Ball Hill: Small Wins, Big Changes.

Towards the end of last year, Connecting For Good decided that we wished to shake up our way of working. We wanted to try our hand at place-based organising and focus our energy onto turning groups of people into constituencies that have the power to make significant change. Easy, right? It felt like a new stage of our work, and we jumped into it headfirst.

We chose Ball Hill, an area in Coventry, and we started listening. We did walking parklets down the streets, engaging with people in discussion, and asked them questions: “if you could change one thing about the area what would it be? What do you like about Ball Hill?” etc. We could feel the energy brimming as we walked. People had things to say and they wanted people to listen.

A light-haired women stands holding a large sign that reads “Reform the Norm”. On it are post-its notes sharing people’s thoughts on the questions (1) What issues are you affected by? (2) How do you feel today? (3) Where is our community?

So, we kept going. Our team of five organisers took to the area. We had 1:1s and listened to the common themes and passions that brought people together: environmental concerns, taking pride in the area, community gathering, a business network and room for creativity. The area was full of individuals with ideas and solutions, they had just never had the opportunity to get their voices heard. It felt ripe for community organising: there was passion, energy, and people.

The first month saw different teams form and they began moving forward — all at different paces, times, and rhythms. We found that some teams naturally took to the community organising approach while others needed more time, guidance, and inspiration. The barriers became clear: the lack of funding in the area, the decline of footfall, the disbanding of the banks etc. There were so many moments of frustration and tension for the people of Ball Hill, and the CFG team had many conversations about how to navigate that feeling of disbelief. The feeling that nothing will change. It’s a really hard feeling to get over sometimes, especially when you feel like you are fighting the fight alone.

How do you inspire a team to see the value of organising if they are the first ones to do so? I had a team of passionate, energised, and forward-thinking individuals that were willing to take on roles and be engaged, but this didn’t mean that organising came naturally. Organising is a mindset. It takes time, energy, and effort. This can be a lot to ask of a community that has feelings of being disheartened and left behind. Having seen their area decline over the years, it felt almost embedded into the community that there was nothing to be done about it. How do you navigate this conversation? How do you change people’s minds?

Small wins. This is how. Seeing the beauty of small wins and working with the team to begin to recognise those. It is a constant process. Everything we do is intentional and there needs to be constant reminders of the small wins as we push forward with our work. Organising a litter pick for some might not feel like a great achievement, but it’s about lifting this work up and working with someone to understand how their power has increased due to it. It’s done through intention coaching sessions to start asking the questions: what went well? What could have been better? How did we build power? How are we more powerful?

A group of people stand smiling and holding litter pickers.

We bought a few members of one team to give feedback to another. We were hoping to gain some inspiring stories and some important dialogue around small wins. This happened, and it was an interesting conversation to be a part of. It felt almost like a head-to-head, feeling the disbelief of one team that hasn’t had any wins yet against the optimism of those that had. It really showed the value of those small wins and the importance of lifting these up. It also brought to light the importance of connection, of sharing knowledge and working together — side-by-side.

A group of people sit around several tables with big pieces of paper and post-its notes.

In the round’s question we asked “what is a happy memory of Ball Hill”, and one answer really stood out to me. A member of the team said, when referencing the community organising that is taking place in the area, “there is hope on the horizon.”

It was this shift, this hope, that makes the value of community organising clear. When we come into an area we don’t come with the answers, we come with a mindset of learning, development, and progress.

Here’s to Destination Ball Hill.