For my CSL (Community Service Learning) assignment as part of this course, I’m doing some work with the Nina Haggerty Centre, located at 9225 118 Ave. On Monday morning, I ventured over there for the first time, google map and notebook in hand.
On the bus from the Coliseum LRT station, I passed several pawn shops, a couple thrift stores, and in every shop window, a colourful sign reading:
We Believe in 118
Working together towards a safer community
I don’t know much about this part of town, mostly because it’s been designated as sketchy, risky, dangerous. 118th Ave. is where the prostitutes work, that’s all I know. That’s all I’ve been told. Nobody ever mentioned that I might also find “Mama Afro Beauty” across from the “Kasoa Tropical Food Market,” and nearby, an intriguing little place called “The Carrot Community Arts Coffeehouse,” which has bright canvases displayed in its front window. It’s closed, but I read the signs on the door, and find that they have open mic on Saturday nights and Thursday afternoons, as well as live music on Friday nights. I’ll be coming back here, I can already tell.
The Nina Haggerty Centre itself, far from being the hole in the wall that I had expected, given the area, has a brand new storefront with big, welcoming windows. Already, this is a place where I’m excited to be.
The Nina Haggerty Centre, under construction in this image, is now a beautifully finished building. Click the arrows to take a “walk” around the area.
Another thing I learned about the 118th Ave. area: it has a name. Alberta Avenue. That sounds like a part of the city we ought to be proud of. And I think that it really is going that way – I’ve never been in a neighbourhood where its residents are so visibly trying to make their part of town a better place – not just safer, but more vibrant. The arts community is growing there, and I wonder if, ten or twenty years down the road, Alberta Avenue might be comparable to Whyte.
I love that you should begin to so completely shatter your preconceptions of 118th ave and make the observations that you do because that has only just recently become the reality of the area (in the last 5 years). The community has really stepped up to clean up the avenue - and the pawn shops you spoke of are slowly being forced to close (2 have been shut down in the past year) and legit businesses are coming back to the area.
ReplyDeleteThe African community has really worked hard to keep the end of the avenue by the Nina center clean and they have truly set an example the past couple of years establishing flourishing businesses. There is also an Italian presence beginning to appear down the opposite direction and people are slowly reclaiming the streets.
After several years of an anti prostitution program the problem is nearly gone from the area and many of the slum houses and drug fronts have been closed or cleaned up thanx to active community effort.
Now that the festivals are actually drawing people to the ave and the parks are clean and school yards free of thugs people are actually walking their dogs and taking their children to the park again. The area is really coming back to life and starting to look like it did 30 years ago - a flourishing and mature interior.
We are slowly starting to change people's opinions about Alberta ave and it heartens me to hear that you've been able to see through some of the stereotypes and myths about it.