Stronger Together – how to build connected communities

12 November 2020

Living somewhere with a strong sense of community is of great importance to people in North Yorkshire; however, developing neighbourhoods that are resilient, cohesive and sustainable is not always easy. It can be difficult to start those small, local conversations and once started, will anyone else see the vision?

That is why, as part of The Loneliness Campaign, we have brought a collection of free online resources together in the Stronger Together toolkit, to help and support communities, parishes, villages and neighbourhoods think about their own settings, and to encourage those wider conversations and social actions. We want all residents in North Yorkshire to have the opportunity to engage with neighbours, build stronger connecting networks and create more sustainable communities.

Divided into four sections, the resources are free to access and can be shared with others within your community, neighbourhood or organisation. There is a section for use by parish councils, local neighbourhood and action groups, and anyone with a local interest in making their community better. There is also a section specifically for professionals, where community projects are required as part of wider work or there are larger funding requirements. The final two sections go into further detail on two types of approaches for tackling loneliness within communities – Making Every Contact Count and Asset-Based Community Development.

As part of the communities section, you can either download or request a hard copy from the office of the new Building Connected Communities poster.  Designed to offer some ideas and starting points, it brings together a range of ideas for local action to create connected communities. It ranges from the simple such as ‘Stop to talk’, to the more complex ‘Start a free fridge’!

Wouldn’t it would be great if, once we are able to come together again, communities across North Yorkshire, brought their sharpies out and scribbled their own ideas, commitments and notes all over it and worked towards communities which were Stronger Together!

If you have more ideas to share let us know!