Over the past 15 months, volunteers all across the country have stepped up to help out their neighbours – dropping off shopping, collecting prescriptions, walking people’s dogs, making sure people weren’t feeling isolated, setting up meal schemes, and much more. But, as we approach the final stage of restrictions easing, many volunteers are thinking about putting in place longer-term structures to build community cohesion, and to tackle some of the other concerns that residents have.
The Community Safety Partnership – a partnership between South Cambridgeshire District and Cambridgeshire County councils; the Police, Fire and Rescue Services; the Probation Service and the NHS – has created a toolkit that provides guidance, training and other tools to support residents’ activities.
The six packs within the toolkit cover:
Combating loneliness and isolation
Reaching your community
Making the local environment safer and greener
Crime prevention in your community
Preventing antisocial behaviour
Tackling road-related concerns
Cllr Bill Handley, Lead Cabinet Member for Community Resilience, Health and Wellbeing at South Cambridgeshire District Council, said: “We know, from the sense of community that was re-established during the pandemic, how effective community volunteer groups can be when they work towards a shared goal.
“People living within a community know it best and are best placed to support it and to tackle areas of concern. So, the best way for local authorities to help is to equip local people to take a lead, and this toolkit – along with small grants which are also available to groups – has been created to do that.
“If you want to build a better sense of community or take steps to make your village feel safer, check out the toolkit. The issues covered include connecting people, tackling speeding, preventing antisocial behaviour and helping vulnerable neighbours to avoid scams. Please look it up, and if you find anything missing that you feel would be useful, let us know.”
The toolkit also provides advice on how to encourage fellow residents to join you in your project, as well as how to find out what your community thinks about the issues you’re interested in, and offers case studies from community groups which have successfully taken similar action before.
Find out more about the toolkit, or the microgrants to support your community efforts at www.scambs.gov.uk/CSP
The toolkit is funded by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC), which awarded the funding to the South Cambs Community Safety Partnership – of which South Cambridgeshire District Council is a partner.