Pauline McGregor says she started a walking group and a community garden in the Madison Square neighborhood, but went to the Grand Rapids Neighborhood Summit this year to start something else.
“We don’t have a neighborhood association anymore and I’d really like to see that start again. So, maybe I can find the right person to talk with to figure out how we can get that going again.”
It’s that level of engagement that inspired Mayor Rosalynn Bliss to start the summit three years ago.
“People care about their neighborhoods. And there’s opportunities to look at how we can strengthen them and bring people together.”
But it is also their voices that command the changes from year to year.
“I think moving it to a Saturday this year and then also embedding the childcare into the day, helped a ton.”
It isn’t just the logistics of the event that are based on neighbor’s needs. Stacy Stout, Assistant to the city manager, is in charge of organizing the event and says this year’s conference was based on what those who attended last year wrote on their evaluations.
“Because, resident voice and power and racial equity were key themes, from the participants last year, we created it in a way that empowers residents, because honestly, they run the city.”
That empowerment is also why Stout and others in the city brought Gyasi Ross a TV and Radio commentator from the Blackfeet Nation to speak about communities taking hold of their narrative when facing government.
“Go to those elected official’s meetings and say: look, I respect your position. And just as importantly, I respect your pocketbook. We know the solutions locally. Come to us, let’s have a conversation. This is how we get stuff done in Grand Rapids.”
The city is giving out small grants to neighbors and neighborhood associations precisely to get things done.