Hidden Tapestry Project

Make your submissions for the Hidden Tapestry Project. To find out more visit the Project website.

Mural Project

Each community is made up of a unique fabric that displays its personality and character. For some neighbourhoods however, that fabric appears to be nothing but a holey rag, too hard to mend. “Tear it up and start over again! There’s nothing worth keeping in this patch work.” The community is seen as disposable and not worth the effort of maintaining.
But it only takes one person who decides to take a closer look at the squares in the blanket to realize that there’s a hidden tapestry. When they pull back the threads they notice that there is something truly unique about its colours and textures. The holey rag is actually a beautiful textile made up of history, beauty, character and life. Though on the surface it appears to be hopeless and disheveled, when you bring it to the light there is something much more.
The Queenston Street neighbourhood is something like this blanket. Queenston has been labeled by some as disposable and not worth maintaining: “Bull-doze it down and start again.” However, when you actually take the time to get to know it you realize that there is a lot more then what meets the eye- there’s a hidden tapestry.
What would it look like if we painted this tapestry on some of the walls of your community? What if we brought to light some of the strengths of this community? What would you paint on the walls of your community if you could? What would you want to show to the world about Queenston? What would make up your hidden tapestry? Post your thoughts.

Huge Success

If you did not come to the Harvest Festival on Saturday, you missed out on a fabulous community event. With hundreds of people passing through Centennial Park,the Queenston Street neighbourhood felt a sense of community pride that hasn't been felt in recent memory.
There was a buzz around the park with a bouncy slide for the kids, a cheerful clown, craft vendors and music, a basic bike repair station and $2 meal deal barbeque. There was no shortage of entertainment and delight in the park and it truly did have a Harvest Festival flavour throughout the day.
One of the greatest successes of the day was the basic act of bringing people into Centennial Park. Countless people mentioned how they had never been down in that park before and how it was "the Central Park of St. Catharines". There was a great vibe in the park that had people talking.
Please take a look at some of the comments that were gathered from the event. Click Here to see the comments and suggestions.
Use the comment tool on this blog to add your own suggestions or to comment on what was said at the festival.

Harvest Festival

The Queenston Street Community is having a Harvest Festival to celebrate our neighbourhood, the good things that are coming from it and to restart time in Centenial Park. Taking place at Centennial Park (off Oakdale Ave)the Festival will host various groups from the community, both agencies and businesses. Come enjoy the BBQ, activities for the kids, music and best of all Community. The Festival will start at 11:00 a.m. and will go till 4 p.m.

Voter's Guide

Place your vote on October 25th. Learn more in this guide.
(Enlarge the image to read text clearly by clicking on the box beside the black "Slide 1/14")

No Grocery Store

In my conversations with Queenston Street residence there is one thing that comes up over and over again- a grocery store. The Queenston Street neighbourhood has few options when it comes to buying their food. The closest full grocery store is the Food Basics on Harzel Road. If you are walking it takes 30 minutes to get from the hospital to the grocery store. Thankfully there is a bus route that goes down Queenston to Hartzel, but if you have ever taken the bus you know the frustrations of lugging more then one thing onto the bus, never mind your groceries.

Does Queenston Street need a closer and more accessible grocery store? What makes Queenston a prime location for a grocery store? What kind of grocery store would you like? A market? Fresh produce? Give us your thoughts.

What would you put in place of the hospital?

Yesterday I stood in front of the hospital with my flip-chart. Talking to over 50 men and women passing by, I asked a simple question: "If it was up to you, what would you put in place of the hospital?" We all know that the hospital is shutting down in the next few years and that it is going to be redeveloped. These were the suggestions of those who stopped to offer their opinion.

• 16 + votes: Old-age home/Senior residence
• 16+ votes: Low-cost housing/Affordable housing
• 6+ votes: Health Care facility
• 6+ votes: Community Centre
• 5+ votes: Long-term care facility
• 3+ votes: Something for cancer patients and their care givers
• 3+ votes: New Hospital
• 3+ votes: Water park/pool
• 2+ votes: Grocery Store
• 2+ votes: Children Facilities- support centre, counselling etc.
• 2+ votes: Employment Centre
• 2+ votes: Park: Rehab centre
• 2+ votes: Urgent care facilities
• Apartments
• Teaching hospital
• Paintball field
• Hospice
• Housing for those with disabilities
• Condos

What do you think? If you were given a huge patch of bare land in the middle of the Queenston community, what would you build there? No limits, no budget. What would you add to your community? Make your vote or add to the list.

