Livability Academy

The Livability Academy is a training opportunity and leadership incubator for community members to build skills, knowledge, and relationships as they work to improve quality of life in our neighborhoods. Residents and stakeholders are invited to participate in this eight-week course (held every spring and fall) where they design and implement innovative solutions to community concerns, drawing on their own expertise in our neighborhoods.

During this 32-hour training, participants engage in lessons and activities on topics ranging from crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) and SafeGrowth, to data collection, communication and storytelling, fundraising, and building community partnerships. Using inclusive organizing techniques and consensus decision making practices, team members start by building a collective history of our community and identifying a shared vision for our future, and end the program by presenting a short-term project and long-term vision to the community and potential partners and sponsors.

With technical support from HACE and financial assistance from our generous funders, participants are able to implement the projects they develop during this course, and continue building off this success long after the course has concluded.

Past Livability Academy projects include a team working to address food access by planting a community garden and partnering with small business owners to increase the availability of fresh produce; a group of residents focused on safety and beautification along Gurney Street collaborating on the physical transformation of that street; and an intergenerational team of women bringing toiletries, relaxing treatments, and referral services to people experiencing homelessness through a pop-up shop event.

Interested in participating in the Livability Academy? We’re looking for people who are:

• High school age or older
• Able to commit 4-5 hours each week to the program on Zoom or in-person
• Living or working in, and familiar with the Fairhill, Kensington, or St. Hugh neighborhoods
• Excited about working with others to make a difference in our community!

Does this sound like you? Register for the Spring 2022 session (April 02 – June 11) here: https://tinyurl.com/LIVABILITY2022