Small Steps Big Change Rob Stirling Reading
Writing a story that sums up my experiences this year is nigh on impossible. Looking back over the projects I’ve supported and the people that I’ve met has made me realise that so much has happened over the course of this year. Possibly the most successful group I’ve been involved in has been a group of women living on two roads that connect in the patch. It all started with door knocking. I first knocked on the door of the main leader – she was busy and told me to come back later. She’s since told me that she just wanted to get rid of me! However, I held her to her word and came back later and although she was very suspicious she agreed to host a house meeting for a few of her friends. I had no confidence anything would come from this… But lo and behold, a year later, I would say this was the start of the most successful group I’ve been involved with. Since such inauspicious beginnings, we’ve held coffee mornings, carol singing events, group guided meditation, started a book club and we will be holding a street party as part of the Big Lunch in June. We also held our first play street on the 29th March where we restricted access to the road for cars so that children could safely play in the street. This gives children who would otherwise be stuck indoors a chance to play outside; it is also an opportunity to bring everyone on the street outside, so we also had some music and cakes. Since then we have continued to organise street plays on a monthly basis. Every time we hold an event, all the people I’ve been working with have been astonished at how many new people they’ve met off the street that they’ve never met before. People I’ve spoken to at events have told me how different and special the area feels due to the community spirit on display. I can’t remember how many times I’ve been thanked by people for starting all this, to which I invariably get embarrassed and try to indicate that I’ve done nothing really, and that it’s the residents I’ve been working with who deserve the credit.
One time I was out door knocking, ensuring there was community support for the events we had planned, when I knocked on the door of a house which had been the subject of some consternation from others on the street whilst it was being converted into a HMO (House in Multiple Occupation). I spoke to one of the residents explaining who I was and what I was doing. By the time I got home he had sent me an email saying that I had knocked on his door at the ‘right time in his life’ and that he wanted to ‘get more involved in the community.’ Since talking to him, he has started to develop a social network focussed on building community. He has also moved to Watford, but still wants to be involved, so this means he has an 80 minute round trip just to lend a hand! This is great evidence of the impact that community organising can have when someone is prepared to take a lot of time out of their life to help a community where they lived only briefly.