Moving into a new community or neighbourhood where you don’t know people and are unsure of local services, traditions or support networks can be an intimidating prospect.

Not only is it a stressful time, but moving to a new location can also be very lonely for some people.

A welcome pack is a simple way of making new residents feel welcome and can help them settle in, with the added benefit of harnessing their enthusiasm and skills to enhance local activities. As well as helping to prevent your new resident from feeling isolated, welcome packs could have other benefits too. They may help the wider community feel better connected, create a more resilient local network and enable residents to keep up-to-date about local information, services and emergency plans.

Many communities already have their own ways of greeting new residents and a welcome pack doesn’t seek to replace any of these activities. Simply creating a welcome pack for your community or neighbourhood however, can go some way to making people feel included from the minute they arrive and will help them to find vital information about their new area.

Creating a welcome pack for new residents does not have to be complicated. To make the process even easier, we have created a Word template that you can download for free to get you started.

Why not download a copy of our Building Connected Communities poster to help inspire people in your community to develop relationships further and encourage everyone to take part in local events and activities?