Creating connection in the community
Whilst we live in an increasingly digital, and more recently isolated world, how do we build a sense of belonging with those who live closest to us? Social Care worker, Ruth Blayney, explains how a simple WhatsApp group she started in 2019 has been the backbone of helping her and her neighbours stay connected and supported, especially in recent times.
If we’ve learnt one thing during this pandemic, it’s the importance of our social networks. The community has never been more important, and for lots of people, this has meant getting to know their neighbours. Our cul-de-sac in a suburb of west Birmingham had a head start with this. Last year we started a WhatsApp group and it’s gone from strength to strength ever since.
There are 22 houses on our street, with residents made up of a mixture of families, professionals, retired people and a house share. My husband and I have lived here for nearly 3 years, during which time we have welcomed another housemate — our son. We both work, and our son attends a lovely local nursery a short walk away.
I work in Children’s Social Care, and some time ago was having a conversation with my team about how few of us knew our neighbours. My job involves encouraging people to work together, including neighbours, families and friends and I realised that I was missing an opportunity at home. Having also heard anecdotally that crime is lower in areas where people know their neighbours, I decided to give it a go. I made some flyers, and posted them through everyone’s front door- a simple offer to reply with a phone number if anyone wanted to join a group. I had a swift response with lots of positive comments, so we got up and running within a couple of weeks.. New residents on the street have been invited to join, and have all taken up the offer.
Getting to know my neighbours
The focus of the group was always about keeping in touch and sharing practical help- offering up a spare wardrobe, taking in parcels, sharing information about local events and having an informal social network. A few months ago there was a spate of car vandalism, and so we organised a lookout schedule every evening. This resulted in a formal Neighbourhood Watch group being formed, ably organised by 10B. When a police officer visited number 7 for another reason a couple of weeks later, he was very positive about the existence of our group.
Sustainable living and surprise gifting
The group has allowed us to be more sustainable — borrowing things rather than buying, sharing produce, and giving away things no longer wanted or needed. I had a preloved colander donated for a gardening project after a request to the group. Number 7 has shared out surplus baby courgette plants, and we get regular offers of fresh produce from Number 5’s allotment. I recently started using a local fruit and veg box delivery service, with weekly boxes arriving via bike, and after sharing details other neighbours have also started using the service. A new baby arrived a couple of months ago at number 23, and there’s another due at 10B — with a few young families on the street, it’s useful to share baby and toddler equipment that gets bought, used briefly and would be otherwise packed away.
When we went into lockdown, the group got busy and we started to share more information about local shop supplies, picking up things from the supermarket for one another, doing shopping for those in isolation, and what has now become a regular collection for the food bank. When I shared a couple of requests from a local charity organising food parcels for carrier bags and egg boxes, my front doorstep quickly became a mountain of both. We’ve had a collection of toiletries and cosmetics for a Women’s Centre in the city, and I’ve had bags of baby clothes donated to pass onto families in need.
We bemoaned the lack of flour available one day, and then a few days later I had a bag put on my doorstep from a neighbour who had found some at the supermarket. Number 11 mentioned they were on the lookout for yeast and we were happy to share from the supplies we had in the cupboard. Supermarket collections and deliveries are shared so that neighbours can add items they need.
Moral support and uplifting exchange
There’s also been moral support on the group — plenty of funny videos and memes shared to keep spirits up.
The weekend before lockdown we had a Social Distancing Street Party- organised in the group with expectations of what to do (and what not to do). After drawing 2m squares on the area at the end of our cul-de-sac, we carried chairs and cups of tea into the street and spent a lovely couple of hours chatting, from a distance, whilst a handful of children rode their scooters up and down and kicked a football around. A delivery van that arrived halfway through waited patiently whilst we moved out the way for him, and said he’d like to stay for a cup of tea!
The group is a success because, I think, of its simplicity. There’s no expectations or commitment — it’s a chance for people to offer what they can, take what they need, and leave behind what they don’t. It’s a support network that’s there in the background, close to home without being invasive. It’s rare that I go through a day without a wave from someone, despite not knowing them very well.
We live in a city of over a million people, which can at times feel overwhelming so getting to know my neighbours has helped me feel more at home here, and with a greater feeling of social ownership and investment in our little piece of West Birmingham.