Greater St. Catharines Community Health Centre

I wanted to pass on news about a very exciting initiative that is happening within the Queenston community. The Greater St. Catharines Community Health Centre is beginning to establish its roots in the Queenston neighbourhood by setting up its office on Queenston Street and having a community nurse available to the public at Start Me Up Niagara every Tuesday between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Check out GSCHC's website for all the details of who they are and where they want to go within the Queenston community. This holistic health centre is going to be a big asset to the community.

Women4Women Sharing Circle

This afternoon I had the pleasure of visiting a group of four Queenston residence that meet on a weekly basis for a sharing circle. The sharing cirlce, always changing in size, is a safe place for women to come and talk about whatever is on their mind and have a cicle of friends who are there to support and encourage them on their journey in life.
The sharing circle is an extension of Women4Women, a weekly drop-in for the women of Queenston Street. When I heard about the sharing circle, I decided it was a great opportunity to get the perspectives of those who live in Queenston and those who are passionate about their community. Here are their responses to the same questions that were during the meeting on the street. Please add your thoughts and comments and contribute to this community conversation.

Q. What do you like/dislike about the Queenston neighbourhood?
*bolded text indicates points that were also mentioned during the "Meeting on the Street"
Like:

• churches (Westview, Church of the Ressurection, Church of all Nations, Westminster)
• Foot Clinic on the corner of Queenston and Tasker hands out free food
• Community Garden in Centennial Park
• Ozanem: cheap lunch

Dislike:

• poor signage on Barryman for trian
• traffic on Barryman and all side streets between Queenston and Welland Ave.
• Community garden frequently is stolen from- participants would like to have signs posted, reminding passer-bys that the plots are paid for and are not open to the public
• Drug dealers
• Queenchester Terrace residence are not cared for
• Welcome Wagon does not service this area
• Police do not respond to calls unless they are an immediate emergency
• Garbage on the streets
• Haynes Street Park is not taken care of
• No parking at Start Me Up
• Prostitution on Gale Cres.
• Stigma attached to Queenston
• Absentee Land lords

What has kept you in Queenston?

• Finances
• Women4Women
• family
• Connaught School and Kernahan Park School
• Children's Clinic at the hospital for kids with mental illness

What suggestions do you have to make Queenston a better place to be?

• Community Centre: safe, clean place to hang out, without stigma
• Homes for run-a-way kids: Block Parents
• Neighbourhood watch
• Take empty lots and turn them into community gardens
• Grocery Store/market
• Co-op: volunteer and you get discount on items
• Free laundry mat and showers for those on the street
• Instead of giving hand outs, have marginalized population do work in exchange for basic needs such as food and shelter- give them ownership and pride in their achievments
• Street clean-ups
• Cigarette butt pales
• Family friendly playgrounds; pool
• small library
• Benches at the bus stops and on the streets
• Basic computer skills training
• Green space
• Home visits for social/friendship support

Do you like the direction Queenston is going? Explain.

• With the hospital leaving, many services are leaving
• Need to have landlords that actually live in the neighbourhood
• Businesses are undesirable: we need to be more picky with what comes into the community
• Unsure about mixing the economic levels with new developments
• Excited about mixing the economic levels

What has been the best thing that has happened to you since your involvement with Women4Women?

• Actually seen as a somebody
• Positive self-image
• Positive Friends
• Acceptance
• Church family
• Being able to help other people
• Being able to stretch the budget
• Learning how to deal with other types of personalities.

Meeting on the street: Question #3

Thanks to all who participated in our street discussion today. There was a great response and some great suggestions. Below are all the recorded answers to the question: "Do you like the direction the Queenston community is going?" The answers posted are not all shared by Common Space. However, every response is valued and appreciated. Please read through the responses and add your comments or thoughts about what those on the street had to say.

Do you like the direction the Queenston community is going?

*bolded texts are comments that were repeated by many participants

• The hospital needs to stay
• The plans to bring residential development into hospital location would improve neighbourhood
• More shops would attract more people
• More low-income housing will be a plus for the community but you need to make sure there are support systems in place
• The community is going the direction of Detroit with bars on the windows
• The Plazas and big box stores have taken over the small businesses and will continue to do so
• Need to start meeting people on the street- meet people where they are
• This community can't get any lower than what it is now

Do you agree with what has been said? Let us know and leave a comment.

Please read the right side panel to learn how to leave a comment.

