Author(s): Shauna MacKinnon
View Publication

The 2012 State of the Inner City Report is titled Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges. We called it this because we believe it captures the essence of the two chapters included this year. The first chapter, titled Who’s Accountable to the Community?, speaks to concerns raised by our community partners that the current approach taken by governments and other funders often disregards what is most important—whether or not those in receipt of services feel that they are getting the supports that they need. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a forum for the Executive Directors of community-based organizations (CBOs) who believe that governments and other funding agencies should be more accountable to the community being served just as CBOS must be accountable to funders. This ‘two way street’ is not always easy to achieve, but is necessary if we are to move forward in a manner that best benefits those we aim to serve. Breaking barriers and building bridges is also the dominant theme in our second chapter, titled Fixing our Divided City. Like most cities, Winnipeg is in many ways divided. The divide is not always intentional. It is sometimes simply the result of our not taking the time to talk to one another.



Grant: Partnering for Change: Community-Based Solutions for Aboriginal and Inner-City Poverty - 2012-2019
Category: Education, Training, and Capacity Building