The true spirit of the community and why we campaign for change.
Inspired by recent events near and far, we’ve been looking at how and why campaigning for change supports the true spirit of local communities.
Research & Campaigns Team (2 minutes)
On Friday 2 August rioters in Sunderland attacked and burnt the local Citizens Advice office. Their manager said: ‘When I came through on Saturday morning, I think the true spirit of the community was there then because we had people helping to clean up, people dishing out cups of tea and so many offers of support.’ And those offers soon became crucial financial help. By 6 August a local fundraiser aiming to collect £2000 had raised five times that amount! (Reported in ChronicleLive, 06/08/24)
Pandemic response
This reminded us of the Epsom & Ewell community, council and citizen response to the pandemic. At the time we reported the EEBC housing options team leader saying: ‘We couldn’t have done this without our voluntary organisations. Whatever the job, willing volunteers and voluntary groups pitched in. They helped with a lockdown hub to identify up to 2000 vulnerable residents. They found accommodation for homeless people and refugees and are stepping up for community development projects.’
Volunteering. Pitching in. Supporting the vulnerable. This is the true spirit of community we try to reflect when we call for better policy and practice.
A good example is housing. We have a lot to say about housing policy so we were pleased to see Epsom & Ewell Borough Council clearly explaining the human, financial and community costs of homelessness. In ‘Housing Pressures and Homelessness’ they also quote a letter to the deputy prime minister signed by an EEBC councillor on behalf of all district councils: ‘The human impact of this crisis is enormous……Homelessness undermines people’s lives and life chances.’
We wholeheartedly agree. Our volunteer advisers help families in housing difficulty every day. It is they who are the spirit and strength of local Citizens Advice; who are committed to helping people find their best way forward; and whose knowledge of local issues underpins our research and campaigns for better policy.
As an independent volunteering charity Citizens Advice tries to represent the true community spirit in everything it does. That’s why we offer free independent advice to anyone about anything and why we campaign robustly for social change.
More about volunteering at Citizens Advice Epsom & Ewell.