Building a stronger connection between a person and their community benefits both parties. The following evidence-based recommendations demonstrate how to strengthen the bond between a person and their community :
Make use of your own knowledge, networks, and relationships to assist in identifying assets and facilities in your community.
Involve a practitioner with the knowledge and skills to work with a variety of social care, health, and housing services, including those provided by the voluntary and community sector, during care planning.
Assist the individual in identifying the community's strengths and assets.
Inform the individual about local community resources and support, such as volunteer organizations, user-led organizations, and disabled people's organizations (and promote more widely, for example in community spaces and services).
Provide information on how to access peer support services as well as opportunities for the individual to provide peer support (using their skills, life experience and cultural awareness).
Make it possible for people who use care and support services to form social bonds and a sense of mutual support.
During inpatient stays and after discharge, assist people with mental illnesses in maintaining connections with their home community (including education, employment, and social contacts).
Make it as simple as possible for people to access and contribute to community support :
Is there anything that people might encounter? These could include a lack of access to IT for a variety of reasons, childcare, transportation, language, literacy, numeracy, low income, or disability.
What kind of assistance could they get to help them overcome these obstacles? Access to IT and digital training, for example, using familiar and accessible locations, providing childcare assistance, and providing information in plain English, an accessible format, or a different language.