A resident-led initiative in Montreal’s Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhood is helping break the ice between neighbours and turn them into friends.

Jenny Donovan and her husband, Andy Froncioni, had an idea to connect with the people living around them and build stronger relationships in the neighbourhood. What started as a simple way for neighbours to meet is now helping strangers become friends and creating a stronger sense of community.

Their initiative has led to weekly gatherings, with neighbours meeting up for the first time, chatting, laughing, listening to music, and having drinks. Despite living on the same street for years, many of them had never met before. Donovan shared that people have become more isolated, especially since the pandemic, and have lost the habit of talking and connecting with others in person. She said some neighbours had lived on the same block for decades but had never actually spoken to each other. When they finally met at the gathering, it was their first real conversation, which Donovan said was something very special.

Donovan’s NDG Neighbour Nights has received a very positive response and is helping neighbours feel more connected. Some of the neighbours believe the regular gatherings have created friendships with people they now feel they cannot live without. Attending the events has made a difference in their daily lives, as the neighbours now recognize each other and are more comfortable offering or asking for help when needed.

Donovan hopes the idea will inspire other communities to organize similar gatherings and help people build stronger connections with those around them.

Source: Hannah Beach, CBC