‘I believe there’s a greater sense of connection between people due to Covid-19’
A ‘STRONG COMMUNITY SPIRIT’ HAS GROWN STRONGER DURING THE PANDEMIC, SAYS RESEARCH
FACING the longest lockdown restrictions in the country, people in Leicester have not been able to go for a walk in the park with more than one other person for most of the past 12 months.
But where distance has been a challenge, people have grown closer in new ways.
Research from the National Lottery Community Fund shows across the East Midlands a third of people feel that the impact of Covid-19 has increased their sense of belonging in their local communities.
The Mercury spoke to local people who agreed they have built a stronger connection with each other during the pandemic.
In Wigston, local business owners Pratik and Bee Masters have seen a “return to the local corner shop” for more than just essentials.
“When people couldn’t rely on the bigger businesses online or get to the big shops, they realised they could come to their local shop,” Pratik said.
For some people, it was a bottle of milk they needed, for others it was information about local services, while some just wanted a chat.
“We’re a shop but people would come to us for much more,” he said.
“People will now stop and wave from across the street or you end up having a chat out of nowhere with someone you don’t know.
“It feels like that physical distance has meant we’ve craved that closeness.”
Anita Rao, a manager at Wesley Hall community centre in Highfields, has seen a build-up of trust in the local area.
“Due to Covid-19 I think there’s a greater sense of connection between people,” she said.
“More people have come to us for help, they trust us more.”
Before the pandemic, the centre was already a long-standing instituion in the area and had a number of services available to residents, including childcare, English classes and health and wellbeing support.
But Covid-19 brought instead a need for food parcels.
So Anita and her colleagues set up a food bank which has since helped hundreds of people each week – sometimes seeing up to 200 people in one day.
With that, Anita has seen a number of new volunteers come forward to help, particularly from young generations.
“We feel proud that we’ve had this impact on people and that they want to help us,” she said.
“Not only that but neighbours have started helping each other.
“We’ve had wellbeing Zoom sessions where people have built friendships and people are concerned about each other.
“I think that human connection has become stronger.”
The current lockdown is not where Simon Johnson, the manager of the local charity, St Matthew’s Big Local, said he hoped to be a year after the first one.
But he said the neighbourhood’s “strong community spirit” has grown stronger since, particularly among like-minded charities.
“People are still struggling so we’re still here to help and we’re working much more closely with other organisations, which has been very positive,” he said.
Throughout the pandemic, the role of the charity and food bank
has expanded beyond its remit, acting as a signpost to other agencies and stepping in where face-toface services, such as the housing office, have been closed.
Kieran Breen, the chief executive of charity Leicestershire Cares, said: “I think when the pandemic hit a lot of bigger organisations were in a state of shock thinking about how they could respond.
“But there was a spark from smaller groups that mobilised quickly with people from all walks of life stepping up to help.”
Last year, Leicestershire Cares honoured more than 200 organisations and individuals for their response to the Covid crisis as part of its Together We Care awards.
“The pandemic has been proof that community spirit is still well and truly alive in Leicester - our people are our strongest asset,” Kieran said.
Going forward, the CEO hopes local authorities will “involve the local talent” to work together to support local people.
According to the National Lottery Community Fund, 65 per cent of people in the East Midlands think local charities deserve more recognition and four in 10 want to see more support for them.
Although people rallied together to help each other in the wake of Covid19, staying connected has not come without its challenges.
As part of the research, people were asked about the challenges locals will continue to face, and they said isolation and loneliness were key concerns.
Denis Yomi Tanfa, who runs the African Network in Leicester, said the pandemic has been detrimental to the community.
“African communities like to be together,” he said.
“We live like a village. We come together to share everything and rejoice but we haven’t been able to do that.”
Throughout the lockdown, the African Network has hosted numerous video conferences which Denis said has been “better than nothing”.
But the digital alternative to getting together has not been for everyone.
Rukhsana Hussain, the founder of community organisation Outspoken, connected with people where she lives in Humberstone at the beginning of the pandemic.
“I posted leaflets about our support to neighbours and built that trust early on and because people were home all the time you got to know them a bit more than you usually would,” she said.
Outspoken has delivered hot meals and food parcels to hundreds of people throughout the lockdown but Rukhsana said some people have slipped through the cracks. For a lot of people who were struggling before the pandemic, they will be in a worse position.
“Before this I would be able to help people who were visibly struggling with their mental health or other personal issues but I can’t do that now and they won’t always pick up the phone,” she said.
As the lockdown eases in England, people are still expected to be suffering from the impact of Covid-19, but 2021 could bring more voluntary support from local people.
The National Lottery Community Fund research has shown that more than a quarter of people in the East Midlands want to get more involved in their local communities in 2021.
Nicola Thurbon, senior head of Regional Grant Making at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “Last year communities across the East Midlands demonstrated the amazing things people can do to support each other during challenging times.
“This research shows the power of that collective endeavour and the profound impact on how we feel about the areas we live in and the people around us, making more of us appreciate our community and want to get involved.”
The pandemic has been proof that community spirit is still well and truly alive in Leicester
Keiran Breen