Shared values and intentions can cultivate diversity and safety
When he walks onto these grounds, Brian Hogan experiences a sense of peace. He isn’t sure why exactly but suddenly he feels more open, grounded, and relaxed. When he imagines Providence Village as it might be in a few years he envisions a place of blue sky and greenery, a place of peace and tranquility.
“I respect the Sisters [of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul] very much, and this cause. That they have a vision of transforming the lands they have into a community hub is remarkable,” he says.
“It has been clear to me that the legacy of the Sisters is particularly important for this community. They’ve built a reputation that is second to none through the assistance and support they’ve provided.”
People helping people is the point of this community hub to be.
“Whatever we are going to do and put in place we have to always remember we are doing this to continue the legacy of the Sisters and always preserve their values.”
The Village will include a variety of organizations who provide care and community to people who are vulnerable. Brian envisions a place where people feel supported and safe. He sees a range of recreational and cultural activities in which people feel part of a community and are nourished by it.
As board chair, he has seen the conceptual drawings and the master planning. He says it is hard, as yet, to know exactly what the village will look like.
Hospice Kingston has worked long and hard at the design of their new building and doing the work needed to get things started. Brian looks forward, with great anticipation, to seeing the results of that hard work and what he knows will be a beautiful new home for Hospice Kingston as part of Providence Village.
He can envision Providence Manor being built on the grounds. He anticipates discussions and negotiations with as many as a dozen potential partners who also want to shape this place together.
And that is where some interesting work is to be done.
There needs to be consistency in values and intention amidst the diversity. Hospice Kingston is to be a place for people who are dying. There will need to be peace and serenity to serve their mission. In the meantime, there may be spaces for people recovering from addictions. There might be a space for youth. There will be long-term care. Ideally, affordable housing. In this village, there will be a need to balance and honour different energies and activities. Peace. Security. Healing. Recreation. Fun. All of the above.
Brian Hogan, Board Chair
Brian believes this can be achieved by learning from the Sisters’ way of communicating and relating to people so consistently out of their values.
Brian recalls his time with Providence Care, also a legacy of the Sisters. There he saw how three organizations with different mandates were brought together by the values of respect, dignity, and compassion. He says these values were brought forward at the beginning of every meeting. He saw them invoked in every conversation from care to staff discipline.
“It was the same message all the way through. Everyone got the same message and adhered to the same principles,” he says.
He feels the legacy of the Sisters will be a guiding light too.
“Whatever we are going to do and put in place we have to always remember we are doing this to continue the legacy of the Sisters and always preserve their values.”
Providence Village has adopted Hope, Belonging, and Wellbeing as guiding aims for its formation and fruition.
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