Drs. Michelle Stack and Suzanne Smythe share insights on reciprocal learning, trust, and sustained partnerships in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside through the long-standing work of the Carnegie Learning Centre. Drawing on nearly three decades of collaboration among Capilano University, the City of Vancouver, and the Carnegie Community Centre Association, the article illustrates how community-embedded education benefits residents, students, and universities alike. Stories from learners, educators, and community leaders show how the Centre functions as a shared learning space where confidence, skills, and civic engagement are cultivated across institutional boundaries. In a period of tightening university budgets and widening town–gown divides, the authors argue that such partnerships are not peripheral but essential, demonstrating that community relationships do not simply receive university support—they actively sustain universities’ public mission.