Building good community relationships

Whether in the workplace, schools or in neighbourhoods, we all have an important role to play in community life.

Support, projects and resources are available to help communities build better relations across Kirklees.

What is community cohesion?

Community cohesion is a term used to describe how well people from different backgrounds get on together.

For example a place with good community cohesion is where:

• people share a sense of belonging, feel welcome and safe
• people from different backgrounds value and respect each other
• everybody has similar life chances and feel they are treated fairly
• there are strong and positive relationships between people from different backgrounds who are friends, workmates, neighbours or school mates.

If you want to help build better community relationships in your area, please get in touch - we would like to work with you to bring people together.

Community cohesion and building good community relations are the work of all services in Kirklees Council and partner organisations such as the police, primary care services, schools, and the voluntary, community and faith sectors. 
We also have a specialist cohesion team.  This team is part of the Safer Stronger Communities Service.
We offer support and advice to help bring local communities together by:

• setting up local projects, forums and discussions
• providing training
• help on working with the media
• providing myth busting information
• outreach activity

The team works in close partnership with community workers, neighbourhood management teams, area committees and partner services.

How will Communities Together make a difference?

• promoting a sense of shared pride and belonging
• helping people feel they are treated fairly
• building mutual respect
• creating opportunities for meaningful interaction
• building positive relations with the media
• supporting and initiating community events

What will we do to help you build better community relationships?

Some of the projects from Safer Stronger Communities Service include:

• Everybody Counts – welcoming diversity and prejudice reduction training
• Local arts projects e.g., ‘Common Threads’
• Culture Share events
• Interfaith events
• Twinning community groups
• Conflict to Consensus Network
• Community lunch projects
• ‘Belonging to Dewsbury’ Programme including a schools partnership project.

We aim to:

• support interfaith work across Kirklees
• strengthen the private sector role
• help to support effective neighbourhood policing
• improve voluntary sector relationships
• involve local youth
• promote strong leadership

For further information please contact

E-mail: communities.together@kirklees.gov.uk