It Takes a Town to Show People They Belong

There’s an African proverb you’ve likely heard before: “It takes a village to raise a child.” It’s a simple yet profound idea that underscores the role of community in shaping young lives. But what if we expanded on that? What if, instead of raising children, we took collective responsibility to show young and old people that they belong? What if we leaned into the idea that “it takes a town to show people they belong?”

When I look at the headlines about up to 300,000 children missing from school last year, we’re failing in this fundamental aspect of community. The education system alone can’t fix this. The NHS can’t. Job centres can’t. These are massive systems with massive challenges and ones that will take decades to fully address. But here’s the thing, communities don’t have to wait! They can act now.

We can create spaces, networks, and opportunities that connect people, nurture them, and remind them they’re part of something bigger. We don’t need permission from Westminster or a huge government overhaul to do this. We just need to start.

It’s easy to pin the blame for 300,000 missing children on schools or underfunded public services. But the truth is, this isn’t just about education or even truancy. It’s about a deeper, more worrying trend, disconnection.

Young people are disengaging because they don’t see the relevance of school to their lives. They’re battling mental health challenges in record numbers. They feel invisible, unimportant like they’ve fallen through the cracks. And it’s not just young people. The thread of belonging is fraying across all ages.

The systems we rely on to fix this, schools, healthcare, government programmes, etc. are stretched to breaking point. They were never designed to solve problems like this on their own. They’re essential, yes, but they’re not the whole solution. The missing piece is community.

For decades, we’ve been eroding the concept of community without even realising it. We’ve turned life into an individual pursuit. Success has been defined as moving out of your hometown, leaving your roots behind, and standing on your own two feet. But what happens when standing on your own becomes isolating? What happens when, for whatever reason, you can’t stand at all?

Community isn’t just about having a physical place to belong, it’s about having people who notice you, who check in, and who care. It’s about having opportunities that feel accessible and relationships that feel meaningful. When that disappears, so does the safety net.

This isn’t just theoretical. I’ve seen it firsthand. In towns like St Neots, where I’ve collaborated with community initiatives and the newly realised Citizen Hub , the need for belonging isn’t abstract. It’s urgent. When young people don’t feel connected to their town, when they don’t see a future there, they disengage. And disengagement isn’t just skipping school, it’s stepping away from life itself.

Imagine if every town decided to create its own safety net, not waiting for government reform but acting with the resources and people it already has. What if we truly embodied “it takes a town to show people they belong?”

Here’s what it could look like:

• Community-Led Spaces: A place where people of all ages can drop in, connect, and find purpose. Not just a youth club, not just a job centre, but something more holistic. A Citizen Hub, if you will. A place for mentoring, training, laughter, and, most importantly, belonging.
• Shared Responsibility: Local businesses, schools, charities, and individuals coming together to ask: What can we do right now? Maybe it’s offering work experience. Maybe it’s running evening workshops. Maybe it’s simply showing up to listen. Look at St Neots Initiative and what it has achieved with this listening and supportive action approach.
• Celebrating All Pathways: Not everyone is destined for university or a corporate job. And that’s fine. Let’s celebrate creative hustles, trades, community roles, and entrepreneurial endeavours as much as we celebrate academic success.
• Empowering Mentorship: Imagine a town where every young person had access to at least one mentor, someone they could turn to for guidance, inspiration, or just a conversation about what’s possible.

The crisis we’re facing isn’t just about education, healthcare, or the job market. It’s about belonging. It’s about whether people feel valued and seen. When you know someone’s rooting for you, when you feel like your community has your back, it’s easier to dream, to try, and to keep going when life gets tough.

But let’s not romanticise this, it’s not easy work. It means showing up consistently, even when it’s inconvenient. It means leaning into uncomfortable conversations and recognising that not everyone starts from the same place. It means prioritising people over policies.

The good news? Communities already have the power to do this. We don’t have to wait for the perfect policy or a surge in funding. Change can start tomorrow, with a group of neighbours, a few local businesses, or even just one person deciding to mentor a young person who feels lost.

We can’t afford to sit back and hope the system fixes this. The education and healthcare systems are vital, but they’re not enough. Real, immediate change starts with us. It starts in our towns, on our streets, and in our local networks.

Let’s stop talking about what we can’t do and start focusing on what we can. Let’s show young people they matter, not just through words but through action. Let’s build places where they feel seen and supported. Let’s remind them and ourselves that belonging isn’t a luxury. It’s a necessity.

So here’s the question. What would it take for your town to show people they belong? And what’s stopping you from starting today?