Isolation has a toxic effect on people’s physical and mental health. Those with fewest assets fare the worst. At the extreme, social exclusion in the form of harassment and violence can lead to suicide.
Social and community enterprises (SCEs) run shops and pubs, they provide transport, support fun activities, enable people to share accommodation and support them to be self-employed.
Co-commissioners in Asset-Based Areas explicitly seek to promote social value. What this means is that they (commissioners and people with lived experience) look at people’s lives as a whole and don’t focus on individual outcomes.
Investing in prevention, early intervention and community capacity building is a central feature of Asset-based Areas rather than a ’nice to have’ one.
Asset-Based Areas actively relocate power to their citizens. They see their role as working with, not for, people; and bring individuals and groups together.