Being Neighbourly

A conference held to examine the impact of the recent harsh winter highlighted that older people in Wyre experienced a dramatic reduction in mobility leading to a strong sense of isolation and both were compounded by a marked lack of neighbourliness. It is also evident that there are significant numbers of potentially vulnerable residents (young an old) who are neither visible or reachable should the extreme weather return.
This note looks at the reasons why we appear to be less neighbourly, suggests mechanisms to help regenerate it a very local level and a way in which we can identify and therefore assist the most vulnerable residents in extreme weather conditions.
While the original impetus came from the experience of older people the rationale and solution would embrace and benefit the whole community of Wyre.

Neighbours ain't what they used to be
Aside from anecdotes it is difficult to prove there is a crisis of neighbourliness due to the difficulty in measuring it. The data tends to depend on questions like 'how often do you visit neighbours' houses?' or 'how many of your neighbours do you know by name?', questions which largely ignore the subtleties and significance of minimal neighbouring.
The most minimal, informal, non-committal interactions between neighbours, the nod, the half-smile, the grunt of recognition, are among the building blocks of civil relations.
Recognition of others, rather than having meaningful conversations with neighbours in their houses, is a key indicator of the health of society. These tiny exchanges of acknowledgement combine to form a platform for individual support in time of need and for community action and participation. They constitute a social resource which we are only likely to value when it's gone missing.
A range of transformations, such as increased use of cars, greater relative wealth and mobility, systematic state welfare, and privatised leisure have to some extent eroded neighbourly support networks.
For many people, the effect of these transformations can be critical.
If connections between neighbours are thinly-spread and less visible (because
of design, use of cars, lack of local shops, or for other reasons) then it is
not surprising that we begin to experience a vacuum of responsibility in our neighbourhoods. The practice of ‘looking out for’ a neighbour falls to a few or into neglect.

Vulnerable residents

As Donald Rumsfeld famously said “There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know. “
It is fair to say that vulnerable people at best fit into the second and third categories, somebody knows who they are but this is probably not known locally or not at all.
This is frustrating because they are likely to be known to at least one of a large number of agencies or voluntary organisations.
While individual neighbourhoods may have some knowledge it would be valuable to establish a mechanism for accessing information held by organisations about vulnerable residents who could be at risk in severe weather conditions.

Ways Forward

We need to seek ways in which neighbourliness can be encouraged at a very local level while at the same time encouraging organisations to share and pool, their knowledge of residents who are potentially at risk in severe weather conditions. Some examples are discussed below.

Community Watch
This title may seem divisive but it simply means that in a very local area, possibly one street, there is sufficient awareness to ensure that vulnerable people are identified and individuals take responsibility for ensuring their wellbeing.

There are currently informal schemes where residents in a particular street “keep an eye out” for each other. These can be simple courtesies such as helping with recycling bins and notifying each other of long absences such as holidays.
One church parish has a group of 25 to 30 community carers who each take responsibility for making regular contact with 4 to 5 homes. They drop in a newsletter every month and visit once per quarter. The residents they watch out for are of all ages.
A local university has developed an “adopt a granny “ scheme whereby 100 or so students agree to visit a group of elderly residents on a regular basis.

In the case of the Neighbourhood Watch scheme for crime prevention, householders take responsibility for keeping and eye on other people's houses, we seek something similar for vulnerable people. This could be achieved through neighbourly observation and intervention and with help from service providers such as postmen or milkmen.
The Neighbourhood Watch crime prevention scheme offers experience and processes that could be applied such as these simple steps:
- Identify the neighbourhood/ street/road
- Distribute a leaflet outlining aims and scope of the scheme
- Call a first meeting with those interested residents and agencies that can help
- Agree roles and activities
- Promote and support the scheme and its members

There are currently over 100 Neighbourhood Watch schemes operating in Wyre. It should be possible to adapt them so that in addition to crime prevention they could be extended to watch out for vulnerable residents in extreme weather conditions.

Street Parties

Research has shown that street parties provide a rare opportunity for all generations to meet in their street for a day. These modest and very British events uniquely ensure that the full range of backgrounds in a community meet, as they are right outside residents’ doors.
In recent times two national organisations, the Eden Project's Big Lunch and Street Alive have launched street parties as an annual event across the whole country.
There were street parties to celebrate Victoria's jubilee in 1887, George VI Coronation in 1927, the Queens coronation in 1953, her jubilee in 1977 and Charles and Dianas' wedding in 1981.
We have two further reasons in 2011 with the royal wedding and Fleetwood's 175th anniversary.
The powerful effect of street parties was shown recently when Street Alive facilitated 19 new street parties in Bristol.They carried out post-event door step surveys and the results showed that 97% wanted the street party again and that they had met an average of 8 new neighbours.
In Wandsworth local people who want to close a road for a street party or summer fete will only have to complete one simple form.
The council has been working with central Government to cut through the red tape and develop a user-friendly application process.

A working group established that for most small organised street parties there is no need to advertise road closures or carry out consultations. Neither are specific signs or other traffic management equipment necessary. Instead councils should adopt a common sense approach to administrating the events.
Identifying Vulnerable Residents
There are many agencies and organisations who have knowledge of potentially vulnerable people but we need to identify ways in which they are not only made visible but there is a network of people who will make a call to ascertain whether they are coping with severe weather.
A good example of this is the Telecare system.
There is evidence that use of Telecare helped residents who slipped and fell during the cold snap. Subsequently LCC will consider modifying the Telecare process so that the call centres proactively contact users in the advent of severe weather to ensure they are well. However, Telecare is a specific service and the current entry cost is around £9 per week. Alternatives available in Wyre include Helpline with a much more affordable entry price of £2.50 per week. We could seek to persuade Helpline to also become more proactive in times of emergency while at the same time encouraging vulnerable residents to subscribe to the service.

We need to overcome the barriers presented by data protection and seek safe ways in which information can be shared and used to protect residents.
For example GP practices should be able to identify those with debilitating
conditions or in need of care and it should be possible to give them the opportunity of identifying themselves for assistance should they experience severe weather.
This can be done in a non invasive way and by self identification as the benefit take up scheme has demonstrated.
A first step would be to convene a meeting of relevant agencies and organisations to explore the feasibility of such an initiative.

Proposal
A strategy to identify and assist vulnerable residents in extreme weather conditions would include:

- Neighbourhood Watch are approached to consider adapting current and future schemes to include checking on the most vulnerable in extreme weather conditions.

- A Community Watch scheme, based on Neighbourhood Watch principles but focussing solely on the most vulnerable is developed and piloted in 2 or 3 locales with help from local churches and the WI.

- The council facilitate and encourage street parties as a way of establishing contact with neighbours either spontaneously or linked into a national event. 

- Convene a meeting of relevant agencies and organisations to explore the feasibility of pooling and sharing information on residents who would be vulnerable in extreme weather conditions.
 
- Adapt the call centre personal alarm processes to become proactive in severe weather and promote and encourage vulnerable residents to subscribe to an affordable system such as Helpline.