We were invited to run a Community Conversation at the Roman Road Residents meeting on 4.11.09 but were only given a 30 minute slot! In that time we ran an activity “Come into the Circle” to get everyone participating and then had ideas groups.
Residents found out a range of things about each other from who likes curry, to football teams, to things about the area people do and don’t like. People were given the opportunity to honestly express some negativity about the changes in the area and we found out that for a lot (but not all) of people there were concerns about residents moving through the area quickly now that houses are rented, and that these residents do not seem to have the same stake in the area as those who have been long settled.
We got residents into small groups to come up with ideas to bring back the sense of community and belonging. A lot of ideas came up from making sure to say “hello” even if people don’t seem friendly to events where residents can taste each other’s recipes to reinstating an old New Years Eve event at a local school.
"Last night was excellent: the community conversation concept worked
extremely well with the residents' group. I believe they benefited significantly from being able to frankly express their concerns but then finding out the importance of having a closely knit community and what this meant to them all.
I was able to draw out a few practical community ideas from what came up: food celebration of different cuisines from different cultures, front garden competition, using the local school for community events to socialise with neighbours as
happened in the past.”
Shamilla Kumari, Member Services Officer
“Many, many thanks to Ros and Sarjoh for your excellent professional input into the Roman Road residents group. From what I have heard, I feel we have an excellent foundation on which to build the group as a result of your input”
Kevin Jenkins, East Ham South Ward Councillor
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