A St. Albert man hopes what he calls a free-range convention could help people find community connections in the post-COVID era.
St. Albert resident Richard Miller has put out a call for guests and volunteers to come to the next Neutral Ground meeting at the St. Albert Public Library Feb. 26.
Neutral Ground is a new non-profit organization started by Miller to foster community and combat social isolation.
“There are so many groups suffering from social isolation,” he said, and COVID has only made their situations worse.
“If you don’t have your established social circles, how do you make them?”
Miller said he realized there were few if any places where people could go out and meet others which weren’t sports-related or linked to specific communities or demographics. Last December, he came up with the idea of Neutral Ground — a forum where people could gather to bond over shared hobbies and activities if they didn’t feel comfortable going to a bar or community hall.
Miller pitched the group as sort of a “free-range convention” where anyone of any age could drop by to share their hobbies with others. The group planned to partner with other hobby organizations to introduce people to showcase local activities, with Lego, board games, puzzles, painting, knitting, and more on tap for their next session.
Miller said the group planned to hold free monthly pop-up events throughout St. Albert to gauge community interest and determine which sorts of activities they should host. Their first event, held last January, brought about 30 people to the St. Albert Family Resource Centre and featured board games, miniatures painting, and other activities.
“One of the most popular things at the last event was a communal jigsaw puzzle,” Miller said, which drew strangers together for hours.
Miller said he has worked with Transitions and Outloud St. Albert to make Neutral Ground as all-ages and as inclusive as possible. The group’s first meetup offered guests red and green stickers to wear to show if they were just browsing or interested in chatting with others, for example.
City of St. Albert community development co-ordinator Angie Dedrick said her team loved the idea of Neutral Ground when Miller approached them, and has been helping him promote the group.
“There are a lot of people who are struggling with loneliness right now,” she said, and this could give them a free, no-commitment chance to meet others and find new hobbies.
“You could come there and do a puzzle. You could bring your knitting. You could find people to play games with.”
Miller said the group was looking for volunteers to demonstrate different hobbies at upcoming meetups, especially knitting. He hoped to find a permanent home for the group in a couple of months.
The next Neutral Ground meeting is Feb. 26 from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Visit facebook.com/Neutralgroundab for details.