Meeting on the Street: Question #2

Thanks to all who participated in our street discussion today. There was a great response and some great suggestions. Below are all the recorded answers to the question: "What are your suggestions for how this community could be improved?" The answers posted are not all shared by Common Space. However, every response is valued and appreciated. Please read through the responses and add your comments or thoughts about what those on the street had to say.

What are your suggestions for how this community could be improved?

*bolded texts are comments that were repeated by many participants

• More security
• More social services
• Garbage cleanup: have it as part of community service hours
• More garbage cans
• Perception of the community needs to be changed
• Give respect to businesses and forget their past history- let them start fresh
• Community Watch Program
• Have people intentionally look out for the community
• Keep the Employment Help Centre- major loss to have it go
• Railroad tracks need to be improved
• More social services should do the Adopt a Street program to keep the streets clean
• "too many people, too few jobs"
• More jobs: anything that will employ people- cooking, dish washing, roofing
• Bike lanes that are actually used
• More patrol of the streets
• Churches need to be playing more of a role in the community
• Keep businesses in the community
• When you take the businesses out of a community, you take away it's character
• Hire local people for local jobs
• Bring in a grocery store
• In the hospital location, put in a drug and rehab center that will help individuals within the community.
• In the hospital location, have a shelter for the homeless
• Have a place for people to go where they can be themselves and not have to conform
• Prevention centre
• Cheaper rent, better housing
• More food banks
• Keep the hospital
• Have social services and government on the street and interacting with the people
• No more surveys
• Get rid of the sex-trade workers and drugs
• More affordable housing
• The government needs to start taking a lead on reviving this community
• Teach people how to budget
• Get more people involved in helping
• Need more drug counselors
• Crack down on the drug houses: hard for recovering addicts to recover when it is everywhere you go
• More shops need to be started to attract more people
• Support systems for low-income housing

Do you agree with what was said? Share your thoughts and leave a comment.'

Please read the right panel for instructions on how to leave a comment.

Meeting on the street: Question #1

Thanks to all who participated in our street discussion today. There was a great response and some great suggestions. Below are all the recorded answers to the question: "What do you like/dislike about the Queenston community?"
The answers posted are not all shared by Common Space. However, every response is valued and appreciated. Please read through the responses and add your comments or thoughts about what those on the street had to say.

What do you like/dislike about the Queenston Community?

*bolded texts are comments that were repeated by many participants

Like:

• Tim Hortons
• Fortis Restaurant
• "people are who they are."
• convenient location/ central location
• The people are great
• Good bus drivers
• The Hospital
• Nature & Gardens
• "Element of surprise and character"
• Different cultures/lifestyles
• Good bus routes
• "St. Catharines is the most beautiful place I've seen."
• People have no prejudice
• People are beginning to take pride in their homes and starting to make improvements
• Social agencies are centrally located

Dislike:

• Liars: "you can't trust anyone in this community"
• Street lights are not synchronized
• A lot of traffic
• People are not paying attention to cars
• Many empty businesses on the street
• Not enough politeness from youth
• Traffic restrictions on Barryman
• Smokers on the sidewalks outside of the hospitals
• Garbage on the streets
• Don't feel safe
• Drugs & Sex-trade workers
• Bad reputation that the community has
• People don't take time to get to know the community and it's members
• Break-ins
• Pan-handlers
• Poor housing
• No health inspections- 8 Church Street
• Slum-land-lords

Do you agree with what has been said? Leave your comments and thoughts.

Please read the instructions on the right panel for how to leave comments.

"Meeting on the Street"

Keep your eyes open for a large flip chart and two facilitators walking the streets of the Queenston neighbourhood on Tuesday, July 27th from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Looking to engage residents in a community discussion, Suzanne Veenstra, Community Animator with the Niagara Prosperity Initiative, will be walking the streets looking for willing participants. Asking questions of pedestrians, Suzanne will record the answers gathered on the street and then post them here, on Common Space. You are welcome to add or comment to the discussion on Common Space.
Stay tuned for the results from the "Meeting on the Street."

What draws people to the Queenston Community?

What drew you to live or work in the Queenston neighbourhood? What do you like about it? What don't you like about it? What makes Queenston different from other communities in Niagara? Post your thoughts.

Welcome.

Welcome to Common Space. This blog has been created to start conversation about the community and neighbours of the Queenston area. Posts will be added on a monthly bases, providing a space for you to add your comments, thoughts or questions about the topic presented. Please use this "Common Space" to engage with your community and participate in making your community a better place to live.