The Danish word for community, fællesskab, literally means the ‘common cupboard’ or ‘shared resources’. By sharing resources like time, money, space and knowledge we help each other survive the lows and reach greater heights.
Places where people have a greater number of links with each other, meet regularly, and have networks that overlap with each other have higher overall wellbeing and are more likely to take responsibility for what happens in their area. Councillors can support this by supporting people to organise community activities such as litter-picks, volunteering and shared celebrations. Creating networks can have a ripple effect that boosts wellbeing for people who aren’t even part of that group.
“The evidence shows that the things that matter most for our happiness and for our misery are our social relationships and our mental and physical health. This demands a new role for the state – not ‘wealth creation’ but ‘wellbeing creation’”
Lord Richard Layard, Economist and founder of NHS Increasing Access to Psychological Therapy (IAPT)
Councillors can use their power and influence to encourage people to:
- build their social networks
- maintain those relationships
- use them when needed.
Remember, it’s not just about who can do what in times of trouble but also who can help people in your communities develop further in employment, skills and confidence.
In many places people volunteered and created ‘mutual aid’ groups to support each other during the COVID-19 crisis – can you encourage these groups to continue providing support in other ways?
Communication
More happiness can be created in people’s lives by promoting effective communication through words and gestures. Happiness is heightened when we receive something nice from someone else especially if it is unexpected.
That’s why we go through the ritual of wrapping and distributing birthday presents, for example. Highly visible random acts of kindness are a great way to spread more joy in your community, including:
- a community gardening event
- schools sending cards to care home residents
- events that include communal activity like singing.
Problem solving
Problem solving got our ancestors out of the rain and into caves and then into huts and finally flats and houses. Good problem solvers see ways to make things better, thereby reducing the duration of crises or avoiding them altogether, making this a core skill for promoting resilience. This naturally benefits those around them as well (particularly people in their network), and the ability to share problem solving tips and creations via technology such as the internet means this reach can be even further.
The great thing about being a problem-solving species is that everyone has the skills to help find solutions. This is why, properly managed, public consultations can be so useful − the more heads you have on a problem the better your solution.
Case study - The Neighbourhood Game and Minecraft Brixton
The Neighbourhood Game allows teams of people to test out their solutions to different scenarios using an aerial photograph ‘game board’, ‘development tiles’ made from basic stationery, and an excel spreadsheet to track unit costs, benefits, and overall scores.
Games are perfect for serious problems because they structure problems in clear ways and let us have free reign to intuitively test ideas with immediate feedback.
A version of The Neighbourhood Game was developed by UI Studio to engage local people in the future development of Aylesbury Estate in Southwark, South London.
Similarly, the Lambeth Youth Council built a Minecraft (a computer simulation game) version of Brixton to enable children to take part in a consultation on making the town centre better for pedestrians and cyclists.
Guidance - Not solving problems
When someone is upset, we will often rush in with suggestions on how they can resolve what has caused the upset. Yet sometimes it seems our ideas fall on deaf ears: ‘Yes, that might work, but here’s why it won’t...’
This is because the problem is that there is a problem, and our well-meaning efforts to make it disappear are at odds with the person’s experience of feeling rubbish about it. It’s like we’re ignoring how upset they are.
- Next time someone tells you about their problem, try first empathising with how they are feeling, perhaps with something as simple as ‘that sounds awful’.
- Once the person feels you understand them a bit better, they will be more receptive to problem-solving the more obvious issue; try asking ‘what can I do to help?’
- By not solving the main difficulty straight away, your suggestions are more likely to be heard.
Warmth and trust
Warmth, trust, and sensitivity are the bedrock of all good relationships between people and even between services. Warmth must be shown, it’s not something you can feel and hope the other person feels as well. It’s those little acts of caring that show you keep the other person in mind that make up warm relationships. With constituents, it can be things like checking in with people who previously raised issues to see if it remains resolved.
Trust requires opportunities to earn it, such as having a lost wallet returned or keeping a confidence. Sensitivity is about responding appropriately to the person, whether they are excited, miserable, etc. If people have a poor opinion of a service or person, it will often be down to a deficit in warmth, trust or sensitivity.
Control
The desire for control includes the ability to choose what happens to us (even if we don’t get to pick the choices), having a sense of mastery in some areas (such as hobbies, special skills, our homes), and that what we do is meaningful. Even when we choose not to control something, that is still us making a meaningful decision.
Case Study - Giving away control: asset-based community development in Northumberland
An asset-based approach uses existing community strengths and resources to build capacity and generate positive outcomes.
Since the main strength of any community is its people, citizens should be supported to develop positively. By listening to, acting with, and empowering local people to flourish, asset-based approaches naturally improve perceptions of self-determination.
They generally involve:
- assessing available resources, skills, and experience
- building supportive local networks to increase opportunities
- actively supporting citizens to raise issues important to them
- enabling individuals to activate others on community issues
For example, Northumberland County Council’s public health team held a World Café event about wellness to help identify local resources and connect people. People suggested that micro-grants would be a good way for people and groups to start activities to improve their own wellbeing.
A subsequent grants scheme has so far contributed to over 75 projects, with data suggesting 26 projects have together involved over a thousand people in positive action in the community.