Last nights community committee focused on the idea that “Mental health is everyone’s business” Local community groups and residents joined Councillors to talk about the idea of Social Prescribing and ways to tackle social isolation. There was a great deal of practical experience and good ideas shared, and these will be written up to identify some practical actions for Inner South.
In the formal committee Councillors considered and supported applications from Irish Arts foundation for a community participation and learning programme, Middleton Park Equestrian centre for the disabled for a grader to maintain their arenas, Hanging baskets and planters for Belle Isle and Middleton in bloom, Wednesday morning community drop in at Hunslet Methodist Church, Slung Low for the How to festivals 2015, A new steel shelter for Cross Flats Bowling Club, a contribution for meals to the Beeston, Cottingley and Middleton cluster vulnerable children’s summer camp. Councillors also invested in litter bins, grit bins and anti-dog fouling signs to be deployed across the area.
Martin Dean
I attend this last night and found it very enjoyable and it was great to see so many people come together and talk about an issue that will at one point affect us all in some way.
I’ll be certainly looking what I can do to make our area much more mental health friendly and help tackled the massive issue of loneliness which is not only a health issue for the individuals in question, of all ages and backgrounds but a economic and social impact on the wider community.
We certainly need to look at how we can ‘build’, in the physical sense, residential areas that allow for communities to develop more naturally, practically thinking about the issues raised by modern apartments and sheltered housing complexes which can atomise people but also how we can encourage wider stakeholders, such as local business into the mix. We all know the story of how the local shop or post office or pub was the centre of a community. It would be great if we could make that type of civic network again and use this to help support each other and prevent a mole hill of a personal need becoming mountains for people to overcome and in the process make a stronger South Leeds.
There is much for us all to do to get there.