Community Perspectives of Aurora’s Social Networks

Among the unhoused residents and the organizations advocating for and allying with these residents that I encountered, the emphasis on social connections and networks are the most prevalent mechanisms of community building.  This is different from the other groups of housing tenure that I spoke with, most of which neglected to include social relationships in their perspective on community.  Among the motel managers I interviewed there is a perception that the residents of their motels—many of whom are long-term or regular residents staying in the motels for several days or a week a month—definitely make up their own community.  Given that many of Aurora’s motel residents do struggle with addiction, mental health issues and other circumstances that may destabilize their lives in some way, a community built around relationships and social bonds can provide a very powerful support network.

Photo courtesy of Josh Longbrake

According to one hotel manager who has lived in the Aurora area for four years, there is always a sense of community at her motel because “human beings make connections when set in one spot”.  As the manager, she sees people sharing resources with one another, being supportive and knowing each other.  This type of community is showcased in numerous ways, including people helping one another with their pets, assisting in addiction recovery by supporting attendance at meetings, and providing one another with food and clothes. She noted that people are “pretty protective of one another” so that she always feels “I have someone looking out for me”.  Her experiences on and with Aurora clearly illustrate the strength of a community that relies so heavily on personal connections.  Additionally, the Georgian Motel and the Sun Hill Motel have hosted summer barbeques to bring residents together for a meal and socialization.  These events have been quite successful and although they are open to all residents of the surrounding neighborhoods, none of the renters or homeowners encountered in this research had ever attended one.

Beth, a young woman who is working to get her “life back on track” and has spent time hanging out around Aurora, believes that, while there is a lot of negativity surrounding Aurora, “it can be positive if you make it positive,” which she has done by “actually feeling people out, talking” which cultivates a sense of community and support.  This community is also one that is hard to find elsewhere for those who belong to it.  One man who had been unhoused on Aurora was placed in an apartment in Ballard, but chose to move back to Aurora, sleeping behind the Aurora Grocery because his community was there.  After his move, he claimed he may have stayed in his apartment had people come to visit him, illustrating the importance of the social connections on which his community was built.

More recently, formal community building mechanisms that focus on fostering social connections as a way to strengthen Aurora’s community have begun to arise.  These formal mechanisms being carried out by community organizations and local churches, value the existing social relationships and connections present among the unhoused and hope to further foster them, as well as eradicate and remove some of the barriers that may exist between community members of all backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses.

Spearheading this is the Aurora Commons, a community organization that focuses on building relationships and providing resources, as well as a safe, relaxing space for anyone in the neighborhood.  Since opening in March 2011, the Commons offers classes and weekly neighborhood walks, organizes fundraisers, runs a community garden, hosts a weekly women’s breakfast and provides a space for socialization and gathering.  One of the goals of the Commons is to bring residents from all socioeconomic backgrounds together, which they have accomplished through the classes that they offer and a weekly barbeque they host in the summer.  At these events there is generally little separation between the unhoused residents, renters and homeowners, and they serve as a total community get-together, rather than a charitable “feed,” which reduce the distinctions between the attendees.

Bethany Community Church, a congregation of about 3,000 located in the Greenlake neighborhood within a block of Aurora Avenue, is also working to provide services and resources to those in need on Aurora, and to “be loving neighbors and get to know each other better”.  While hunger is not seen as a serious problem for many on Aurora, Bethany hosts a monthly community dinner that is open to all as a way to bring people together in hopes of “bridging the gap between the people on and around Aurora and the congregation”.  Like those running the Aurora Commons, Oswald, the Director of Missions and Outreach, stressed that “walking down the street, smiling, knowing each other,” is more important than beautification projects .