Our Partnerships

Fairfield United Church has relationships with many people and organizations. And we are on the lookout for more! Depending upon their characteristics relationships vary. Partnerships are relationships where parties, known as partners, agree to cooperate and mutually support each other to advance their mutual interests. Fairfield United Church has many relationships and some deep, ongoing and exciting partnerships.

Here are a few of our partnerships:

Greater Victoria Acting Together (GVAT)

gvat_annual report.jpg

GVAT is a local broad-based community organizing effort bringing together groups from within civil society in Greater Victoria to tackle issues impacting our community. Fairfield United has been a member organization with Greater Victoria Acting Together (GVAT) for one year.

GVAT:  What is it? “
Greater Victoria Acting Together or GVAT is an alliance of unions, congregations, environmental, education and frontline service organizations. We understand the incredible power of civic organizations working together for the Common Good”

“ GVAT has 26 member organizations who have   pro-active, everyday people dedicated to finding common ground solutions for some of the toughest challenges facing Greater Victoria.“

How have we as a community benefited and participated as members of GVAT over the last year?  
Fairfield United’s Listening Team has conducted an internal listening campaign on Social Justice issues and reported these findings to our community. CLICK HERE to see the results of our listening to our Community. Rose Sylvester and Tricia Sanders have joined the GVAT Mental Health Action Research Team. The Listening Team held conversations with members of the congregation. From these conversations we shared with the Integration Team the hopes and desires for the purpose and design of our future worship space.

How members of Fairfield  become more informed and involved in GVAT?
We would welcome the opportunity to invite other members of our community to participate on these action research teams future training programs. We will be updating the community to engage your support  when action events and campaigns are planned. Perhaps you might want to join the new Climate Justice  Action  research team. 

How has GVAT helped us build relationships in the broader community?
For the past two years, members of the Listening Team have listened to the needs of the Fairfield community at the Fall Fair. The themes that were identified through this listening have been shared with the Fairfield Gonzales Community Centre.

If you would like to know more, please contact  any member of Fairifeld’s listening team. Linda Mulhall,  Donna McLellan, Bruce Lemire-Elmore, Beth Walker and Tricia Sanders.

In June of 2019, GVAT formed two Research Action Teams:

These teams   have been conducting expert interviews with leaders in our community to put together winnable action strategies to demonstrate the power we can bring to solving these problems with many voices acting Together.

What happened next?  GVAT is pleased to be holding its first Delegates Assembly was on Sunday   November 24-, from 2-4pm at the Edelweiss Club. We have 5 members of Fairfield’s Listening Team who have registered to participate as community representatives. Delegates from 26 member organizations will:

  1. Heard progress reports from our Action Research Teams on Affordable Housing and Mental Health and Addictions.

  2. We modify and vote to approve or disapprove proposed campaign proposals.

  3. Meet and network with GVAT members from other organizations, some very new.

  4. Sign up to join any of our action research team or our communications team.

  5. Heard about and join our new Climate Change Action Research Team.

If you have questions about how you might like to participate, learn more and /or attend this delegates assembly, please contact Tricia Sanders, patricialsanders@shaw.ca.

What happened next?  The Fairfield United congregation met and provided feed back to the two Research Action Teams:


An Update from GVAT: May 15, 2020

1. After success with the City of Victoria resolution formally asking the province to offer short and long term housing to all those without, GVAT is moving forward to ask the other 3 of the “Core 4” municipalities: Esquimalt, Oak Bay, and Saanich to do the same!

We are reaching out to mayors and councillors in Esquimalt, Oak Bay and Saanich to request that they join the move to provide long-term affordable housing options for all people in Greater Victoria, including those experiencing homelessness. Stay tuned in the coming weeks as this campaign continues! Your letters of support made a huge difference, and we will need them again soon!

2. GVAT and Industrial Areas Foundation Northwest Civic Academy, “Imagining a New Normal” June 4th, from 6:00-7:30 pm. 

Join us as lead organizers and regional leaders discuss how our social, economic, and environmental circumstances have changed with the COVID-19 pandemic, and how we can apply our shared values to ask for a new, more just, equitable, green, and inclusive society as we emerge from this crisis. More information with a Zoom link coming soon. Email chet@gvat.ca with any questions about this event.

3. GVAT has been invited by MP Laurel Collins as well as representatives of the BC Government to contribute written proposals for what we consider to be critical elements of a just and green recovery. Our 3 Action Research Teams have been tasked with developing proposals for both the provincial and federal stimulus packages. We’ve called a full Delegates Assembly for June 11th to vote on proposals to send on to our government representatives.

GVAT influencing the political process (May 27)

Watch Victoria NDP MP Laurel Collins address the issue of a just recovery in our area including the impact GVAT has had on the discussion of this issue and the move to work toward a better future for our region.

 

Recent GVAT Successes to Share (June 19)

1. City of Victoria Committee of the Whole approves “Alternative Response” motion

GVAT members sent in letters of support and on June 18th the City of Victoria Committee of the Whole unanimously approved a motion to a create mobile crisis response unit that does not include police to assist individuals suffering from mental health and addictions crises. This motion follows the recommendation of our Mental Health and Addictions Action Research Team and is inspired by the successful CAHOOTS model in Eugene, Oregon. Members of local government have highlighted to GVAT staff how important these letters were in the process of approving the motion!

2. GVAT Federal and Provincial Just and Green Recovery Input

A team of committed volunteers from our ARTS teams has worked tirelessly alongside GVAT staff to prepare final versions of our stimulus plan proposals after their approval at the GVAT Delegates Assembly on June 11th. The next step involves a team of leads from our three ARTs, led by Housing ART co-lead and legislation expert Lynn Beak, that will analyze the jurisdiction of each proposal in order to split them between Federal and Provincial efforts.

 

GVAT Member Tricia Sanders shares her experience

How has being a member of GVAT strengthened and benefitted Fairfield United?

Education/Training: As a community, we have benefited from the training and education opportunities offered. All five members of our GVAT Core Team have attended education offered to identify and support emerging leaders within the context of the IAF model of broad-based community organizing. ‘ 

Community Building: In our negotiations with Victoria city council to accept our proposed building plans for a new community church space at Fairfield and Moss, our membership within GVAT was positively recognized by the city councillors as a reflection of our community’s serious intentions to be an inclusive active neighbourhood faith community.  

Listening: We were able to implement and enhance our “listening “ skills as a community through our initiation of a “listening tent” at the Fairfield United community fair for two years in the fall. Focused listening cycles in our church, helped our core team confidently share our listening with GVAT and participate in the Mental Health Action Research team.  

Acting Together: We have been participants in all delegates assemblies and strategy team meetings. The ongoing dialogue between GVAT and our community has allowed us to participate actively in policy development locally, provincially and federally.

Highlights of 2020: GVAT Annual Report

Our Action Research Teams (ARTS) launched campaigns on ending homelessness, affordable housing for everyone, improving mental health care, and protecting old growth forests and the carbon they sequester!

Click HERE to read the full Annual Report.