Rebuilding communities in crisis

Elizabeth Smith – Ingenuity Producer

Over recent weeks, I have felt so inspired and impassioned when I’ve seen how my local community have responded to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Before the world was turned upside down by an invisible virus, the area I lived in was a commuter-belt suburban town, where it was easier to look uncomfortably at the pavement, or scroll through your social media feed, than acknowledge anyone passing by. What could have easily been a ‘batten down the hatches, look after number one’ response turned into an outpouring of love, community spirit and action. From the food shops helping shielding neighbours, the sharing economy that emerged for baking ingredients and toilet roll, to the support offered to those in the community affected by the virus, you could almost be fooled into thinking you had entered the final scene of a Richard Curtis rom-com, despite the terrible sadness and anxiety experienced as a result of the lockdown and virus.

However, despite that community spirit and resolve to get through this strange time we live in, Coronavirus has also held up a huge magnifying glass to the key issues, struggles and challenges our communities up and down the UK face. Our communities are at a crisis point, and now more than ever, we need to understand what their key issues are, and come together to find viable solutions for them. Beating the virus is one thing, re-building our communities and creating a resilient, just future that creates opportunity for all is another huge obstacle we must overcome together.

Your business ideas, sense of social purpose and commitment to effect change are integral to re-building your communities, to tackling the issues of loneliness and isolation; the housing crisis – the future of your high streets and the employment and education opportunities available to society’s most vulnerable.

Over the coming week’s I’ll be sharing more of my research into the key challenges our local communities face, providing you with a launchpad to explore the issues that matter to you, and start to play your part in re-building communities in crisis.

Elizabeth Smith, Producer of the Ingenuity Programme