Table talks in the Honor Currie room at Medicine Hat Public Library following the showing of the documentary The Great Disconnect.--NEWS PHOTO SAMANTHA JOHNSON
reporter@medicinehatnews.com
The Great Disconnect, a documentary film exploring the importance of community connections in what is being called the age of isolation, sparked conversations closer to home following a screening at the Medicine Hat Public Library on Thursday.
Shantel Ottenbreit, who works with the City of Medicine Hat development department, is also part of the Neighbourhood Associations Group working to get community associations started within the city. Throughout the summer the group worked at supporting communities that were already meeting or having block parties.
“It’s going pretty well, we’ve started with some grassroots activities because we want to get out to where people are already meeting and encourage them to host block parties to see if they want to do something more regular and be more organized,” explained Ottenbreit. “We also have been meeting with some of our community partners to see what that looks like in each neighbourhood.
“How formal do they want to be? What kind of activities do they see? And what are the benefits they’d like to have out of that? Is it building and development in our area? Is it hosting different events that bring people in the neighbourhood together to meet one another?
“That’s where we are at, we’ve been in the starting phases and are hopeful that over the next year or so we are going to start seeing some of those be more formalized.”
The showing of The Great Disconnect was sponsored by Family and Community Support Services, the City of Medicine Hat Community Development Department and in partnership with Digital Wellness Coalition and What Matters to Hatters.
The Neighbourhood Associations Group meets about every two months and includes members from Alberta Health Services, Medicine Hat Local Immigration partnership, community foundations and school districts.
“A whole bunch of people are sitting on that group because we all see the value of people feeling connected into their neighbourhoods and getting to know their neighbours and having a say at what happens there,” said Ottenbreit.
If you would like to become involved or want more information, Ottenbreit can be contacted through the City of Medicine Hat website at https://www.medicinehat.ca/en/community-safety-and-support/community-associations.aspx, or email her at shaott@medicinehat.ca.
There are three more opportunities to view The Great Disconnect and engage in roundtable discussions following the film – Dec. 14 at the Esplanade with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. and the film starting at 7 p.m. Tickets are free, but seating must be reserved and can be accessed at tixx.ca. Jan. 14 from 1-4 p.m. at Medicine Hat High School, and the final showing will be Jan. 23 from 10 a.m. until noon at Medicine Hat College.
