Tackling social isolation Project builds bridges in community

OVER the last decade an inspiring research project has helped connect communities in a diverse Bristol neighbourhood and tackle social isolation.

- Alex SEABROOK

Barton Hill is a disadvantaged part of the city east of Temple Meads and home to people from lots of different places, including many Somalis.

Despite its challenges, volunteers in Barton Hill have worked hard to build bridges in the neighbourhood, including with a popular after-school club. This work has gone alongside research looking at the difference between raising children in places like Somalia and England.

The area is home to several large tower blocks of flats owned by Bristol City Council, which was urged to support the community-building work. Councillors on the children and young people policy committee heard about the Find Your Village research project during a session last week.

Tom Allport, a paediatrician and researcher at the University of Bristol, said: "What is it like if you come from a culture where it takes a village to raise a child here in our atomised, fragmented society? There are quite a lot of challenges along the way."

He mentioned a family with three children, who had moved between three tower blocks in different parts of Bristol. The first two children struggled with their development, and the parents felt isolated. One play park near the second tower block lacked a gate, and there were concerns about safety given news at the time of a recent abduction.