Healthwatch Wandsworth Assembly October 2024: Connecting With Our Communities

What we did

At our Healthwatch Assembly on 24th October 2024, we discussed how people in Wandsworth can connect and prevent loneliness. Healthwatch Wandsworth shared information, welcomed guest speakers, and facilitated question and answer sessions on the following topics:

• Your Ideal Place - what are the elements that make a place ideal for facilitating and encouraging connection? What makes a place ‘feel like home’?
• How we can connect – what have local people been doing, both in the past and presently, to connect with and help other people?

What we discussed

The following points were raised across our discussions during the assembly:

• On average, individuals reported feeling only somewhat connected (3 on a Likert scale) with most people attending with the intention of meeting new people and learning how to connect with their community. 
• Being familiar with a space and the people within the space has a large impact on feelings of connectedness. ‘Knowing people’ was mentioned by almost everyone as a factor that makes them feel at home in a place. 
• 80% of attendees stated that they would go to an event if it had all the elements that made them feel at home in a place and it was 2 miles from home. Those that stated that they would still be unlikely to attend noted difficulties traveling as the main reason for this.
• People in the community are able to connect with others by engaging in recreational and educational activities organised by local services.

Read more about the assembly in the report and slides below.