Community investment is at the heart of what we do and collaboration between us and our customers helps to keep our neighbourhoods thriving and create communities where our customers are proud to live, our community investment work within Minehead, Somerset this year has boosted community spirit and reduced social isolation for local customers aged over 55..
We own Sainsbury Community Hall in Minehead, and having this space available has provided a location where our customers aged over 55, can meet on a regular basis, not only with each other, but also with LiveWest employees and other local partners. Having these meetings every other week has helped to tackle social isolation within the community.
Many of these customers had moved to the area from London and didn’t have any existing connections to the neighbourhood and since joining the group they have been able to meet their neighbours, get involved in local activities and learn new skills, such as learning to play new age kurling.
Shona Stone, LiveWest Community Connector said: ‘’This resident’s group, for customers aged over 55 in Minehead, Somerset has gone from strength to strength. The group meet every other week in the community hall which is owned by LiveWest and they often have a guest speaker who gets them involved in different activities. These meetings provide a regular opportunity for our customers to meet up in a neutral space, get to know their neighbours and learn more about the local community. These meetings have also helped to tackle social isolation felt by customers who live on their own and have helped them to settle into the community. It’s been great to see how much the group has moved on in just one year.’’
One LiveWest customer had this to say about the group: ‘’I am sure that I speak for everyone when I say that we really appreciate what LiveWest do for us. Sometimes we might think we will not enjoy something that has been planned for these sessions but in the end we always do.’’