There are many ways to build a community, but how do you kill one? Doug Griffiths has a few ideas, 13 of them in fact, and was recently in Yorkton to share on the topic 13 Ways to Kill Your Community.
The project began when Griffiths was a teacher. He says that he would go into classes to share ways to be successful, but that kids were not responding to the message.
Having been told already that things like studying and staying off drugs were necessary to succeed, it was like telling them things they already knew.
"I changed my approached, and told them to imagine what it would be like to fail, and then to ask them how they would start today if that was their goal," Griffiths says.
The new direction brought with it more engagement from the students, as they realized how the decisions they were making in the present were going to affect their lives in the future. Griffiths noticed that the same logic applied to communities.
Those in charge of community plans had heard the many ways that a community could succeed, and were less engaged, but looking at the ways a community could fail commanded more attention.
"A lot of people opened their eyes and said 'well, we're doing that, so I guess we're killing our community.' The idea is that everybody has hopes, dreams and ambitions for a community, but often we make daily decisions that sabotage those ambitions," he notes.
One of the first ways Griffiths says a community can be killed is by having poor quality water. He says water is one of the essentials and if that water is poor quality, it tends to stifle the growth of a community.
He also notes that one of his favorite topics is not having businesses compete with each other.
Griffiths says that while businesses might not like competition, that is something which drives them to improve their price, selection, quality and service.
The competition, as a result, makes a community an attractive place for people outside of it to come to shop and do business, and keeps people spending money within the community.
In his visit to the city, Griffiths said that Yorkton is doing things right to build the city and get the community together. He also says the Gallagher Centre is a great focal point to bring people together, and he is also impressed by the city's youth and their initiative to hold a youth summit in the Yorkton.
"Everyone says the youth are our future, and that's garbage, the youth are today. They need to be involved now," he concludes.
