Hampstead Neighbourhood Forum's Stephen Taylor on working together

We learned that people can and will help each other under pressure. Meanwhile, people in Hampstead opened their homes to refugees from the wars in Syria and Ukraine.

“The times are tough now, just getting tougher,” sang Bruce Springsteen in 1985. They are no easier now.

The new normal, transcending the arguments we are hearing daily in the election campaign, is one in which many people face poverty and unaffordable costs, especially rents.

The nation’s infrastructure is under pressure, with unrepaired roads and beaches and rivers being fouled by sewage. The NHS seems to be in permanent crisis.

Temperatures are breaking new records every month and floods are intensifying. These problems will all be just as challenging for the new government as for the old one.

This means the community resilience that was seen during the pandemic will, in all likelihood, become a permanent need.

We need to bolster our collective ability to weather shocks and breakdowns. That, in turn, means helping neighbours who are lonely or in trouble and building new networks within streets and local communities.

Stephen Taylor encourages helping neighbours who are lonely or in trouble (Image: Stephen Taylor)

Of course, many bodies exist in Hampstead that bring together communities, such as residents associations, churches and schools. But there is always scope for the area to do more.

The Hampstead Neighbourhood Forum is championing resilience. We aim to promote collaboration between neighbours, so it becomes habitual to reach out for help and support.

What could this look like?

One avenue is to make sure that we do not lose the places in which community activities, including cultural events, can take place.

Over the past 10 years, the forum has helped pubs and other venues to win designation by Camden as Assets of Community Value (ACV), thus giving them some protection against closure. We are now helping supporters of some of these to renew their ACV status.

Our existing street associations already do much. In our street, we shop for the elderly and poorly, give away things we no longer need and on hot days shelter those whose homes have become intolerable.

If you don’t have a street association, we can help you start one. (It begins with a party!) Write to: resilience@hampsteadforum.org.

• Stephen Taylor is vice chair of the Hampstead Neighbourhood Forum (hampsteadforum.org)