Loss of Community Spirit.

[stripee]

Residental homes have varied quite a lot in my experience with elderly relatives. I think overall they have improved, but it is always wise if you have a relative in one to make sure they are happy.

I don't know about the past having more community spirit, on the whole people will help each other now if they know there is a need, although modern life is very busy and families and friends can live a long way off from each other. But there was always social breakdown in big cities in previous centuries, and some of the villages would have been a bit suffocating if you were stuck in them, and there was a less comfortable lifestyle.

[tufftie]

Has anyone read A Handmade Life by Bill Coperthwaite (about this as well as making things). Also 2 books by John Lane: Voluntary Simplicity and The Spirit of Silence? All three are very interesting if you get the chance.

[Wightman]

An interesting topic. When I grew up the community was made up of mostly people that knew each other, or knew people of their families. These days it's more intergrated with families coming from different countries, and the government expecting them to intergrate without any problems. Is this possible? As for children, how can they learn respect when their parents have none. It seems to me that young people are taking longer to mature these days, and don't like facing responsibility.

[naturelover]

how true that is,kids today do take longer to grow up,i left school at 15 no degrees as you didnt need them then,left school one day and was in work the next,my wagers were £4-10/-then,todays money £4.50p per week ,out of that i gave mum £2.00 per week which was almost half my wages,i got married at 17 had my first child at 19,what i am trying to say is i had to grow up fast as my money helped the family with the bills,i asked my eldest son roy once who is 42 now,are you going to give me half your wages,he was earning £150.00 plus per week,he said,i would leave home first,thats how times have changed,and it was only a joke anyway.

[Fourwings]

Originally Posted by zan

As for young people being branded as thugs, I suspect much of the criminal activity reported is because they are bored and haven't got better things to do. Bringing communities back together could probably solve a lot of problems - neighbours being neighbourly, and giving everything something they can be proud of. I haven't got a clue how this could be done though! Zan

An excellent and very perceptive comment Zan.

The community led approach to problem solving will work almost 90% of the time, there is no one better placed to identify and work to resolve local issues than the people who live in the area, and with support and guidance from outside agencies this process builds on and further enhances community spirit.

Do not despair people, community spirit is still out there, it just takes a little more looking for these days.

[Kymba]

Having grown up in a small village with a great community spirit (any excuse for street party etc) Where everyone would help everyone out when it was needed and everyone kept an eye on all the children when they were out playing. I was totally shell shocked when i moved to London and after 2 yrs i didnt know one of my neighbours They all seemed to work 24/7 and no one was ever around to socialise with and get to know.. Kids never played outside they use to get trains and trams from age of about 7 into nearest town on their own and be left to own devices.. (How sad is that)
As manyof you Know I have been trying to get a wildlife centre open for local children and the community to use.. But was constently banging my head against a brick wall with Local council etc Trying to get them to help and get involved.. yet they all moan all time about young kids having no where to go and nothing to do.. especially evenings, weekends and Holidays.. No one wants to Know is the problem..
Thank goodness a local school thought it was a good idea and offered to be my Partner in getting it off the ground... Hopefully within a couple of years a few more will want to become involved in other areas around me so more kids (and Adults) will have somewhere to go and something to do.
Theres to much of "Its Someone elses problem"

[Fourwings]

Good on you Kymba, your willingness to get involved and try to do something for the young people in your community is fantastic.
If more people adopted your attitude it would have a very positive impact on the levels of ASB commited in many areas.

[tufftie]

I know just what you mean - when I was living in Cornwall everybody said hello and chatted, whether you knew them or no (and the same in Orkney) - saying hello to everybody was normal. Here they look at you as if you're bonkers; it took me a while to adjust. Be a relief when i'm out of here!

Good luck with your project - as you say very few people do anything for children and then complain when they hang around with nothing to do. There's only two of us on this street which do anything for the kids - my neigbour takes them (and me!) out for walks and i have them in for board games and to do some gardening. If i was nearer you i'd give you a hand with it - sounds interesting but just a tad too far from here, sorry.

[Countrymum]

We're very lucky in that we live in a small village that still has a good collective spirit. Even though its had a big influx of incomers (ourselves included), there is no perceptible them and us atmosphere, and there are plenty of events where everyone gets together. Like anything, it does come down to the efforts of the same few people, but I think the numbers getting involved are growing. We've been mobilised to fight a development, we have the delights of the village festival which runs over 10 days with a really wide range of events, and then a load of stuff featuring the church, the school and the two pubs (although not necessarily all at the same time).

Of course we're lucky, and I think so every time we think of moving (other half slightly still pines for living by the sea, and given we're about in the middle of the country couldn't get much further away). We have friends who are doing up a big house a couple of villages over, but now thinking that maybe they won't move in there, they'll miss this village too much!

So, if we could just have some affordable housing to keep the mix in the village fresh, then it would be okay. And as long as our post office is not revealed anytime soon as being a candidate for closure!

[tufftie]

My friend in Ecuador really noticed the difference when she went out there. Real community spirit - old to young. Also people do things that needed to be done - it's not another persons problem. There are some problems but on the whole...

I think the commuter areas are the bad ones - too transient.