A Student Perspective on RECOVER’s Changemaking
This is a post from Emma Ash, a student intern with RECOVER Urban Wellbeing. She is supporting the Auricle prototype.
One restful Sunday afternoon I sat on my bed, indulging in ice cream and a video game. My roommate/sibling lay cat-napping in their bedroom; the cat and dog were doing the same elsewhere. Mid-scoop, I hear a hard couple of angry knocks on the door. I was getting dressed to answer it when the next set of loud bangs kicked me into drive.
I was hesitant to answer the door -- there was genuine anger behind those knocks! Who could be so mad? As it turned out, it was my downstairs neighbour. I could tell when they began screaming, “All I hear are elephant steps, day after day! Stamp! Stamp! Stamp! I am going to call the cops! Pack up your things!” My neighbour had approached me less aggressively in the past: both face-to-face and indirectly through what we suspect to be a broomstick on their ceiling/our floor.
My sibling and I remain adamant that the noise we make is unavoidable and a necessary, nevertheless unfortunate, aspect of apartment living. Our neighbour feels differently. There is still no resolution to the conflict. I am an anxious and avoidant person, and so is my sibling. The community-driven theory I sought at school had not yet helped navigate such a community conflict. And now we feel less welcome and comfortable in our home; fortunately, we are planning to move out soon anyway. Why deal with the conflict when we are moving?
This snippet of my life, my (dis)connection to community, and my wellbeing, exists within a greater story. It is a “micro-narrative” within my life story, but it is certainly not an all-encompassing view. And while I can’t give my whole story, I will say that the above narrative is on my mind, especially within the greater context of my everyday life.
As a MacEwan student, I learn how to exist in professional settings, how to organize and manage my time. I learn history, theory, and methodology. Still, I’ve struggled to imagine real changemaking innovation (policies, practices, cultural shifts, etc.) applied practically. It is a privileged position to occupy.
During my summer internship with RECOVER: Urban Wellbeing, it was my first opportunity to place myself and my smaller, everyday experiences within the greater context of social issues, innovations, and changes happening locally and in real-time. Finally, I was experiencing the application of community-based lessons and values often in discussion. Lip service is easy. Walking the talk is not. Auricle is one of RECOVER’s prototypes of which I am part that is seemingly walking the talk.
“What else is it that makes RECOVER’s community work feel different?”
What else is it that makes RECOVER’s community work feel different? At a more individual level, I experience folks on the RECOVER team who do their best to practice what they preach. Our team structure, interactions, and functioning seem to reflect a hope to catalyze team members’ wellbeing through their work. Importantly, applying the knowledge and values to work is a practice! And it is one often prevented by dominant narratives, or more simply, the status quo.
I am discovering that it is not simply a matter of finding a space to apply what I learn practically. Just because my 9-5 is community-based work, that does not mean that I experience a connection to my community. Practical application, I guess, is not the end-all, be-all. I suspect I am not alone in this experience. Perhaps it's why so many changemaking ideas fail to become mainstream: the personal side is so impactful.
I want to learn how to connect better with my community. But I have long dreaded socializing with strangers or acquaintances. The dread is much worse when conflict is involved. The dread likely explains, in part, why I have felt alienated from my local community. Notably, the conflict and my dread exist within my bigger story - one too far-reaching for here, but essential nonetheless. All this to say, it seems there is a disconnect between what I learn and value and how I act in my private life. And this disconnection requires my attention.
I want to suggest that some of the most meaningful change comes from the work we do within ourselves, to the best of our varying abilities. At the heart of my advocacy, I suspect, is my capacity to feel and communicate empathy, compassion, patience, and understanding. It is an intentional practice. It is the work that makes small interactions, like the one with my neighbour, more positive on my quality of life. And this work, the movement toward feeling well, is my most private and personal.
While minuscule in scale, fostering our wellbeing is still holistic. I need my loved ones for support. My loved ones need support to provide it. I need my neighbour to navigate our tension. What might my neighbour need, too? And I also need community support and resources to have the capacity to handle conflict well.
“So, maybe our best chance at making the meaningful change we desire is by doing what we can within ourselves.”
So, maybe our best chance at making the meaningful change we desire is by doing what we can within ourselves. Pursuing our wellbeing would provide us with a genuine understanding of what wellbeing looks and feels like. I’ve started to consider what it feels like for me to feel content, happiness, fulfillment, purpose, and connection. I’ve been exploring what I do to feel that. I’ve been wondering what may be preventing me from feeling that more often. And I invite you to start to think about those things, too.
Suppose we understand our own wellbeing intimately. In that case, we may realize the injustice of those who face immense barriers to understanding and experiencing theirs. We may have the capacity to explore what feeling good, having a sense of purpose, and finding connections look like for a diverse community.
Author, artist, and professor Dr. Shawn Ginwright said it well when he stated, “adults need healing too.” The multi-faceted professor focuses primarily on youth who navigate poverty, inequality, and injustice, pointing to the meaning behind his quote. Ginwright suggests that to help our young people, adults also have to heal; our most courageous action toward justice is through a compassionate tending to our wellbeing(s).
If you are interested in learning more about Dr. Shawn Ginwright’s healing centered approach, feel free to read this article: The Future of Healing: Shifting from Trauma Informed Care to Healing Centered Engagement.