Building a Strong Community (Part 2)

Here are 5 things you can do right now to improve your chances of building a strong community:

 

1. Actively engage people.  The foundation of a strong, wise, resilient community is people knowing and actively engaging with each other.
2. Start a group.  It could be a neighborhood sports team, a neighborhood association, book club, greenspace project, dinner exchange, neighborhood watch group, etc.  The goal is to bring people together and let the connections blossom organically.
3. Throw a party.  Nothing brings people together, of all ages, like having a good time.  And usually involving food.
4. Clean up the neighborhood.  Again, this could be a greenspace project, graffiti removal, art project, etc.  Simple projects where people of all stripes come together nurture community pride and mutual admiration.
5. Provide opportunities for learning.  Everyone in a community knows something someone else would love to learn, it's just a matter of connecting them.

There are good resources out there for more ideas and suggestions.  One is CommunityMatters. CommunityMatters is an organization that equips cities and towns to strengthen their places and inspire change. They champion the idea that through transparent, collaborative conversations, communities can steer change at home. And they offer tools, resources and expertise.

Any new project may seem daunting from the start, but it just takes one person to spark the change.  People want a strong community.  Build it one person at a time.

 

Building a Strong Community (Part 1)

Thanks in part to the global economic and environmental crises, individuals and agencies throughout the world are rediscovering the power of community. Community is the engine of people powered change. Government is effective, especially in terms of monetary support, but there's no substitute for people identifying with and caring for one another and the place they share.  Strong communities are the key to holding government accountable for protecting the rights of the most vulnerable. Social justice never comes from the top-down. People must be organized to support one another but also to demand that their government provide what the community can't or shouldn't do for itself. There are some things best done by community, some by government, and some that can only be accomplished by working in true partnership.
 

Communities have a unique role to play when it comes to much of what we most value – our environment, safety, welfare, health and happiness. Moreover, communities possess the local knowledge, passion, creativity, sustainability and holistic perspective that are often lacking in bureaucracies.

When we focus on people's needs, they become clients in a service system. When we focus on their strengths, they become citizens of a community. Everyone has both needs and strengths and everyone requires services as well as community, but we tend to divide our society into two camps – those with needs and those with strengths. When we fail to utilize everyone's strengths, our communities are less inclusive and powerful and the labeled individuals miss the joy of connection and contribution.  Excerpted from The Guardian

People can, and often will, come together in strong, united communities if they're encouraged and supported to:

• have shared aspirations, values and experiences
• have a strong sense of mutual commitments and obligations, promoting personal and social responsibility
• take part in local and national life and decision-making
• fulfil their potential to get on in life
• challenge extremism and hate crime

What have you done lately to help strengthen your community?