Connected Society

£900,000 Building Connections investment to put people and places
at the heart of stronger Gloucestershire communities

A major three-year initiative to tackle rising loneliness and social isolation in Stonehouse, Cinderford, Mitcheldean, Cam and Dursley will be launched following a £900,000 investment from The Summerfield Charitable Trust.

Building Connections: People, Place & Partnership will be delivered by three Gloucestershire-based charities – Forest Voluntary Action Forum, GL11 Community Hub and All Pulling Together. The initiative is designed around a simple but fundamentally important concept: that people need places, and places need people. By investing in both, the programme will help residents feel more connected, confident and able to shape what happens in their own neighbourhoods. These five towns and villages have been chosen because they show some of the highest combined risk factors for loneliness and isolation in Gloucestershire, but also because of their potential.

The initiative will seek to ensure that every resident has somewhere to go, people to meet, and a reason to participate, reducing loneliness, strengthening and sustaining capacity for connection. The initiative responds to challenges experienced across rural and semi-rural communities, where social isolation, limited transport and uneven access to activities and support can make it harder for people to participate in community life. At the same time, each area has active residents, trusted local organisations and community spaces with the potential to do more when they have the right people, resources and relationships around them.

The ITSA Digital Trust

With grateful thanks to the Summerfield Trust for their generous support of our Gloucestershire Digital Inclusion Programme. Over the past six years, The ITSA Digital Trust has helped more than 40,000 vulnerable and low-income community members access technology in areas of high digital deprivation. Our Programme continues this work by refurbishing and redistributing donated laptops each year to disadvantaged individuals and community groups.

Underserved communities’ benefit through greater access to technology together with enhanced confidence, educational opportunities and social inclusion. We are also protecting the environment by reducing e-waste through sustainable IT reuse.

Geoffrey Newsome, CEO, The ITSA Digital Trust