Strong Communities Start With Connections |
Take our Resilience Test
Find a therapist near me
Communities with strong interpersonal connections are resilient and may be more resistant to misinformation.
Businesses and organizations can promote community relationships by creating and fostering third places.
Declining use of community spaces correlates with rising loneliness in the U.S.
Communities that have strong connections among their residents are more resilient and resistant to destructive rumors. In those communities, it is harder for rumors and misinformation to spread because people know and trust each other. And that resistance is strongest when the connections span groups across the community.
A recent article in Vox described the rise in “neighborism” as people have developed a greater appreciation for more local connections to help with things like child care or emergencies. As the article states, “For many Americans, the difference between stability and crisis comes down to whether someone nearby can help.”1 And those neighborly connections can result in actions beyond watering plants or feeding cats, such as when the people in Minneapolis came together to protest the Federal law enforcement actions that led to the deaths of two U.S. citizens.2
Strong Connectors Build Strong Communities
To get some insights into how connections are grown and strengthened in a community, I sat down with Mike, someone who helps build community connections in a variety of ways. Mike has a counseling background and now focuses on student financial aid, but outside of his regular work, he is very engaged with promoting stronger community connections.
One way Mike fosters community connections is by running the local dart league. Once a week during the winter months, the league brings together 60 people to play darts and socialize.3 And non-league people have the opportunity to play in games after the league’s matches. Those pickup games expand the community-building aspect of the league, and........