During chats, it became clear that camping made many people happy, but what was it about camping that made them happy? It certainly couldn’t be the toilet blocks! What seemed to make people happy was being part of the friendly campsite community, living closely, albeit temporarily, with neighbours they’ve got to know.  Knowing people are nearby and that you’re not alone, and taking time to talk to others. Our society values happiness. Newspapers and magazines are awash with stories about people who claim to have found it.  Although happiness is determined by individual personalities, choices and circumstances; it appears that there is one overall factor that has a significant impact on whether or not we are happy: the quality of our relationships.

 

If achieving happiness relies on good relationships, we will need to nurture not only family and friends but also those in own local neighbourhoods and communities. However, many communities throughout Wales have become more fractured and less rooted. Perhaps it’s nostalgia but it seems like our parents’ and grandparents’ local communities were more closely knit than is true today. 

 

This absence of meaningful community relationships can result in loneliness and social isolation. And it’s not just our mental health that can suffer. In the long term, it can have a detrimental effect on our physical health, equivalent to lifelong smoking or obesity.

 

It’s vital for our communities that we start to find ways to rebuild these communities and re-connect with each other. Strong communities have rich social networks, made up of reciprocal relationships, in which people feel supported and enjoy a strong sense of belonging.  There are many great examples in the social housing sector in Wales where landlord’s tenants and residents are putting this into action helping to re-energise and connect communities.

 

A great example of this in action is seen in a project initiated by Cartrefi Conwy Housing Association in North Wales. Their ‘Give Where You Live’ project was designed to improve the wellbeing of older residents by combating social isolation and creating a stronger more cohesive community.  The Timebanking project has since helped the community to build social networks and enabled people from different backgrounds, who may not otherwise have met, to form connections and friendships. It also uses an 'asset based’ approach where people support each other by sharing their own ‘assets’: talents, skills knowledge and abilities. Anything from teaching crochet, helping with DIY and running a brunch club.

 

But what can we start with?: 

Get to know other people Probably one of the most powerful ways for us to create community is through face-to-face contact with others. Far more effective than having hundreds of ‘friends’ on Facebook, it can be as simple as saying ‘hello’ to your neighbour or someone in your street… this could be the start of a rich relationship.

Participate with your neighbourhood and community. Putting our heads in the sand as we complain about declining communities and local services won’t help. We should try and make the most of opportunities to become part of the answer rather than the problem, and there are many ways to do that including volunteering, providing a surprise meal for neighbours and saying hello to strangers. 

 

Of course, the possibilities are endless and they don’t have to involve going camping!  – it’s the mindset that matters