Quick Escape 
About the Sustainable, Resilient Communities Initiative (SRCI)
In partnership with local organizations, YWCA Hamilton is leading a collaborative project to grow awareness about how municipal priorities connect to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how community members can affect positive change.
The Sustainable, Resilient Communities Initiative (SRCI) aims to build public awareness of gender lens, equity, and sustainability principes in city planning, and how residents can influence local decision-making.
At the heart of this work is strong community collaboration. We are thrilled to partner with valued community partners including, Refuge: Hamilton Centre for Community Health, Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, Solidarity Place Worker Education Centre, Environment Hamilton, and Sisters in Sync. Together, we aim to ensure this work reflects diverse lived experiences, community needs, and issues facing Hamilton. Our partners will play an active role in advancing this work within their own communities through education, engagement opportunities, and other awareness-building efforts.
Why This Work Matters to Hamilton
Hamilton is facing serious challenges, including housing affordability, climate change, and economic instability. These complex, interconnected issues demand community-driven, systems-level responses and engaged residents to support them over the long term. While municipal processes are among the most powerful tools for addressing these challenges, many residents are unaware of how they can participate in shaping them. This project seeks to bridge that gap through education and awareness-building, with the long-term goal of ensuring that community voices and lived experiences inform city planning and future municipal budgets.
Our Focus: Nine SDGs Driving Local Change
We are anchoring our work in nine interconnected United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that align with the 2022-2026 City of Hamilton’s Council Priorities:
1. Accelerate our response to climate change
SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 13 (Climate Action)
2. Promote growth in key economic sectors
SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure)
3. Provide vibrant and safe public spaces
SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities)
4. Involve diverse voices in decision-making and problem-solving
SDG 16 (Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions), SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals)
These goals are grounded in the everyday realities of community members and connect global priorities to local action.
The Sustainable, Resilient Communities Initiative uses the SDGs as an educational framework to help residents make connections between these goals, local issues, and municipal priorities. By linking them together, we aim to build an understanding of how local government decisions – particularly around planning and budgeting – impact our communities, and how we can collectively work toward more sustainable, inclusive, and equitable outcomes.
What’s Next
Our work is unfolding in three key phases:
Phase 1: Inform & Equip (March–October 2025)
Partner collaborations, public awareness campaigns and youth events to increase awareness of SDGs and equity budgeting; engagement with local government about community collaborations and joint awareness efforts to build momentum.
Phase 2: Mobilize & Advocate (November 2025–January 2026)
Community engagement events; Survey, City engagement and delegation; and hosing a youth civic leadership event
Phase 3: Reflect & Sustain (February–March 2026)
Measuring impact; co-creating a toolkit with examples that have come out of the project that demonstrate what community members in Hamilton and other municipalities can do to advance equity, sustainability, and gender-lens in city planning and processes concluding with a community celebration and future projects.
Stay tuned for more updates, announcements, information, and awareness campaigns. Learn more about the project here: https://www.ywcahamilton.org/sdg-sustainable-resilient-communities-initiative/