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Help build your community or take it over

Take over a local pub, shop, or green space

Do you have a village shop that needs to stay open? Do you want to use empty land to grow fruit and vegetables? Could your local pub use some help to continue to thrive?

There are ways to help your area by supporting local businesses and services, and reclaiming underused space.

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Other ideas:

Organise a voluntary event

Voluntary and community events are an important aspect of everyday life that help encourage people to play a more active part in society. They may celebrate a particular occasion, raise funds for a good cause or simply bring people in a community closer together.

 ‘Can do’ guide from GOV.UK

  • help you to plan and run successful events with a minimum of red tape
  • if you are holding a particular type of event, help you to find the specific advice you need.

Organising a successful event is really all about good planning and taking sensible precautions where necessary.

 

Become a Caring Town

There’s a huge opportunity to provide formal and informal support and services in a far better way, with the help of all of us in our local community. Totnes and surrounding area found their community had a need. They know that their local health and social services are under extreme pressure, due mainly to budget cuts. At the same time, they have growing numbers of elderly people often with complex needs. Social isolation is a big problem for many in our community, especially among older people and single parents. Find out how Totnes became a Caring Town.

A Caring Town project may inspire you.

Social Prescribing

Socially based problems are very real and important to the person because they may be impeding their quality of life and personal wellbeing. But they’re not medical problems requiring medical solutions.

They’re problems and barriers preventing them from living as full and worthwhile lives as possible. And the solutions are often found in their own communities, in local groups and local services.

Social Prescribing is a way of linking people with non-medical sources of support within the community to improve overall well-being, recognising that services provided by non-traditional providers are often an important element in the care offered and can develop into bespoke packages of care for the individual.

People using Social Prescribing will become more involved in the decision making process of their personal care and the community will be able to play a stronger role in offering services.

Become a Community Connector

There are a number of services, facilities and activities within the community that are not well known, therefore not only are they not being utilised, people are not benefiting from all the help and support which is available to them.

The Community Connector has access to a wealth of information regarding local services and facilities and therefore can work with you to access the help that people are looking for.

In Exeter, GP practices have been referring patients that they believe would benefit from increased social activity to a trusted ‘Community Connector’. They work with the patient to identify what the root of their problem is, understand what matters to them, and plan a way forward together, more often introducing the person to activities and organisations in their own neighbourhoods. That’s social prescribing. Just contact your GP

 

Become a Community Builder

Laura shares her experience of community building
Laura shares her experience of community building

Community building is all about building relationships in communities, mobilising people to take action and supporting projects which make a difference to people’s lives.

Community builders have no agenda and do not lead or do things on behalf of people – they help people to do things for themselves.

Community Builders

 

 
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