Recession: Our communities and us

The landscape of the UK is changing. Concepts like the Big Society combined with a whole raft of legislation in which devolution of power and decentralization of services will take place means that things are going to operate at a much more local level. We can argue whether this approach is good or bad, and that would be interesting, but with cross party support we can conclude that it’s here to stay.

Couple this with a deficit in funds and significant cutbacks and it seems clear that there are going to be gaps. Services that we may want the government to fund and provide, i.e. youth services, are likely to no longer operate (or even exist) in the same way. This leaves us in a situation in which if we believe that these services should be provided in our communities then we will have to do something about it.

So I’d like you firstly, to draw a picture of yourself.

Now around it, I’d like to you to write what your skills and talents are; what can you offer?

Now put that to one side.

Take another piece of paper. This time, I’d like you to map out your community in whatever way you want to; be creative. I’d like you to label what the strengths and needs of the community are.

Now find the image of yourself. Look at it and now match up the needs of your community with your skills. What can you offer?

Wait, we haven’t finished there. What are your needs? What is it that your life is lacking right now; the things that make you happy? How can your community fulfil your needs?

Our communities need us. They need us to participate, to engage, to bring whatever skills we have. There are going to be gaps and it’s going to need us (all of us, not just the people sat here) to fill them.

However, sometimes we get so fixated on being useful and ‘fixing’ things that we forget that we also have needs. It seems to me that it’s not about taking over or trying to lead or assuming that we have all the answers. But instead believing that we may be part of the solution, rather than the whole; recognising that other people may hold the pieces we lack.

In believing this, we may find that the pieces held by others may be answers to our own needs as well as our communities.