Expand and update the resources available to families at Place Andrée Antonioli-Rouiller

Until 2020, the Bellevaux Sociocultural Center had a wheeled storage unit on Antonioli-Rouiller Square to lend equipment to the children of Bellevaux. In 2020, after 28 months of work, the Center was able to permanently install a container near the square, containing not only equipment for children—roller skates, various games, paint, etc.—but also items for parents: lounge chairs, tables, and benches. Today, this equipment is worn out, particularly the roller skates, games, and lounge chairs. The container also needs to be repainted, as it has been tagged and weathered. The Center plans to organize a community effort to purchase new equipment and promote its management by forming autonomous groups.

Families, children, youth, and parents in the Bellevaux neighborhood

Since 2020, a container filled with equipment for users of Antonioli-Rouiller Square has been set up on the outskirts of the square; it is owned by the Bellevaux Sociocultural Center and AQuBe (the Bellevaux neighborhood association). In doing so, they addressed a lack of infrastructure at the square. By fostering a welcoming atmosphere, they aimed to create spaces for people to gather, foster a sense of belonging, and encourage a sense of ownership of the space. The shipping container is a tool frequently used by the activities team, which opens it and makes its contents available as soon as the weather is nice and until the first frosts arrive. Residents, too, as part of a collective project, can access it even when the community outreach team isn’t present. For example, a group of young people was allowed to borrow the container for two years in a row to use the lounge chairs and play video games outdoors. A group of parents and adults from the neighborhood association AQuBe has also organized open-air movie screenings for families over the past two years, with growing success. The projection equipment, like some of the items in the container, was purchased thanks to a previous fundraising effort with the FDD. Today, the equipment available to families (20 lounge chairs, 20 pairs of roller skates, 3 tables and benches, games, and other items) is in poor condition due to heavy use. It is necessary to replace and expand the inventory to continue encouraging families to use this space. The container has also shown signs of wear and tear, and we plan to have it painted by an artist to spruce it up. To replenish the inventory of equipment, the Center will organize a session with users in early spring 2025. Essential items (such as roller skates and lounge chairs), which everyone agrees on, have already been budgeted for; however, we plan to hold this session to collectively brainstorm new equipment, using inspirational resources like catalogs and examples from other spaces. This group will also be able to brainstorm ideas for decorating the container, working with an artist. This approach will also help attract new participants and expand the collective to increase the neighborhood’s access to the container during the summer months. We hope to continue developing this aspect of neighborhood programming, which is primarily aimed at families.

Place Andrée Antonioli-Rouiller

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FASL AQuBe