Barking and Dagenham is the home of Community Resources and our primary focus will always be here.
We are committed to the local ‘eco‑system’—building strong relationships with the people who live and work here.
We think place really matters. Our team live around here and want to practise what it means to live in friendly streets and neighbourhoods. It makes a difference when you can walk to work and say hello to the people you meet.
However, Barking and Dagenham is not the only place we’re interested in. We recognise the importance of place-based work and are keen to connect with others exploring different models so we can learn from each other. If you’d like to get in touch, contact us here.
Community Locality Networks
Over the past couple of years we’ve been leading a piece of work, in partnership with our local council and health services, to discover how join up local assets including residents, large and small VCSFE groups, informal community groups, clubs, associations, and services to enable a healthy, thriving ecosystem where we improve population health and the economic outcomes in the borough are improved. We recognise the significance of the following factors which are underpinned by an international evidence base:
- Residents having a sense of control over their destiny, and feeling part of a community that has control over its destiny, including the ability to hold government and public systems to account
- Connection, trust and belonging within a community, which facilitates a greater willingness to both offer and receive help from others within your community
- The vital combination of the expert 5% of work by clinicians and ‘the 95%’ of informal support offered by family, neighbours, work colleagues and other civil society support which enables us to recover well or have a sense of wellbeing and hope, even when facing tough health challenges
This approach prioritises learning, working with residents, advancing equity and innovation with people. It’s not about what “my organisation“ can achieve—it’s about what we, the entire system, can achieve together.