It’s all about enhancing people’s experiences and sense of community, Buchanan said.
“In Burford, some people were feeling disconnected for a couple of reasons, including COVID-19,” she said. “They had also lost their (weekly) newspaper and they wanted to do something to bring back that sense of community.
“We helped them with some community meetings and now there are three different groups working on initiatives.”
She said the initiatives are a community hub, a Christmas pageant and a historical walking tour.
Buchanan and representatives of Belonging Brant were at Saturday’s official opening of the Preston Park playground in Brantford. To learn more about the program, visit www.belongingbrant.com/ .
Community Living Brant serves about 500 people with intellectual disabilities and their families in Brantford and Brant County. For more information, visit www.clbrant.com.
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