Ottawa neighbourhood turns 'even more friendly' during pandemic

Community Heroes is a CBC Ottawa series highlighting people making a differencein small or big ways in their neighbourhoods during COVID-19.

When a sinkhole suddenly appeared in the middle of a street in Ottawa's Leslie Park neighbourhood last spring, residents decided to throw a party.

People brought out their lawn chairs and favourite drinks and sat, physically distanced, waiting for city crews to arrive.

"We sat out there for hours," recalled Jane O'Regan,who grew up in Leslie Park,a community nestled nearGreenbank and Baseline roads in Nepean, not far from the Queensway Carleton Hospital.

Everybody came out. It was so magical.- Jane O'Regan

She saidthe community has always been full of spirit, but the pandemic has brought out the best in her neighbours.

From a virtual dart tournamentto a surprise (physically distanced)birthday party foran elderly resident living alone, O'Regan saidher neighbourhood just won't stop coming together during a pandemic that has forced most communities fartherapart.

"[There's] a renewed sense of really tight community," said O'Regan, who stressed she's not the only one organizing these events.

"We are so lucky to live here because the connections that we already had are so much stronger."

After a fresh snowfall last month, O'Regan decided to build a snowman. Soon, with the help of a bag of carrots a neighbour had picked up at the grocery store, snowmen started popping up in frontof about 30 homes.

"I just started going door to door, ringing the doorbell, handing a carrot saying, 'I challenge you to make a snowman,'" said O'Regan. "Everybody came out. It was so magical. It was the best day I have had in ... definitely a year."

'People are really takingcare of each other'

"The leadership of people like Jane really encourages people to feel safe to talk to their neighbours," saidBelinda Boekhoven, who lives a few doors down from O'Regan.

Boekhovendescribedher neighbourhood as pretty diverse, and saidno matter their age or background, her neighbours are stepping up and organizing all kinds of uplifting but safe activities during lockdown.

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"It's even more friendly now," said Boekhoven. "People are really taking care of each other."

O'Regan said while she's one idea generator, she's not alone: Other neighbours organized physically distanced carolling at a local park on Christmas Eve, held an outdoor menorah-lighting ceremony and distributed rocks that turned into painted "hug bugs."

She saidshe's grateful to live in a neighbourhood where people are kind and fun.

"We are very, very, very lucky to be here," said O'Regan."This is how nice my neighbours are. It makes me want to cry sometimes."

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