Impact Story: Meet Dianne
Dianne has lived in the Downtown Eastside for over 20 years. A grandmother of one, and soon to be two, Dianne comes from a large family. She appreciates living in a central area where she can visit family members easily.
“I am not a person that sits around, so [I appreciate] getting out of my place so I can be accessible to provide this, being the liaison between my community members and work or volunteer in available projects that might be around”
Dianne heard about the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House through a tech café she was involved in. Tech cafés offer residents of the Downtown Eastside assistance with any issues they may have with electronic devices, such as phones and email. The individuals at the tech café involved Dianne in a Community Capacity Course through Simon Fraser University, a nine month course giving residents the skills to either start or contribute to projects in their community. After gaining those skills, she was driven to continue her participation in the community by joining the Let’s Speak Up group at the Neighbourhood House. Let’s Speak Up brings Downtown Eastside residents together to voice their opinions on important projects in the area.
“I understood it to be a project that’s teaching us how to involve community members in the focus of how to keep our community going forward and finding out what the needs are in our community first.”
Recently, as part of the Let’s Speak Up program, Dianne assisted in running interviews to understand the changes in needs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. She advocates for the basic needs of housing, lack of technology, whether it be knowledge of or access to hot spots, and the need for bases. Many of our community members rely on bases, such as the Neighbourhood House, to provide access to new information, updates on changing COVID-19 regulations, and opportunities to involve themselves in activities.
“We all need social access [and] similar goals that we are trying to meet. We have an aim to involve more community members because without them, we don’t have the ideas flowing.”
Dianne’s favourite part about the Neighbourhood House is being able to surround herself with those who share a common goal. She is thankful that those around her are willing to listen to one another’s opinions. She also understands the importance of community members who are able to reach out, get involved, and share the needs of their neighbours as this is what helps drive change. To take part in the Let’s Speak Up program, all you need is to live in the community and have a desire to have your voice heard.
“I am pretty grateful for all of these groups downtown that are open to having myself and willing to accept you as who you are and the fact that you represent somebody important, that we are all one [and] are not alone.”