Developing respect

The tower block had seen a transformation of its population in a couple of years. Lack of language, housing support and opportunities for original and new residents to meet had led to violent physical and verbal clashes. We worked with a number of partner agencies to train local residents from both groups to work in pairs visiting all the flats with a questionnaire about the difficulties they faced. The results were fed back to residents and local agencies, and led to a number of positive developments, including a welcome/induction pack for new residents in English and other languages, and an ongoing residents group of both groups which monitored difficulties in the block. Some of this group decided to train in mediation techniques to give them more skills around managing conflicts in the block.

Rivalries and rumours are always rife in parallel communities which never socialise with each other. By training local people to engage with local difficulties, we aim to bring communities together to sort out their own problems rather than importing ‘experts’ who may have a limited, or blinkered, understanding of the true situation.

Our aim is to get people talking to each other. At times, this is difficult but very rarely impossible. What it takes is time and a few good ideas. Facilitation skills are also helpful, which anyone can learn. We want the experience and local knowledge of people to be properly valued and used.