South Madison residents identify need for neighborhood centers to share skills and ideas

At the fifth of six community conversations on the importance of community centers, South Madison residents emphasized the importance of creating a space for sharing ideas and skills.

Held at the Goodman South Madison library, the meeting was organized by the City of Madison Neighborhood Resource Team for Community Development to gain input from residents on the importance and role of community centers.

“We want residents to tell us what they hope to gain from community centers so that we can determine how to fund and distribute them in neighborhoods,” said facilitator, Mary O’Donnell. 

The information gathered from the meeting and others like it around the city will be used to draft a report outlining general concerns regarding current and proposed neighborhood centers.

Turnout for the meetings has ranged from forty-two to seven attendees.  The South Madison meeting saw a small (but vocal) turnout of seven.

O’Donnell and Lorri Wendorf-Corrigan from the City of Madison Neighborhood Resource Team for Community Development directed the conversation. Nancy Rodriguez, a translator from the same team, was available for residents needing Spanish translation. 

The format followed prior meetings by asking residents three main questions:

1. What things do you and your family need from a neighborhood center?
2. What difference does a neighborhood center make in a community?
3. Does it matter where the center is located?

Each question was posed individually to the group and then discussed.  Wendorf-Corrigan wrote down responses as they were brought up, and hung them on large pieces of paper around the room. 

After all three questions has been addressed, attendees placed dots on the ideas they would most like to see come to fruition, particularly with respect to the first question of what they would like to see in a community center.

A “place to share knowledge, ideas, skills, and gain these from other people” was the most popular idea selected.  Other top choices included a “free large event space,” “kitchen space,” “after school activity space,” “space for senior activities during the day,” and a “place to provide information or link to information that one needs.”

In responding to the second question of what difference a neighborhood center makes in a community, residents spoke about the benefits of having neighborhood centers foster a community atmosphere that provides a safe environment for neighbors to interact and collaborate.  They said that neighborhood centers give the neighborhood an identity and a space where they can focus on the specific needs of their community.

In response to the question of whether or not location matters, attendees agreed that accessibility of centers is important, and that the needs of the community must be factored in when determining the location of neighborhood centers.

The report outlining these and other suggestions from neighborhood meetings across the city will be released in mid-May.