Community Connections: Listening to Kirkbymoorside

Children in Distress has held the first of three Community Connections days in Kirkbymoorside, beginning a conversation with local people about what matters to them and what could make a positive difference to children, young people, families and the wider community.

Our first Community Connections drop-in took place on Wednesday 2 September at our Kirkbymoorside charity shop. Rather than arriving with our own answers, we wanted to do something very simple: listen.

Over a cuppa and a conversation, local people were invited to tell us what they value about their community, what they think could be improved and what opportunities they would like to see developed locally. The September event is the first of three sessions, with further Community Connections days taking place on 7 October and 4 November.

We were really encouraged by people's willingness to stop, talk to us and share their thoughts. Some conversations were brief, others went into more detail, but together they started to give us a much better understanding of what matters locally.

We also invited people to leave their ideas with us by answering a few straightforward questions: What does the community need most? What would people like to see for children and young people? What is difficult for families to access? What could bring the community together? And, if they could introduce one new community project, what would it be?

Some early themes are beginning to emerge.

Although this was only our first Community Connections Day and we don't want to draw conclusions too soon, there were already some interesting themes in the feedback.

People talked about the need for more opportunities for children and young people, including a youth club, sports, play sessions, arts and crafts and activities that could take place throughout the year. One suggestion was for young people to have opportunities to learn practical skills through sessions involving organisations such as the fire, police and first-aid services.

Affordability and access also featured. People mentioned the value of cheap or free activities for children and families, alongside concerns about public transport and the difficulty of getting to services and activities.

Others focused on community connection itself - creating opportunities for people to meet, developing shared activities and making better use of facilities and activities that already exist. Suggestions ranged from community events and intergenerational activities to making more of existing community spaces and creating ways of sharing local information.

One of the things that stood out most wasn't a particular project idea, however. It was the willingness of people to engage.

For Children in Distress, that is important.

As our work develops, we want our charity's support for local communities to be shaped by the people who live in them. Community Connections isn't about us deciding what Kirkbymoorside needs. It is about listening, learning and then exploring where Children in Distress, working alongside others, might be able to help turn good local ideas into action.

And this is only the beginning.

We have two more Community Connections days to come, giving us the opportunity to hear from more people and to see whether the themes from our first conversations are shared more widely.

Our next drop-in takes place on Wednesday 7 October, from 10am to 1pm, followed by our third session on Wednesday 4 November. There is no appointment and no formal meeting – just drop in, have a cuppa and tell us what you think.

If you live in Kirkbymoorside or one of the surrounding villages, we'd love to hear from you.

Because the best ideas for strengthening a community often come from the people who already call it home.

If you cannot make it to one of the sessions but would still like to share your thoughts, you can also do so here.