Wouldn’t it be great if the community spirit we saw in the first Lock-down could be recaptured for the long term?
It’s happening! Discover how from this website and please help spread the As One vision everywhere!
Walsall Council is supporting ‘As One’ to encourage more of a sense of connection, kindness, friendliness and belonging between people who live in the same street and aims to be a huge boost for local communities.
As part of Walsall’s ‘As One’ campaign, the message, ‘Fill your street with friendliness’, is increasingly being displayed on large banners across the borough.
From the spring, dozens of local As One events will be put on to help the message take root in each locality.
Dozens of churches and other faith groups, community centres and Walsall for All partners are preparing to host As One Tea Party events, each for their own neighbourhood. There, residents from each local street will be introduced to the idea of starting a Street Association for their own street, with the aim of keeping the friendliness going long after the pandemic has eased.
The two-metre banner, introducing a design which is being picked up in other parts of the UK, focuses its encouragement on ‘your street’, because a Street Association led by local residents has been shown over 10 years to be a popular way of getting people together, organising things like a children’s party, a barbecue, quiz night or trip away, just for one’s own street. With an agenda of ‘friendship, fun, belonging, a helping hand’, the prize is that everyone gradually gets to know everyone, friendliness is released, isolation is addressed, fun is had and practical help flows to residents who may need it. Community events are anticipated to take place from the spring, with the Platinum Jubilee as a key incentive to get neighbourly communication going in time.
In many local areas, an As One memorial service will also be held, ahead of the tea party, to remember the anxiety, isolation, loss and bereavement experienced by so many over the last two years and to help bring a measure of peace, with the tea party then seeking to take the key ‘positive’ of the pandemic — the burst of community spirit — and help it to flourish for the long term.
Throughout the pandemic, here in Walsall, there are numerous people who have reached out to help others by doing the shopping, collecting prescriptions, walking the children to school — the list is endless. I’m very keen that we build on this and As One looks to be an ideal initiative to continue to help our communities to be strong together. I very much encourage residents and neighbourhood organisations to take an active part and to help make it happen. Community events are anticipated to take place from the spring, with the Platinum Jubilee being a key incentive to get neighbourly communication going on.
Councillor Garry Perry, Deputy Leader for Resilient Communities
We are thrilled to be able to support the As One vision with local events across the borough and, as part of a wide partnership, to help create the kind of caring society we’d all like our children to grow up in. Let’s ensure that the community spirit that was so prevalent during the early stages of the pandemic isn’t just a flash-in-the-pan, but can be given legs to last, street by street — ‘love your neighbour’ in practice.
Kevin Davis, Love Walsall network of churches
Residents are encouraged to find out more about starting a Street Association where they live – see here for more details of how to get it going. There is also an invitation to help spread the As One vision on social media, with links at the bottom of this page.
To link with the Walsall campaign, please contact Nigel Dutton at Walsall@as-one.uk.
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