Welcome to Bridges Peterborough
We are ordinary citizens, passionate about challenging current ways of addressing poverty.
We question the way resources are allocated.
We question the power and advice of “poverty professionals”.
We are changing the conversation about poverty and privilege by making concrete differences in people’s lives.
Bridges Peterborough is a series of emerging social innovations
that have been and are being created to enhance opportunities for the
broader community engagement, connection and awareness.
Responding to rising levels of poverty levels, increasing precarity in employment, rising opioid addictions, and a lack in housing that is unaffordable, Bridges Peterborough believes that local people and community can help manage these issues by building relationships with each other, sharing resources, leveraging assets, and ending stigma.
By creating humble yet vital group initiatives like Neighbours Network, Bridging Teams, the Ambassador Program and social enterprises such as the Company of Conversation Changers, we’re aiming to pilot a different and sociocratic-like Model through Bridges Peterborough that is based in community connection, social innovation, and the international anti-poverty framework, Bridges Out of Poverty.
With a vision of changing the conversation around poverty, the scaling-out of this Model brings together volunteers from middle- and upper-income groups or resourced-citizens, to work in solidarity with those living on lower incomes or under-resourced citizens, to grow relationships, decrease social isolation, and increase prosperity opportunities.
Recognizing that poverty is more complex than economic status, our model's vision is to equip people with new relationships and resources that increase social and economic participation in the community, resulting in increased family and community stability and societal change in how we view poverty.
A Bridging Team is a group of connected people, some of whom are under-resourced individuals living in poverty in Peterborough who journey with trained resourced mentors, learning from one another towards a more stable life.
The Bridging Team Model is working towards a vision of changing the conversation about poverty by bringing together volunteers from middle- and upper-income groups to work in solidarity with those living on lower incomes.
Bridging Teams are a gathering of under-resourced participants with middle-income mentors who are learning to become allies. Our allies learn how to support these under-resourced individuals who are working hard to stabilize their lives.
Testimonials
“…allowed me to find a career direction after many years of uncertainty. Now I can move toward a new goal”
“…wonderful sense of belonging”
“…feeling very good about myself and my life”
“…helped me see the strength in myself…more self-confidence with speaking in pubic, self-esteem, leadership roles, and having fun”
“…the possibility of a world where everyone is heard, everyone is part of what we’re creating, and no one is left out”
“I am less judgmental, and I am in awe of how resourceful these awesome people are.”