NI reveals what makes ‘perfect’ as region tops UK poll of community pride

News Letter

A study of over 2,000 adults from across the UK has revealed Northern Ireland as the region with the most community pride.  In the research conducted by Spar UK as part of their Community Cashback campaign for 2024, the survey showed that 83% of respondents were either very or fairly proud of their local area, followed by London (75%) and Scotland (73%).  The survey also showed that those in Northern Ireland ‘feel like they are a part of their community’ the most, with over two thirds (61%) saying they strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement.  The research also revealed the respondents said the ‘perfect community’ is made up of helpful neighbours (50%) and regular litter pickers (25%), while well-maintained community gardens (31%), a local convenience store (49%) and welcoming shop owners (45%) are important in creating a wholesome environment to live in.

Transcript

00:00 SOS Bus is a charity that's been working on the streets of Belfast for 17 years.

00:04 Our amazing volunteers support the most vulnerable people in our city. We do this

00:09 by relieving the pressure off the emergency services, by providing a safe

00:13 space at Shaftesbury Square at our big SOS Bus and by travelling across the city

00:16 in our response vehicles, responding to calls from the police, the emergency

00:20 services and members of the public. Well on a typical Friday and Saturday night

00:24 we come across clients from all walks of life. We help clients who are under the

00:30 influence of alcohol or drugs. We have dealt with people and signposted people

00:36 who are victims of domestic violence. We also provide on the street cover. We are

00:41 out walking around the streets of Belfast providing tea, coffee, water and

00:45 clothes to the homeless and also sleeping bags if necessary. The majority

00:51 of our clients would be under the influence of alcohol although we have seen a spike

00:55 in the last two years of those under the influence of drugs and those overdosing which has

01:01 led us to carry naloxone in our walkabout bags at all times now. The

01:05 service that we provide on a Friday and Saturday night isn't cheap to run. There

01:09 is maintenance of our large bus, there is maintenance of our mini bus and there's

01:14 also the cost for resources for maintaining our defibrillators for

01:19 replacing the laxatone and with the use of these mini buses which the funding is

01:22 essential for we're able to go out and actively seek those who need the help

01:26 and if necessary use the mini buses to either transport them to our large bus

01:30 to a safe place or to bring them home or somewhere to stay for the night. As a

01:35 charity we rely on donations from the public and from corporate sponsors. In

01:38 2023 we were delighted to receive funding from the Spar and I community

01:42 cashback program to keep our essential services on the road along with our

01:46 buses. It's generous funding like this that allows us to equip our volunteers

01:50 with life-saving defibrillators, radio communication equipment and it goes

01:54 towards the refurbishment of the SOS vehicles including our SOS response mini

01:58 buses to provide a better service on the streets of Belfast. So if you are a

02:02 charity that does rely on donations and doesn't get the government funding then

02:05 I would strongly suggest that you get involved in this scheme because it's

02:08 incredibly worthwhile and it keeps us providing the services that we can for

02:13 our service users and to provide safety on the streets.

02:17 you

02:19 you

02:21 you

02:23 (gentle music)

02:26 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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